ANCIENT 210 : Egyptian Language 1A

Arts

2024 Semester One (1243) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

A study of the Egyptian language, hieroglyphic writing and selected documents up to Dynasty 18.

Course Overview

Middle Egyptian is the 'Classic' phase of the ancient Egyptian language (the others being Old and Late Egyptian). Much of the literature was written in Middle Egyptian, and for this reason, it is the form with which beginners start. Ancient Egyptian was written with hieroglyphs ('sacred carvings'), and the grammar is complex and quite different from English grammar. We begin with 'Middle Egyptian Grammar' by James Hoch, and progress through the book, until at the end of the year, the student should be able to read Egyptian literature written in Middle Egyptian. This course gives an insight into ancient Egyptian culture and society, and it provides context for the other Egyptological courses on offer. Egyptology is a holistic discipline, and knowing the language is a vital part of that.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Ancient History, Classical Studies or Classical Studies and Ancient History and 30 points passed Restriction: ANCHIST 210

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Analyse Middle Egyptian for grammar and content (Capability 4)
  2. Be able to apply the language in the context of ancient Egypt. (Capability 3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Assignments 75% Individual Coursework
Test 25% Individual Coursework

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 2 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 2 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 5 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including tutorials to complete components of the course.
Lectures and tutorial will not be available as recordings.
The course will not include live online events.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

The prescribed grammar is James Hoch, Middle Egyptian Grammar. It is available as a free and legal download on archive.org. You should have this downloaded and available for the first class.

https://archive.org/details/HOCH1997MiddleEgyptianGrammarOC

Due to the nature of the writing system, assignments will need to include a special font, if they are typed. This is called 'transliteration' and it can be downloaded here: https://dmd.wepwawet.nl/fonts.htm (This is NOT required, however, and if you would prefer to handwrite your assignments, that is perfectly acceptable.)

If you would like to use a hieroglyph 'font', the best programme is JSesh. It includes a transliteration font in the package. The link is:
https://jsesh.qenherkhopeshef.org/ Be warned that this programme requires practice to use and it is not particularly user-friendly, especially if you are a beginner at hieroglyphs. It is tremendously useful, though, so I encourage you to download a copy and play around with it. If required, we can do a class that explains basic use of the programme. (Again, this is NOT required. Handwritten hieroglyphs (as long as I can read them) are perfectly acceptable. In fact, you will have to learn how to draw hieroglyphs, so JSesh should be considered an add-on, rather than the primary method of creating hieroglyphs and sentences.)

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

The feedback from last year requested that I mark assignments more quickly, and I will be endeavouring to do this. A caveat, though, is that at times, I will be unable to return assignments as soon as you would like, due to other responsibilities, etc. I will be doing my best to get them back as quickly as I possibly can.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

If you have any difficulties of any kind, whether they're disability- or equity- or medical-related, please get in touch, and I will do what I can to help. I am always open for extra mentoring or tutoring if you are having particular difficulty with this class.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 01/11/2023 03:20 p.m.