SEMITIC EPIGRAPHY

This course is part of the Master's degree program in Antiquity Sciences: archeology, literature, history (for both the Western Asia and Eastern Mediterranean curriculum, and the historical specialization within the Philology, Literature, and History of Antiquity curriculum). However, it is open to all interested students who can include it as an elective in their study plan.
The course helps students develop skills essential for scientific research training in the field of epigraphic, philological, and linguistic analysis of the ancient world. It focuses particularly on Semitic languages attested epigraphically in the Near Eastern region. It refines students' knowledge of sources and promotes their ability to read, translate, contextualize, and critically and consciously utilize them directly from the original (thereby enhancing their problem-solving skills).
Furthermore, the course aids in acquiring a deep theoretical mastery (philological and linguistico-literary analysis) in handling these texts, and the ability to appropriately apply methodological and operational tools for their study and contextualization. This includes text analysis and rendering, and the use of tools and methods (including electronic ones) for bibliographical research and relevant databases. Students learn to use these tools through exercises in developing and drafting editions and commentaries of texts during lessons.

The student by the end of the course will have acquired the necessary skills:
- to use appropriate tools and methodologies for the linguistic, philological, historical and literary analysis in the discipline;
- to conduct independently a bibliographic research in the field and will know how to take advantage of the electronic resources for the discipline available to date;
- to produce an independent edition of a text.
This year's course will focus on the Ugaritic language.

No prerequisites required to access this course.
Previous knowledge of another Semitic language may be helpful though not a prerequisite

Title: "Introduction to Ugaritic: language and writing"
1) Language and writing
2) Ugarit: excavations and archives; decipherment; sources
3) Ugaritic among the Semitic languages
4) Cuneiform alphabetic: the abecedaries
5) Ugaritic grammatic: elements of phonology, morhology and syntax.
6) Reading from cuneiform of selected texts

Language & Grammar:
a) P. Bordreuil & D. Pardee, A Manual of Ugaritic (Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic 3), Winona Lake -IN, 2009 [reference Handbook]
b) A. Gianto, Ugaritic, in H. Gzella (ed.), Languages from the World of the Bible, Berlin-Boston 2011: 28-54 (for the exam: open access: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781934078631.28 )
c) G. del Olmo Lete and J. Sanmartín, A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition, Leiden/Boston/Köln, 2003 (as a reference; available in BAUM)
d) Notes from the classes
Sources and texts:
a) W.G.E. Watson & N. Wyatt (eds.), Handbook of Ugaritic studies, Leiden - Boston – Köln, 1999, chaps: 3.2; 4.1 e 4.2; 8.1; 9.1 e 9.3; 10 (all) [for the exam]
d) Additional references will be given in class.
Specific sources, dictionaries, tools, and further bibliography will be indicated during the course.

Learning is assessed through an individual oral examination. During this exam, students must demonstrate their ability to:
Read, comprehend, translate into Italian, contextualize, and comment epigraphically, grammatically, and linguistically on a couple of passages selected by the instructor from those covered during the course.
Read, comprehend, translate into Italian, contextualize, and comment epigraphically, grammatically, and linguistically on the text chosen for their individual in-depth study.
Discuss the bibliography with the instructor, showing independent judgment and precise language.
Utilize the bibliography as an aid in interpreting texts and evaluating them epigraphically, grammatically, and linguistically.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

28-30L: excellent command of the topics; excellent ability to prioritize information; appropriate use of the technical terminology of the subject
26-27: good knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the textbooks; good ability to organize and present information; generally correct use of the technical terminology of the subject
24-25: fair knowledge of the topics; fair ability to organize information; not always correct use of the technical terminology of the subject
22-23: superficial and/or incomplete knowledge of the topics; presentation not always clear and/or lacking in the technical terminology of the subject
18-21: incomplete knowledge of the topics, but still sufficient; unclear presentation and/or lacking and/or with little use of the technical terminology of the subject

In class; classes will take the form of seminars. Students will be regularly required to prepare texts and sources for the forthcoming classes.