HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: Archaeology & Ancient near East

Semester: 2nd Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Uri Davidovich

Coordinator Email: uri.davidovich@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: by appoinyment

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Uri Davidovich

Course/Module description:
The course revolves around the concept of cultural landscapes, using Landscape Archaeology and the phenomenological approach in archaeology as a theoretical basis, and the Bronze Age in the Southern Levant as an illustration. The key idea is to examine how the people of the period experienced their surroundings, at all spatial levels (at home, on the street, in public spaces and in the open) and in all senses, and how Bronze Age societies made deliberate use of the natural environment and the built-up space to shape ideologies and lifestyles.

Course/Module aims:
• Emphasizing the contribution of Landscape Archaeology and the phenomenological approach to archeological research in the Levant and worldwide.
• In-depth investigation of cultural landscapes in different spatial scales during the Bronze Age in the Levant.
• Addressing the methodological difficulties faced when decoding the nature of cultural landscapes.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
•Imagine, in a reasoned way, life experiences during the Bronze Age in the Levant.
•Engage with high-register archaeological discourse, in both theory and practice.
•Present a topic to a professional audience.
•Write a professional journal-level essay.

Attendance requirements(%):
85

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Frontal presentation of subjects, critical reading of reading assignments, short presentations by students, open classroom discussions.

Course/Module Content:
- Archaeology of the landscape.
- phenomenology.
- The house.
- The street.
- The public space: plazas, squares, areas of economic activity.
- Spaces of inner-city cult.
- Fortifications and gates.
- Walking the Road: Supervision and Control.
- Monuments and cult in the open.

Required Reading:
For details see Moodle website of the course: https://moodle2.cs.huji.ac.il/nu19/

Additional Reading Material:
For details see Moodle website of the course: https://moodle2.cs.huji.ac.il/nu19/

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 15 %
Participation in Tutorials 15 %
Project work 70 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
* The participation grade will be assessed based on attendance, prominence in the classroom, and quality of reading.
** During the semester, each student will present a test-case or research thesis in a short presentation (10-15 minutes).
*** At the end of the semester, each student will submit a 10-page paper (not including illustrations and bibliography) on a subject of his choice, in coordination with the course instructor. The subject may be theoretical, practical-research or synthetic, and combine processing of archaeological materials or data analysis.