Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lecturer and convenor
Malcolm Choat
Contact via email
Tutor and Convenor
Madeline Jenkins
Contact via email
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
AHIS168 or AHIS1160 or AHIS268
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit builds upon AHIS1160 by offering students the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge of the Coptic language through a study of a range of Sahidic texts. Coptic is the final stage of the Egyptian script and language, a knowledge of which is necessary for advanced study of late antique and Christian Egypt. It is also of great benefit to those studying earlier phases of the Egyptian language. This unit focuses on the Sahidic ('Upper Egyptian') dialect, the first Coptic dialect into which biblical texts were translated in the third century. Sahidic became a pan-Egyptian written dialect in the fourth and following centuries, and boasts a rich literature, both original and translated. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Assessment tasks are compulsory and must be submitted on time. All assessment will be submitted via iLearn.
As a general rule, extensions will not be granted without a valid and documented reason (e.g. medical certificate). All requests for extensions must go via ask.mq.edu.au and be supported by appropriate documentation.
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.
This late penalty will apply to non-time sensitive assessment (including essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.
For the avoidance of doubt, in this unit the Assignments and the take home exam are non-time sensitive assessment, to which this policy applies. The fortnightly quizes are time sensitive tasks, and are not covered by this late submission policy (Special consideration can however be requested for them, as it can for all assessments).
In order to complete this unit satisfactorily students must gain a mark of 50% or more.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Assignment | 25% | No | 11:55 pm Thursday 28/03/24 |
Assignment | 35% | No | 11:55 pm Friday 3/05/24 |
Assignment | 40% | No | 11:55 pm Friday 31/05/24 |
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 11:55 pm Thursday 28/03/24
Weighting: 25%
An assignment which consolidates the grammar and vocabulary learned to the time when the assignment is set.
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 11:55 pm Friday 3/05/24
Weighting: 35%
An assignment which consolidates the grammar and vocabulary learned to the time when the assignment is set.
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 11:55 pm Friday 31/05/24
Weighting: 40%
A final assignment at the end of the session which brings together everything studied in the course to demonstrate an understanding of the Coptic language and its relevance for historical studies.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
In weeks 1-10, the unit consists of a one-hour lecture each week, which will present and discuss Coptic grammar. In the final weeks, there will be a two hour lecture consisting of reading Coptic texts. Students will work through exercises from the tedxtbook (see below) to consolidate the information presented in the lecture, with a weekly discussion forum to allow questions about that week's exercises to be asked.
In weeks 1-10, the lecture will be prerecorded and uploaded via Echo360 on the Monday of each week.
The unit has an iLearn page which can be accessed at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php. PC and internet access are therefore required. Basic computer skills (e.g. internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement. Content, readings (with the exception of the textbook), and discussions for this unit will be delivered via the unit iLearn page. The lectures for this unit will be recorded and the audio recordings and accompanying notes will be available on the Echo 360 system and the iLearn page. Any extra readings required will be made available on the unit iLearn page, as will all assessment for the unit.
Note: iLearn should be regularly consulted for updates, learning tools, and for participation in the discussion forum.
Coptic fonts
For the purposes of this course it is essential that you learn to type words in Coptic (or Greek). Most ancient language fonts – even if they are of the same language – have a different distribution of characters on the keyboard. So if members of the group use different fonts, this will lead to misunderstandings. We will use unicode fonts which (theoretically) display the same on all systems. We suggest therefore that you download one of the Unicode fonts listed below, whcih contain both Coptic and Greek characters and are available for both PC and Macintosh computers.
Fonts
(1) Antinoou
https://www.evertype.com/fonts/coptic/
(see "Install and use the Antinoou Coptic font")
(2) New Athena Unicode
http://apagreekkeys.org/NAUdownload.html
(See the link to "DOWNLOAD New Athena Unicode version 5.008 in ttf format" under "Latest Version")
Coptic Unicode input (keyboard layouts)
(1) follow the directions provided at:
https://www.evertype.com/fonts/coptic/
Under "Install and use a Coptic keyboard layout".
(2) follow the directions provided at:
http://ucbclassics.dreamhosters.com/djm/coptic.html
This contains instructions for installing the Keyboard layouts in Windows or Mac systems, and general guidance on entering Coptic on both systems.
If you have any problems using these fonts or keyboard layouts, please contact the tutor.
Textbook and other reading
Textbook
The textbook we will use is Lambdin, T. O., Introduction to Sahidic Coptic, Macon 1983 (2nd edition 1992), a copy of which all students must source.
Grammars
As scholarly focus since the late 19th century has primarily been on Sahidic, there is a large body of teaching aids available for this dialect. The following list is not exhaustive, but lists the most important grammars. If students wish to purchase a comprehensive grammar, I recommend that of Layton, below, but this is not required.
Layton, B., A Coptic Grammar. Wiesbaden 2000 (2nd ed. Wiesbaden 2004, 3rd ed. Wiesbaden 2011).
Mallon, A., Grammaire copte: bibliographie, chrestomathie et vocabulaire, 4 éd. revue par Michel Malinine, Beyrouth 1956.
Plisch, U.-K., Einführung in die koptische Sprache (sahidischer Dialekt). Wiesbaden 1999.
Polotsky, H. J., Études de syntaxe copte, Cairo 1944.
Reintges, C., Coptic Egyptian (Sahidic Dialect). A Learner's Grammar. Köln 2004.
Shisha-Halevy, A., Coptic Grammatical Categories. Structural Studies in the Syntax of Shenoutean Sahidic. Roma, 1986.
Stern, L., Koptische Grammatik, Leipzig 1880.
Till, W., Koptische Grammatik, Leipzig 1961.
Till, W., Koptische Dialektgrammatik, München 1961.
Torallas Tovar, S., Gramática de Copto Sahidico. Madrid 2001.
Dictionaries
At this point of learning Coptic it is not necessary to purchase one of the dictionaries listed below, although access to a dictionary will be necessary for the advanced study of Coptic. For the purposes of this unit, the dictionary given in Lambdin, Introduction to Sahidic Coptic, is quite sufficient. The most important dictionary of those listed below is Crum, W.E. Coptic Dictionary.
There is now a Coptic Dictionary online (edited by the Koptische/Coptic Electronic Language and Literature International Alliance [KELLIA]) online at https://coptic-dictionary.org/ which contains both Coptic and Greek words. For guidance on using this dictionary see https://coptic-dictionary.org/help.cgi
Černý, J., Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge 1976.
Crum, W. E., Coptic Dictionary, Oxford 1939 (various reprints since, including Oxford 1999 and Wipf & Stock Publishers 2005).
Kasser, R., Compléments au Dictionnaire copte de Crum, Cairo 1964.
Smith, R., A Concise Coptic-English Lexicon, Grand Rapids 1983.
Westendorf, W., Koptisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg 1965-77.
Each week, there will be a 1-hour lecture with an asynchronous discussion forum to ask questions about that week’s lecture and exercises. The course material will be presented in the lecture; the exercises will reinforce the information learned in the lecture. Listening to the lecture and completing weekly exercises are compulsory for students who wish to learn the language properly and thus do well in the unit. For a week-by-week overview of the content we will cover, see the unit iLearn site.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
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Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
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The assessment has been revised from the previous offereing,
Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook