Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Tutor and Convenor
Madeline Jenkins
Contact via email
Lecturer and Convener
Malcolm Choat
Contact via email
|
---|---|
Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
|
Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is an introduction to Coptic, the final stage of the Egyptian script and language. An understanding of Coptic is necessary for advanced study of late antique and Christian Egypt, and is 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 Special Consideration must go via ask.mq.edu.au and must 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-timed 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.
The use of Generative AI and Large Language models by students to assist in their assessment is not permitted in this unit, and if detected, will result in the assessment being referred to the Department's Academic Integrity Officer.
In order to complete this unit satisfactorily students must gain a mark of 50% or more, and undertake all assessment tasks.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Assignments | 70% | No | 23:55 pm Friday 16/8/24; 6/9/24; 4/10/24; 18/10/24 |
Take Home Exam | 30% | No | 23:55 pm Friday 15/11/24 |
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 23:55 pm Friday 16/8/24; 6/9/24; 4/10/24; 18/10/24
Weighting: 70%
Four assignments which consolidate the grammar and vocabulary learned to the time when each assignment is set.
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 21 hours
Due: 23:55 pm Friday 15/11/24
Weighting: 30%
A take home exam held during the end of session Examination period brings together everything studied in the course to demonstrate an understanding of Coptic vocabulary and grammar.
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
The course consists of a one-hour lecture and a two-hour tutorial each week. The lecture, which will be prerecorded and uploaded via Echo360 on the Monday of each week, will present and discuss Coptic grammar. The tutorial will provide the opportunity to consolidate the information presented in the lecture and will comprise working through exercises from the textbook (see below) as a group. Please consult the timetable for the time and location of the tutorial.
The unit has an iLearn page which will host all the content and assessment for the unit, including the recorded lectures (via Echo360), assessment , lecture notes and other resources, and communications with the teaching staff. Internet access and a device (e.g. PC, tablet) are required, as are basic computer skills (e.g. internet browsing, word processing).
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. You will therefore need to download one of the Unicode fonts listed below, which 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.
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 purchase.
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. 2004, 3rd ed. 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.
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 Glossary provided 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 and links to Crum and other lexical resources. 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, and a 2-hour tutorial. The course material will be presented in the lecture; the tutorial will consist of exercises that will reinforce the information learned in the lecture. Listening to the lecture and attending tutorials 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.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
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
At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:
Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Since the last offerng of this unit, the assessment has been altered.
Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook