About the Center for Mediterranean Civilization

Mediterranean Studies Program at Tel Aviv University



Academic Year 2000-2001

The Center for Mediterranean Civilizations Project is advising the General BA department
in its Mediterranean Studies program.
It has designed and specifically finances the following courses:

  1. "Medieval Commerce and European Activity in the Mediterranean Basin" - Dr. N. Zeldes
  2. "Society and Family: Jewish Communities in the Mediterranean after the Expulsion from Spain" - Dr. R. Lamdan
  3. The Mediterranean Sea: The Three Major Ideas- Dr. Sh. Sela


In addition, it advises on the following courses taught in the Mediterranean Studies Program:
  1. Sciences & Cultural Contracts: The Model of Medieval Spain - Dr. Sh. Sela
  2. Jewish Communities in the Mediterranean Basin after the Spanish Deportation - Dr. R. Lamdan
  3. The Spanish Inquisition in the Iberian Peninsula & The New World - Prof. M. Orfali
  4. Christianity from its Inception to the reformation: Religion and Society in the Middle Ages - Prof. Z. Razi
  5. The Fortress of Faith at the End of the West: Medieval Spain - Prof. A. Ginio
  6. History and Historical Thought in the Classical World - Prof. I. Malkin
  7. The Italian Renaissance: The Growth of a Secular Culture - Prof. B. Arbel
  8. The Roman Empire: Crises and Transformation - Prof. Z. Rubin
  9. Introduction to the Middle East in Modern Times - Dr. M. Litback
  10. Geography of the Middle East - Prof. G. Biger
  11. Algeria under French Colonialism - Dr. T. Shoval
  12. The People of Israel under Roman Domination - Prof. A. Kasher
  13. Religion and Mythology in the Greek and Roman World - Prof. M. Fisher
  14. Classical Greece and it's Heritage - Dr. R. Zelnik-Abramivich
  15. Family in the Greek and Roman World - Mrs. Y. Peleg
  16. Bible and Politics - Prof. Y. Hoffman & Mrs. A. Asherman
  17. The First Spharadim Poets - Dr. T. Be'eri
  18. Hebrew Poetry in the East after the Spanish Deportation - Dr. T. Be'eri
  19. Intercultural relations: The Hebrew Poetry and its relation to the Medieval Arabic Literature - Mrs. H. Shai
  20. Introduction to Greek Philosophy - Dr. A. Finkelberg
  21. Introduction to the History of Ancient East: Religion and Mythology - Prof. I. Zinger & Mr. Sh. Dibon
  22. History and Archeology: Methodological Introduction - Prof. I. Zinger
  23. From the Labyrinth to the Trojan War: The Pre-Classical Greek Culture - Dr. Sh. Bonimovich


Mediterranean Languages:

Modern Greek
One express purpose of the Center for Mediterranean Civilizations Project is to develop and enhance the study of Mediterranean languages at Tel Aviv University. This year we have started to teach modern Greek. Ms. Etti Ahkaluni, originally from Thessaloniki, is an expert teacher who now has a class of fifteen students. This is the only place Modern Greek is taught in Israel in an academic context. In the second, forthcoming academic year, we have increased Etti Ashkaluni's teaching load to include a second-year class.

Ladino:
Next year we hope to begin teaching Ladino, the quintessential Mediterranean Jewish language. Professor Alisa Ginio of our advisory Faculty board, is in charge of finding the suitable teacher and developing this course. The Center for Mediterranean Civilizations finances the following courses within
the general curriculum of the Mediterranean Studies Program at Tel Aviv University:

Academic Year 1999-2000

Medieval Commerce and Economic Activity in the Mediterranean Basin
Lecturer: Dr. Nadia Zeldes

The course's goal is to serve as an exposition to the question of "Mediterranean Unity" from the viewpoint of Medieval Mediterranean commerce, by presenting the important academic approaces to the subject.
"Our Sea" (Mare Nostrum), Mediterranean unity – an historical fact or an illusion? We will try to elucidate this question by discussing the role of commerce in constructing cultural links between different Mediterranean communities. We will focus on political and economic forces, the routes of Mediterranean commerce, by examining the basic research approaches to the region's economic history: Pirenne, Braudel, Hyde, and Goitein. We will present the world of Christian commerce as it appears in the research of Lopez, Abulafia, Ashtor, Jacoby and others. We will also discuss the Jewish angle through reading documents from the Cairo Geniza, the literature of questions and answers, and legal contracts.

Society and Family: Jewish Communities in the Mediterranean After the Expulsion from Spain
Lecturer: Dr. Ruth Lamdan

Following the expulsion from Spain and other events, the 16th century was typified by intense dempgraphic and social changes in Jewish communities in the Mediterranean. The movement between the Christian and Islamic worlds created new relationships between the communities and the powers that be, and a new mixture of cultural, social and economic customs.
The course will focus on the social implications of these encounters, especially on the Jewish family and the role of women in this dynamic environment. We will examine the influence on the Jewish-Spanish diaspora, that left its marks on Jewish culture, and also the development of the communities in Italy, North-Africa, and the Ottoman empire (Greece, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt).

Intercultural Contacts: Science in Medieval Spain
Lecturer: Dr. Shlomo Sela

The course will be based on two basic theses:
  1. The Medieval period did not give birth to any scientific revolutions, because it whole-heartedly adopted the Classical Greek view of the world. On the other hand, throughout the Middle Ages occurred several "cultural revolutions" where Medieval society, when faced with a new scientific approach that was developed in another culture, managed to incorporate it and make it its own.
  2. Within the context of these "cultural revolutions" the most important is the Spanish model. In fact, it is impossible to understand the Copernican revolution without taking into account the scientific developments of Muslim Spain. The process took place in Andalusia and consisted of transferring the science of the ancient Greeks to the society of Latin Christianity via Jewish, Muslim, and Christian scholars.
The Three Grand Theses of the Mediterranean
Lecturer: Dr. Shlomo Sela

The course will examine the three main Mediterranean theses that reassessed the role of the Mediterranean in history. The course will present Henri Pirenne's Mediterranean thesis, who presented a revolutionary view of the role of the Mediterranean between Christianity and Islam, between Antiquity and Medievalism. We will also discuss Shlomo Dov Goitein's research of "Jewish Mediterranean Society" and its role. Finally, we will discuss the work of Fernand Braudel, founder of the French "Annales" school, who created new ways of thinking about historical time and space in general, and especially in the Mediterranean context.

Port Cities in the Modern Mediterranean: Society and Culture
Lecturer: Michalis Firillas

This course will explore various aspects of port cities in the eastern Mediterranean during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The approach will predominantly concentrate on the social history of these urban centers, however cultural, economic, and political developments will also be emphasized. One of the main questions which the course will explore is the effect of modernization and European penetration on the development of eastern Mediterranean port cities. The mixture of tradition and modernity, in terms of socio-economic, technological, and cultural developments, will be examined through portraits of individuals, men and women, and of phenmena such as musical styles, entertainment, crime, vocations, etc. It is hoped that by the end of the course conclusions may be reached on the role of port cities as crossroads of cultural and economic developments and as centers of cosmopolitan and polyethnic life.

Academic year 1998-1999:

The Mediterranean World and the Birth of Western Civilization
Lecturer: Prof. Ze'ev Rubin

This course deals with the role the Mediterranean basin and its civilizations played in the development of Western civilization. The role of the Roman Empire as a Mediterranean empire will be emphasized. The consciousness of the Roman people to the role of the Mediterranean sea (mare nostrum) in the development of their culture will be closely examined. Special emphasize will be put on the role of the Mediterranean sea in the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman empire, and on the role of Christianity in Mediterranean culture after the fall of the Western Roman empire. A central part of the course will be dedicated, in view of recent research, to examining Henri Pirenne's famous thesis regarding the break in Mediterranean continuity and coherence that was caused by the spread of Islam in Western Europe during late Antiquity and early Middle Ages. The course will also try to assess the importance of the ceaseless activity of Jewish merchants throughout the area, and its implications on Pirenne's thesis, by a close reading of documents from the Cairo Geniza. The course will examine the link between the existence of the Byzantine empire and the attempts to build a universal political entity in Western Europe, and the conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the secular empire known as Imperium Romanum in this context, emphasizing the Mediterranean elements of both entities. The course will also deal with the Crusades, and especially with the role of the Italian communes as both bridging over the Mediterranean basin and undermining the power of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The final meetings will attempt to asses the role of Islam in Western Europe, especially in Spain and Sicily, as a cultural bridge between the heritage of the Classical world and Western Europe's Latin Christianity, as well as the impact of the decline of the Byzantine empire on the transmission of the Greek Classical and Hellenistic culture to Western Europe.

Medieval Commerce and Economic Activity in the Mediterranean Basin
Lecturer: Dr. Nadia Zeldes

The course's goal is to serve as an exposition to the question of "Mediterranean Unity" from the viewpoint of Medieval Mediterranean commerce, by presenting the important academic approaces to the subject.
"Our Sea" (Mare Nostrum), Mediterranean unity – an historical fact or an illusion? We will try to elucidate this question by discussing the role of commerce in constructing cultural links between different Mediterranean communities. We will focus on political and economic forces, the routes of Mediterranean commerce, by examining the basic research approaches to the region's economic history: Pirenne, Braudel, Hyde, and Goitein. We will present the world of Christian commerce as it appears in the research of Lopez, Abulafia, Ashtor, Jacoby and others. We will also discuss the Jewish angle through reading documents from the Cairo Geniza, the literature of questions and answers, and legal contracts.



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