Uploaded March 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Crossroads is an introductory survey of the “classical” literatures of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, stretching from antiquity to around the 15th century. It examines critical areas of difference and similarity between the literary traditions of the three regions through the study of excerpts of sample “canonical” texts in a variety of ancient and classical languages: Akkadian, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Mandé, Yoruba and Tamil. The course is organized around three major literary genres shared by the three regions: epic and sacred texts; poetry; folktales and story genres. It also explores the way in which new literary formations and traditions arose out of the historical interchange between peoples of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. In the process, you will also be exposed to the interaction between oral and written literary forms and the different kinds of scripts, both original and improvised, that have been used over the centuries in the written traditions of the societies of these interlocking regions of the world.
To learn more visit http://amesall.rutgers.edu
Crossroads is an introductory survey of the “classical” literatures of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, stretching from antiquity to around the 15th century. It examines critical areas of difference and similarity between the literary traditions of the three regions through the study of excerpts of sample “canonical” texts in a variety of ancient and classical languages: Akkadian, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Mandé, Yoruba and Tamil. The course is organized around three major literary genres shared by the three regions: epic and sacred texts; poetry; folktales and story genres. It also explores the way in which new literary formations and traditions arose out of the historical interchange between peoples of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. In the process, you will also be exposed to the interaction between oral and written literary forms and the different kinds of scripts, both original and improvised, that have been used over the centuries in the written traditions of the societies of these interlocking regions of the world.
To learn more visit http://amesall.rutgers.edu
