Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Victor Ghica
Contact via victor.ghica@mq.edu.au
W6A 524
on request
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
AHIS368 or admission to MA or PGDipArts or PGCertArts
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
In this unit students build on their knowledge of the classical Sahidic dialect by studying the other main Coptic dialects. The dialects to be studied include Bohairic (the dialect of the Coptic church after 1000 CE), Lycopolitan, Akhmimic and Fayyumic, as well as further advanced study of the Sahidic dialect. These are important literary dialects in which many texts central to Coptic literature and the culture of Late Antique Egypt are preserved.
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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:
Name | Weighting | Due |
---|---|---|
Translation assignment 1 | 30% | Weeks 6 |
Grammar Test | 20% | Week 9 |
Vocabulary Test | 20% | Week 11 |
Translation assignment 2 | 30% | Week 12 |
Due: Weeks 6
Weighting: 30%
The purpose of this assessment task is to develop translation technique, analytical skills, and independent thinking. You will be requested to translate a text from Bohairic into Sahidic.
The criteria against which this task will be assessed are accuracy and completeness of the translation, both at morphosyntactic and lexical level.
Due: Week 9
Weighting: 20%
The grammar test will cover all grammar matters presented in Thomas O. Lambdin, Introduction to Sahidic Coptic, Macon 1983, 2nd edition 1992 and the dialectal characteristics of every single dialect studied prior to the test.
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 20%
The vocabulary test will consist in about 20 words in Bohairic, Fayumic, Akhmimic and Lycopolitan. A list of frequent words in these dialects will be provided.
The criteria against which this task will be assessed are accuracy and completeness of the information you present.
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 30%
The purpose of this assessment task is to develop translation technique, analytical skills, and independent thinking. You will be requested to translate a text from Lycopolitan into Sahidic.
The criteria against which this task will be assessed are accuracy and completeness of the translation, both at morphosyntactic and lexical level.
AHPG898 will be delivered both face-to-face and online to distance students. For current updates, lecture times and classrooms please consult the MQ Timetables website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au.
Assessment tasks are compulsory and must be submitted on time. As a general rule, extensions will not be granted without a valid and documented reason (e.g. medical certificate), presented to the convener prior to the submission deadline. Late submissions will be penalised by 2% for each day (including weekends) the assignment task is late. No assignments will be accepted after assignments have been corrected and feedback has been provided.
The unit materials consist of four parts:
· Coursenotes
· Audio Recordings
· Website
· E-reserve
There is no English language textbook available to introduce students to Coptic dialectology. Students with a reasonable command of German are encouraged to look at: Walter C. Till, Koptische Dialektgrammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterbuch, 2nd ed. Munich 1961. For a comprehensive bibliography see below.
However, knowledge of a foreign language other than Sahidic Coptic is not indispensable to follow the course (although some juggling with dictionaries will be required). The unit website (see below) will make written coursenotes and articles on the individual dialects available. For a review of Sahidic Coptic see the textbook for Coptic I and II: Thomas O. Lambdin, Introduction to Sahidic Coptic, Macon 1983, 2nd edition 1992.
A very good investment for AHPG898 (Coptic Dialects) and AHPG899 (Advanced Coptic) is a Coptic dictionary. There is a reprint of Walter E. Crum, Coptic Dictionary, Oxford 1939 available (see http://www.wipfandstock.com). If you want to have a preview of the dictionary, I have seen a digitised version of the paper Crum at http://www.metalog.org/files/crum.html; there is another version online at http://www.tabs-online.com/TABS/Crum/. An electronic version on CD is advertised at http://bible.zoxt.net/catalog.htm for 10 USD and another is foreshadowed at http://www.logos.com/products/prepub/details/2529. The prices (at around 100 USD) for the reprint and the Logos CD are similar. Crum only contains words of Egyptian origin. It needs to be supplemented by a Greek lexicon for the words of Greek origin. The most comprehensive is H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon. New (Ninth) Edition Completed 1940, with a Supplement 1968, Oxford, Oxford University Press 1976 (available online at the Perseus Project http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057).
There will also be audio recordings available to both internal and distance students. The recordings will give you access to the full three hours of face-to-face teaching every week. The recordings will be available on the unit’s website (see the next section) both for listening directly on your computer and for download. The recordings will also be sent out to distance students by the Centre for Open Education as an Audio CD.
The website (see the next section) will be
· A privileged means of communication both for the students and the lecturer and among the students themselves. This is especially important for distance students.
· A way to provide information and materials, including the audio recordings, to students quickly and accessibly.
· The tool for the submission and retrieval of assignments.
The electronic materials for this unit placed on e-reserve (readings) can be accessed directly from the reserve page of Macquarie University Library at:
http://www.lib.mq.edu.au/reserve/
Just enter the unit code (AHPG898).
· Accessing the website
· Contents of the website
· Technical Help
o Macquarie University Library
o Centre for Open Education
The iLearn website can be accessed at:
https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ
· Login directly to the units accessible to you.
For an online guide to using the website, see: http://help.ilearn.mq.edu.au/
Some of the tools provided on the website are:
· A discussion tool ("Forums"), where all students enrolled in this unit can post questions to the group and participate in the compulsory online tutorial discussions. The convener will check the discussion tool at least twice a week to post new materials, follow the threads of the discussion etc. Please remember to post questions as soon as they occur to you – do not put them all off until the last week before the essay is due!
· An e-mail tool ("Dialogues") which will be used for one-to-one communication between students and lecturers. Please e-mail your questions via this mail tool rather than sending it to my usual office e-mail. This will make it easier to keep track of the mail which belongs to this particular unit only.
· The "Echo Recordings" tool from which you can listen to or download the audio recordings of the face-to-face teaching.
· This study guide will also be provided on the website.
· An assignments tool where you can submit your essay electronically.
Technical help is provided by the following institutions:
· Macquarie University Library
· IT HelpComputers
· Centre for Open Education
Macquarie University Library
The website of the Macquarie University Library (http://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/library/) offers a wealth of information for all students and not only on the holdings of the library. Under the section “On Campus” > “Research” you will find “LibGuides - help to research your subject”, under the sections “LibGuides - help to research your subject” and “Referencing” you will find suggestions how to go about researching, evaluating, and presenting the information for your assignment. These suggestions are tailored to the needs of the various fields, so choose “Ancient History” from the list of subject areas (http://libguides.mq.edu.au/home). Students also have access to a vast selection of electronic journals and databases which the university subscribes to. Please see below for instructions how to access these sources for your research.
IT HelpComputers
· IT Help provides information technology support and information and helps, among others, with general computer issues, access to unit pages and online material, and remote access to Library databases.
Contact:
IT Help Desk Level 1, University Library
Phone: +61 2 9850 HELP (4357)
Freecall: 1800 063 191 (within Australia)
Internet Chat: ICQ#: 32801246
Face to Face: IT Help Desk
E-mail:Just Ask form http://www.libanswers.mq.edu.au/
24x7 Follow the Sun Helpdesk email: ithelp@mq.edu.au
Remote Access to Databases and Journals
· To access databases and e-resources directly from an off-campus location, please go to the university library homepage (http://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/library/).
Distance education students may find help also through:
Library Distance Education Service
· Macquarie University Library provides numerous services for distance students, including online access to the Library’s Web catalogue and databases, reference assistance, IT help, online IT training, reciprocal borrowing and letters of introduction to other libraries.
Contact:
Library Distance Education Service
http://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/library/borrowing/distance_education_students/
Macquarie University Library
NSW 2109
Australia
E-mail: lib.libed@mq.edu.au
Phone: +61 2 9850 7558
Fax: +61 2 9850 7504
Free Phone (within Australia): 1 800 632 743
The Library also provides Delivery Services to Distance Education students living outside the Sydney metropolitan area (this includes Macquarie University students residing overseas.) Please note that books and some other media will not be posted to addresses outside Australia.
Centre for Open Education
http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/centre_for_open_education/
Macquarie University
NSW 2109
Australia
E-mail: coe@mq.edu.au
Phone: +61 2 9850 7470
Fax: +61 2 9850 7480
The Centre for Open Education is the primary point of contact between distance students and the University. It organizes and distributes the various forms of teaching materials, the electronic registration of the receipt and return of distance education assignments. Guidance for students is provided through the Distance Education Student Handbook distributed to all students enrolled in distance education.
External students enrolled in this unit will receive this study guide and the audio registrations on CD through the COE (in addition to having the possibility to listen to the registrations on the web and download them). However, you will be submitting your assignments directly to your lecturers using the assignments tool on the unit website.
Topics
Introduction to Coptic dialectology
Reading
C. Peust, Egyptian Phonology, Göttingen 1999, pp. 33-39 and 65-67.
Topic
SahidicWeek 2: Overview of Sahidic grammar, discussion of special problems and reading from the Gospel of John ch. 11
Week 3: Sahidic reading from the Martyrdom of St Isidorus
Texts from the readings in Walter Till, Achmimisch-Koptische Grammatik, Leipzig 1928 (Gospel of John) and Henri Munier, “Les actes du martyre de Saint Isidore”, BIFAO 14 (1918) 97-190 will be provided.
The Martyrdom of St Isidorus of Antioch, whose relics are preserved on the Greek island of Chios, is one of the martyrdoms which, although concerning a non-Egyptian saint, seem to have been written in Egypt. The entire text is preserved in a manuscript from the year 893 originally from the monastery of the archangel Michael in Hamuli, Fayum (today in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York). The Coptic martyrdom, which shows similarites to the martyrdom of St George, has little relation to a Greek martyrdom of the same saint. The plot is determined by the initial vision, in which the archangel Michael prophesies a fivefold death and resurrection to the saint.
Grammar test 1 (Sahidic grammar) (Aug 15)See the assignments tool on the unit website.
Topic
Bohairic
Week 4: Introduction to Bohairic and reading from the Panegyric of St John the Baptist
Week 5: Reading from the Martyrdom of Lakaron
Texts from the readings in H. de Vis, Homélies coptes de la Vaticane, vol. I, Cahiers de la Bibliothèque copte 5, Leuven-Paris, 1990, 12-17 and from I. Balestri and H. Hyvernat, Acta Martyrum vol. I, Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium Scriptores Coptici I, Leipzig 1907, 1-23 (Martyrdom of Lacaron) will be provided.
The Bohairic version of the Panegyric on St John the Baptist is preserved in the Cod. Vat. Copte 62. The text belongs to the category of homilies and contains a narrative of the martyrdom of St John the Baptist.
The Martyrdom of Apa Lakaron contains a very colourful collection of miracles which has caused a sceptical age to name it “one of the worst specimens of its kind”. It contains eight miraculous rescues partly modelled on the martyrdom of St George.
Homework
Learn Bohairic vocabulary (part 1)
A list of frequent Bohairic words will be provided for learning.
Vocabulary test 1 (Bohairic vocabulary) (Aug 29)
See the assignments tool on the unit website.
Topic
Fayumic
Week 6: Introduction to Fayumic and reading from the Acts of the Apostles
Week 7: Reading from the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles
Texts from the readings contained in Walter Till, Koptische Chrestomathie für den fayumischen Dialekt, mit grammatischer Skizze und Anmerkungen, Vienna 1930 will be provided.
The apocryphal Acts of Philipp and Peter and Andrew and Matthew (in the city of the cannibals) respectively do not belong to an early set of five apocryphal acts, among which those of Paul and Thecla (see below week 10), but to a later stage (4th/5th cent.) which sees a multiplication of acts to give each member of the collegium of the apostles their own hagiographical dossier. Characteristic for these later acts is the local colour of the legends.
Homework
Learn Bohairic vocabulary (part 2)
A list of frequent Bohairic words will be provided for learning.
Assignment 1 (due Sep 12)See the assignments tool on the unit website.
Topic
Akhmimic
Week 8: Introduction to Akhmimic and reading from Exodus
Week 9: Reading from the Apocalypse of Elijah
Texts from the readings provided in Walter Till, Achmimisch-Koptische Grammatik, Leipzig 1928 (Exodus) and from Georg Steindorff, Die Apokalypse des Elias, eine unbekannte Apokalypse und Bruchstücke der Sophonias-Apokalypse. Texte und Untersuchungen 17, Leipzig 1899 (Apocalypse of Elijah) will be provided. For the Apocalypse of Elijah see also David Frankfurter, Elijah in Upper Egypt: The Apocalypse of Elijah and Early Egyptian Christianity. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress 1993.
The Apocalypse of Elijah is a text preserved in various manuscripts, among which a complete Akhmimic version. It has been described as a 3rd century Christian reworking of a text created in Jewish milieus of the 1st/2nd centuries, incorporating ancient Egyptian apocalyptic material. It describes a situation of war and lawlessness in Egypt, and the appearance of the Antichrist. In a final battle, in which the Antichrist is opposed only by Elijah and a few others among the just, he is slain, and Christ comes to create a new heaven and a new earth over which to reign together with the just.
Homework
Learn Fayumic and Akhmimic vocabular
A list of frequent words will be provided for learning.
Grammar test 2 (Bohairic, Fayumic and Akhmimic grammar) (Oct 10)See the assignments tool on the unit website.
Topic
Lycopolitan
Week 10: Introduction to Lycopolitan and reading from the Gospel of Truth
Week 11: Reading from the Kephalaia of the Teacher, ch. VII
Texts from the readings in Walter Till, Achmimisch-Koptische Grammatik, Leipzig 1928 (Acts of Paul) and from Hans Jakob Polotsky and Alexander Böhlig, Manichäische Handschriften der Staatlichen Museen Berlin: Kephalaia, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer 1940, 1966 (Kephalaia of the Teacher) will be provided.
The Lycopolitan version of the Gospel of Truth is preserved in the Nag Hammadi codex I. Fragments of a Sahidic version of the same text are included among the texts of NHC XII. The writing provides a good introduction to Valentinian Gnosticism.
The Kephalaia are a collection of lectures on doctrinal problems attributed to Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, but most probably dating to the first generation of disciples after Mani’s death in 276.
Vocabulary test 2 (Fayumic, Akhmimic and Lycopolitan vocabulary) (Oct 24)
See the assignments tool on the unit website.
Homework
Learn Lycopolitan vocabulary
A list of frequent words will be provided for learning.
Topic
Mesokemic
Week 12: Introduction to Mesokemic and reading from the Gospel of Matthew
Week 13: Readings from various dialects, conclusion and general discussion
The Mesokemic text of the Gospel of Matthew ch. 5 from Hans-Martin Schenke, Das Matthäus-Evangelium im mittelägyptischen Dialekt des Koptischen (Codex Scheide). Texte und Untersuchungen 127, Berlin 1981, will be provided.
Assignment 2 (due Nov 7)
See the assignments tool on the unit website. (This is a shorter assignment than the previous ones which accounts for the shorter time allowed for its completion).
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
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