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NYU Tel Aviv HIST-UA9524/HBRJD-UA 9118/SASEM-UG 9550 Ancient Israel: History and Archeology

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NYU Tel Aviv HIST-UA9524/HBRJD-UA 9118/SASEM-UG 9550 Ancient Israel: History and Archeology NYU Tel Aviv HIST-UA9524/HBRJD-UA 9118/SASEM-UG 9550 Ancient Israel: History and Archeology Instructor Information ● Dr. Yifat Thareani ● Mobile: +972-54-3352940 ● [email protected] ● Office Hours: by appointment Course Information ● HBRJD-UA 9118 ● Ancient Israel ● The story of the archaeological discipline in the Land of Israel is strongly tied with the major developments that the region has undergone in the last two centuries. This course offers an overview of the history of archaeology in Palestine since the appearance of the first European travelers and missionaries in the mid-19th century, along the vibrant interest of collectors, forgers and robbers in the Promised Land, through the appearance of the first scientific excavations, the rise of the American biblical archaeology and its influence on local Israeli research. Special attention will be given to the way the newly born Israeli archaeology helped to establish the Zionist identity that wished to pass over two thousand years of Diaspora history; the methods by which the nascent Israeli archaeology connected new-comers to the land of the patriarchs and the manner by which Israeli scholars served state interests in the creation of the national Zionist ethos. ● Prerequisites: None ● Tuesdays, 12:30-1:45pm and Thursdays, 3:00-4:15pm ● NYUTA Academic Center, 17 Brandeis Street, Room 102 Course Overview and Goals Upon Completion of this Course, students will be able to: ● Understand the major events and trends in the history of biblical archaeology in Israel ever since its inception in the 19th century. ● Understand socio-political events in the modern history of Israel and the way these processes are reflected through archaeology. ● Understand the main arguments that dominate the current archaeological and historical disciplines. Page 1 ● Identify and analyze the most significant objects found in Israel in more than 150 years of archaeological exploration. Course Requirements Class Participation Students are expected to attend class regularly and arrive on time. Students must complete all assigned readings before the class meeting and be prepared to participate actively in discussions of the readings and current events. Weekly Study Questions Each week, a set of study questions pertaining to that week’s readings are posed. These questions are designed to assist students with the weekly reading assignments. Students are required to submit short answers to these questions 8-10 times throughout the semester. Three Critical Response Papers In order to enhance students' acknowledgment with some prominent issues in the archaeology and history of the region, three selected articles referring to three different aspects of the archaeological discipline will be reviewed. The students will be required to critically analyze each paper and answer five questions concerning the structure, content and validity of each argument. Midterm Assignment Midterm assignment is consisted of several phases involving a paper submitted by the students based on a joint tour. The tour will include a general introduction followed by a questionnaire that the students will fill in at site. The next stage will involve a paper composed by each student based on the handout and reflections from the tour. The paper may be submitted in various ways that will be specified at class. Final Exam The final exam consists of open questions and terms concerning issues that will be taught in class as well as questions that will be based upon critical reading of relevant scientific articles. It will contain three main parts: a large question, two medium sized questions and 4-5 terms. In this exam the student is required to demonstrate the knowledge and tools acquired during the course through several selected case studies. Grading of Assignments The grade for this course will be determined according to the following formula: Assignments/Activities % of Final Grade Class Participation 10% Page 2 Assignments/Activities % of Final Grade Weekly Study Questions 10% Three Critical Response Papers 20% Midterm Assignment 20% Final Exam 40% Failure to submit or fulfill any one of the required course component results in failure of the class. Letter Grades Letter grades for the entire course will be assigned as follows: Letter Grade Percent A 94-100% A- 90-93% B+ 87-89% B 84-86% B- 80-83% C+ 77-79% C 74-76% C- 70-73% D+ 67-69% D 65-66% F below 65% Course Schedule Topics and Assignments Page 3 Week/Date Topic Reading Assignment Due Ben-Arieh, Y. 1983. The The Journey to Aug. 28, Rediscovery of the Holy Land Palestine Starts 30 in the Nineteenth Century. Here Jerusalem: 19-64. Missioners and Silberman, N. A. 1982. Digging Engineers in the Sept. 4, 6 for God and Country. New Study Questions Service of Her York: 89-112. Majesty Ilan, D., Dahari, U. and Avni, G. 1989. The Rampant Rape of Israel's Archaeological Sites. Biblical Archaeology Review 15: 38-42. Levy, T. E. and Hall, A. F. C. 1995. Fakes, Forgery and Suicide – The Strange Case of Moses Wilhelm Shapira. In: Critical Paper On Forgers and Levy, T. E. (ed.). The Sept. 12, 13 One Due Antiquities Robbers Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. New York: 21. Kletter, R. 2003. A Very General Archaeologist-Moshe Dayan and Israeli Archaeology. The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 4. Knauf, E. A. 2003. Jehoash's Improbable Inscription. BiblischeNotizen 117: 22-26. Thomas, P. A. 1984. The Success and Failure of Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister. Biblical Archaeologist 47 (1): 33-35. Silberman, N. A. 1993. Petrie Sept. 18, 20 At the Edge of a and the Founding Fathers. In: Study Questions New Century Biran, A. and Aviram, J. (eds.). Biblical Archaeology Today (1990): Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Biblical Archaeology. Jerusalem: 545-554. The 1920's-1940's: Oct. 2, 4 The Rise of Biblical Dever, W. G. et al. 1993. Study Questions Archaeology Celebrating and Examining W. Page 4 Week/Date Topic Reading Assignment Due F. Albright. Biblical Archaeologist 56 (1). Abu el-Haj, N. 2002. Producing (Arti) Facts: Archaeology and Power during the British Mandate of Palestine. Israel Studies 7 (2): 33-61. Feinman, P. 2012. Canaanites, Catholics and Chosen Peoples: William Foxwell Albright's Biblical Archaeology. Near Eastern Archaeology 75 (3): 148-160. Zerubavel, Y. 1995. The Multivocality of a National Myth: Memory and Counter- memories of Masada. Israel Affairs 1 (3): 110-128. Ben-Yehuda, N. 1995. The Masada Myth: Collective Memory and Mythmaking in Israel. London: 70-50. Feige, M. 2001. Identity, Ritual and Pilgrimage: The Meetings of the Israeli Exploration Society. In: Dash Moore, D. The 1950's-1960's: and IlanTroen, S. (eds.). Critical Paper Oct. 9, 11 Archaeology and Divergent Jewish Cultures: Two Due Nationalism Israel and America. New Haven: 87-106. Kletter, R. 2006. Just Past?The Making of Israeli Archaeology. London: 42-81. Stager, L. E. 2006. YigaelYadin and Biblical Archaeology. In: Stern, E. et al. (eds.). In Memory of YigaelYadin, 1917-1984: Lectures Presented at the Symposium on the Twentieth Anniversary of His Death. Jerusalem: 13-27. Oct. 14 Visit to Israel Midterm (Sunday) Museum Page 5 Week/Date Topic Reading Assignment Due Bunimovitz, S. and Faust, A. 2010. Re-constructing Biblical The Footprints of the Archaeology: Toward an Six Days War: Integration of Archaeology and Oct. 16, 18 Study Questions Between Old and the Bible. In: Levy, T. E. (ed.). New Archaeology Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism. London: 43-54. Dever, W. G. 1997. Archaeology and the “Age of Solomon”: A Case Study in Archaeology and The 1990's and the Historiography. In: Handy, L. Oct. 23, 25 Debate over David K. (ed.). The Age of Solomon. Study Questions and Solomon Leiden: 217-251. Finkelstein, I. and Silberman, N. A. 2001. The Bible Unearthed. New York: 123- 168. Feige, M. 2011. The Imagined Back to History: Communities of Archaeology: Israeli Archaeology Oct. 30, Nov. 1 On Nationalism, Otherness and Study Questions in a Post-modern Surfaces. Democratic Culture Era 12: 7-59. Abu el-Haj, N. 2001. Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self- Fashioning in Israeli Society. Chicago and London: 239-270. Baram, U. 2007. Approaching the Past: Heritage Tourism and Archaeology in Israel. In: Archaeology of Kohl, P. L., Kozelsky, M. and Critical Paper Nov. 6, 8 Otherness in the Ben-Yehuda, N. (eds.). Three Due Land of Israel Selective Remembrances: Archaeology in the Construction, Commemoration and Consecration of National Pasts. Chicago: 299-325. Greenberg, R. 2007. Contested Sites: Archaeology and the Battle for Jerusalem. Jewish Quarterly 208: 20-26. Page 6 Week/Date Topic Reading Assignment Due Moorey, P. R. S. 1978. Kathleen Kenyon and Palestinian Archaeology. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 110: 3-10. Gero, J. M. 1994. Excavation Bias and the Woman-at-Home The Untold Story of Ideology. In: Nelson, M. N. and Nov. 13, 15 Women in Israeli Wylie, A. (eds.). Equity Issues Study Questions Archaeology for Women in Archaeology. Washington: 37-42. Picazo, M. 1998. Fieldwork is not the Proper Preserve of a Lady. In: Diaz-Andreu, M. and Sorensen, M. L. S. (eds.). Excavating Women. London: 198-213. Green, S. W. and Perlman, S. Margin Girl: Frontier M. 1985. Frontiers, Areas as Multi- Boundaries, and Open Social Nov. 20, 22 Cultural Systems. In Green, S. W. and Study Questions Archaeological Perlman, S. M. (eds.). The Spaces Archaeology of Frontiers and Boundaries. San Diego: 3-14. Berlejung, A. 2014. Outlook: Aramaeans Outside of Syria. Palestine, in: The Aramaeans in Ancient Syria (HdO 106), ed. H. Niehr, Leiden, 339-365. Special Case Study Thareani, Y., 2016. ʻEnemy at Enemies, a Love the Gates? The Archaeological Story: Cross-cultural Nov. 29 Visibility of the Aramaeans at Study Questions Contacts between Danʼ, in O. Sergey, M.
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