Monday, April 23, 2012

Two intensive Elamite courses at Oxford

In the week of May 21st, two intensive courses will be presented at Oxford (Wolfson and Corpus Christi) by Dr. Wouter Henkelman (Humboldt research fellow, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut).

The first, "An Introduction into Late Elamite", introduces the Elamite language with specific attention to Achaemenid Elamite and phenomena resulting from  contact between speakers of Old-Iranian and Elamite.  Parts of the famous Bisotun inscription of Darius the Great will be read in class.

Details are to be found here.

The second course, "Persian culture as seen from Persepolis",  charters the world of the Persepolis Fortification archive, a corpus written for the most part in Late Elamite. After an introduction into the archive as such, particular attention will be given to the role of (royal women), the royal household, heartland cults, royal feasts, etc. Again particular attention will be given to the importance of the Elamite background of Achaemenid culture and its role in the formation of Persian identity. The course will take place 12-2pm, in the Second Floor Seminar Room, in the Classics Centre, 67 St Giles, Oxford.  The two courses are intended to complement each other, but may be taken separately.

Admission is free; no previous knowledge of Elamite is required. Those interested in participating in one or both course  are kindly requested to contact Wouter Henkelman.