90397 - History and Culture of Ancient Mesopotamia (1)

Academic Year 2020/2021

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Anthropology, Religions, Oriental Civilizations (cod. 8493)

Learning outcomes

Purpose of the course is to make students sensitive to a structural approach toward the main actors of those civilizations that flourished in Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq) from the IV to the I millennium BC and that – via the mediation of the Judeo-Christian tradition and of the Greek-Roman world – are at the roots of our culture. At the end of the course the student will acquire a basic knowledge of the historical and cultural development of Mesopotamia before the Persians; will get acquainted with the key issues of the historiographical research in this field along with its peculiar sources and methodology; will be able to place the main historical events and phenomena in their proper geographical and chronological setting; will have learnt to recognize the distinguishing cultural features of the various peoples and civilizations that succeeded one another in that region in the course of three millennia, and the elements of continuity and discontinuity through time and space; will be capable of understanding the original features of the Mesopotamia civilization as a whole as well as its cultural inheritance.

Course contents

The course is an introduction to the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations (Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians) that flourished in Iraq from the 4th millennium BC until the Persian conquest in 539 BC, with particular attention to history and various aspects of culture and thought (literature, religion, ideology, philosophy).

Readings/Bibliography

L. Milano (ed.), Il Vicino Oriente antico dalle origini ad Alessandro Magno, EncycloMedia Publishers, Milano 2012:

Introduzione;

1.5;

2.2-2.4;

3.1-3.6;

4.1-4.5;

5.1; 5.3; 5.5;

6.2;

7.1-7.5;

8.1-8.2.

Teaching methods

Lectures.

Assessment methods

Oral examination. Students must show their knowledge of the basic elements of the history of Mesopotamia before the Persian conquest (see the section Readings/Bibliography). For the assessment, the strength of the preparation, speaking ability, and command of the appropriate terminology will be considered. In addition, students must demonstrate their ability to to make historical comparisons between different periods and situations.

In order to obtain an excellent mark, students must show an excellent preparation and be able to present their arguments with clearity and authority, showing mastery of terminology and critical thinking in dealing with historical topics.

Students showing lesser preparation and ability but who have a good knowledge of the history of Mesopotamia will receive a good mark.

Students who do not show an adequate knowledge ofthe history of Mesopotamia will not pass the exam.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint.

Office hours

See the website of Gianni Marchesi

SDGs

Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.