NMC NewsNear and Middle Eastern CivilizationsUniversity of Toronto • December 2014

in this issue • new graduates • faculty & community achievements • endowing coptic studies • student life • recent events & activities • opportunities to support research & teaching at NMC

Chair’s MessageNMC has enjoyed an eventful start to the academic year, and we are pleased to present our fall issue of NMC News highlighting the many events, research activities, and achievements of our faculty and students. We have tried to capture some of this colour and energy in our newly revamped newsletter. Our aim is to tell—and celebrate—our collective story in all of its rich texture, diversity, and brilliance, but to do so we will need your help. NMC seeks both to advance scholarship and learning, and to cultivate an active engagement with the communities that share the culture, history and languages we study. I trust you will agree that our faculty and students are engaged in a truly remarkable array of research and scholarly activity, and do so with distinction. We welcome your feedback, and support, and we hope also to hear what you are doing. I wish also to acknowledge the arrival of three new members of the NMC community. �is fall we welcomed Heather Baker, Assistant Professor of Ancient Near Eastern History, Sandra Bremner, Undergrad-uate Administrator and Assistant to the Chair, and Eugenia Tsao, Com-munications Assistant (and editor of this newsletter). We are thrilled that they have joined NMC, and I invite you to get to know them as well. I hope you enjoy the issue!

— Timothy P. Harrison, Professor and Chair

Except where noted, all photography in this issue is © University of Toronto. We thank Kenneth Jones (p. 1), Rita Leistner (pp. 2, 4), and Henry Feather (p. 4) for the use of their photos. �is publication is produced by sta� at the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. Undeliverable copies should be returned to Eugenia Tsao at 4 Bancroft Ave., 2nd �oor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1C1.

Please stay in touch! Do we have your correct name and address? To correct your personal information, simply email address.update@utoronto.ca. Help us to reduce waste. If you prefer to receive this newsletter electronically, notify our Communications O�ce at eugenia.tsao@utoronto.ca.

Our Newest Graduates �e Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations warmly congratulates Nermeen Mouftah, Arshavez Mozafari, and Golbarg Rekabtalaei for defending their doctoral dissertations this year. Dr. Mouftah’s dissertation was entitled, “Building Life: Faith, Literacy Development, and Muslim Citizenry in Revolutionary Egypt,” and was completed under the supervision of Professor Amira Mittermai-er. Pictured at right, Nermeen is currently a Lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Departments of Anthropology and Religious Studies. Photo by Rita Leistner. Dr. Mozafari’s dissertation was entitled, “An Intellectual History of Early Pahlavî Demonology, 1921-41/1299-1320 sh,” and was super-vised by Professor Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi. Also completed under the supervision of Professor Tavakoli-Targhi was Dr. Rekabtalaei’s disserta-tion, “Cinematic Modernity: Cosmopolitan Imaginaries in Twentieth Century Iran.”

“It is important for us to learn the Coptic language, if only the basics, in order to preserve our heritage, since our heritage was originally documented in Coptic. Right here in Toronto—at the University of Toronto—you have a program for Coptic Studies. �is is very important.”

— His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Church

Endowing Coptic Studiesat the University of Toronto

With roots in the Pharoanic period, Coptic Christianity was the major religion in Egypt from the fourth to the sixth centu-ries. Today, it remains the faith of a vibrant minority commu-nity in Egypt and diasporic communities worldwide. North America is home to the largest Coptic diaspora outside of Africa, and the largest concentration of Canadian Copts resides in and around Toronto, the site of the �rst Coptic Orthodox Church established on the continent. During his recent visit to St. Mark’s Cathedral in the City of Markham, Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Church endorsed NMC’s o�erings in Coptic Studies. “It is important for us to learn the Coptic language, if only the basics, in order to preserve our heritage, since our heritage was originally documented in Coptic,” he observed. “Right here in Toron-to—at the University of Toronto—you have a program for Coptic Studies,” he pointed out. “This is very important.” The Pope additionally stressed the vital need to “establish permanent teaching positions and a Chair” in Coptic Studies.

Since 2006, courses in Coptic literature, languages, culture, history, monasticism, art, and archaeology have been integral parts of our department’s curriculum, thanks to generous donations from St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church, the Coptic Churches of Southern Ontario, and private donors. Diverse aspects of Coptic culture and religion are also covered in our courses on Islamic Egypt. �ese classes complement both our internationally renowned Egyptology program and our course o�erings in Syriac Christianity. We are committed to building a �ourishing program in Coptic Studies and maintaining enduring partnerships with our benefactors. We are seeking support to create a permanent endowment that will fund regular core courses. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, a robust understanding of Egypt and its history has never been more crucial. Please help us to promote cultural dialogue within and beyond Canada’s borders. — With �les from Heather McLean, Joey Youssef, and Helene Moussa. Photo © St. Mark’s Coptic Museum.

Leading the Global

Professor Amira Mittermaier was recently elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. �is prestigious distinction recognizes Professor Mittermaier’s important contributions to research in the anthropology of Islam. Mittermaier, who is cross-appointed to NMC, the Department for the Study of Religion, and the Department of Anthropology, has received four prestigious book prizes for her �rst monograph, Dreams that Matter: Egyptian Landscapes of the Imagination (University of California Press, 2010). Her �eldwork, which illuminates how Islam is lived, embodied, and contested on the ground by going beyond the visible realm and attending to dreams, visions, the afterlife, and economies with God, was cited as ground-breaking by the RSC. �e College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists was created to gather researchers, artists, and scientists at a highly produc-tive stage of their careers into a single collegium where new advances in understanding can emerge from the interaction of diverse intellec-tual, cultural and social perspectives. �e College’s mandate is to address issues of particular concern to new scholars, artists and scien-tists for the advancement of understanding and the bene�t of society, in ways that emphasize interdiscplinarity and scholarly collaboration. — With �les from Sarah McDonald, O�ce of Research & Innovation. Photo by Henry Feather.

Professor Walid Saleh, who is cross-appointed to NMC and the Department for the Study of Religion, has received a major award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to establish a year-long multidisciplinary research initiative. Along with three colleagues—Professors Karen Rue, Ajay Rao, and Nhung Tuyet Tran—Professor Saleh has been granted $175,000 to establish the John E. Sawyer Seminar in the Comparative Study of Cultures for 2015-2016. Entitled, “Religious Materiality in the Indian Ocean World, 1300-1800,” the seminar will involve meetings of researchers at Cornell and McGill Universities, as well as eight additional meetings with guest speakers in Toronto, a dissertation workshop, and a capstone conference. Professor Saleh is also Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies. Formally inaugurated earlier this year, the Institute aims to facilitate university-wide collaborations among faculty and students specializing in Islamic studies by establishing reading groups, conferences, writing workshops, and other opportunities for intellectual cross-pollination and enrichment. Photo by Rita Leistner.

ConversationProfessor Amir Harrak’s e�orts to document centuries-old Syriac engravings were recently recounted in the Globe & Mail as part of its coverage of the current crisis in the Middle East (“�e Ancients’ Fragile Voice,” by Anqi Shen, August 26th, A6-A7). Professor Harrak’s concerns about the precarious situation in the region proved prescient in July, when Islamic State militants took control of the Catholic monastery of Mar Behnam in northern Iraq and destroyed cultural and archaeological sites of central importance to Iraq’s Eastern Christian community. Despite these catastrophic events, Professor Harrak hopes to salvage what he can of the area’s rich heritage for future generations by partnering with researchers in the area. �e Harrak Collection of Iraqi Syriac and Garshuni Inscriptions, consisting of digital and analogue photographs of inscriptions dating from the 7th to 20th century CE, is the largest of its kind in the world. Last year, the Canadian Centre for Epigraphic Documents unveiled an online database of Syriac inscriptions from the Harrak Collection, accessible at www.epigraphy.ca/catalogue. Photo © Amir Harrak.

Professor Timothy P. Harrison was honoured at this year’s meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research with the Richard J. Scheuer Medal for his “truly outstanding long-term support and service” to ASOR and the global research community. Professor Harrison is currently directing the Tayinat Archaeological Project, an international initiative that o�ers a rich array of research opportu-nities to students and provides a vivid glimpse into the innovative Iron Age cultures that emerged in the eastern Mediterranean follow-ing the collapse of the Bronze Age empires. As a crossroads between the cultures and peoples of Turkey and the Middle East, Tell Tayinat has much to teach us about sociopolitical challenges in the region, both past and present. NMC was well-represented at this year’s ASOR meeting. Our students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, and faculty presented on a wide range of topics, including Neo-Assyrian burial practices (Tracy Spurrier), bioarchaeological research in the ancient Egyptian site of Abydos (Janet Khuu), pottery decoration technology at Seh Gabi Tepe, Iran (Golnaz Hossein Mardi), Bayesian approaches to the analysis of Late Neolithic Settlements (Philip Hitchings), pre-conquest contacts between Late Chalcolithic cities (Clemens Reichel), fabric use in Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware (Aleksandra Ksiezak), pottery production in Middle to New Kingdom Egypt (Meredith Brand), new �ndings in Tell Madaba (Jonathan Ferguson) and Tell Tayinat (Brian Janeway), and the CRANE Project’s cutting-edge work on archaeological data visualization (Darren Joblonkay, Steven Edwards, Steve Batiuk, Timothy Harrison).

Celebrating Student Leadership & Achievement

�e Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations Undergraduate Students’ Union serves as a liaison between NMC students and faculty. �is year, the NMCSU has coordinated several fun and engaging events, including an “Afternoon Bazaar and Tea House,” where students sampled Middle Eastern delicacies and learned how to play backgammon and traditional card games. In associa-tion with the Women and Gender Studies Institute (WGSI), and the Adult Education and Community Development program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), we also sponsored a roundtable discussion on “Women and Revolution in the Middle East” led by �ve feminist scholars: Professor Manal Hamze (New Mexico State University), Ghadeer Malek (Pales-tinian author, activist, and educator), Dr. Sharifa Sharif (Afghani-Canadian educator and journalist), Dr. Linda Tabar (Postdoctoral Fellow at WGSI), A�ya S. Zia (PhD student at WGSI and pro-democracy activist from Pakistan), and Professor Shahrzad Mojab, who teaches the course WGS340H1: Women and Revolution in the Middle East. Students can look forward to more fun and educational events next term, including another seminar, a themed tea house, and an undergraduate symposium. In addition, we will be hosting a year-end social where students and faculty can unwind after a rigorous school year. Finally, our union publishes a journal whose scope and readership will soon be expanding internationally, as we now accept submissions from undergraduate students worldwide. We look forward to launching our eighth annual issue in March 2015. — By Sharon Mizbani, NMCSU President, with �les from Frances Maranger, fourth-year student in Women and Gender Studies and German Language Studies. Photo © Sharon Mizbani.

Our students continue to excel in their studies and gain recogni-tion for their achievements. We are delighted to announce that Laura Hare, a second-year PhD student, has received the T.J. Meek Prize in Hebrew Syntax for her paper “Muraba‘ât Papyrus 17.” Laura’s research interests include Hebrew linguistics and the issue of violence against women in the biblical text. Daniel Shin has received the E.G. Clarke Scholarship for his performance in Introductory Biblical Hebrew. Daniel is double-majoring in Classics and NMC, with a structured focus on Ancient Greek, Latin, Akkadian, and Biblical and Modern Hebrew. He hopes to use these languages to gain a richer understanding of the Bible, with an eye to becoming a pastor one day.

Emily Hotton has received the Kathleen Beatty Adamson Schol-arship for her outstanding performance in our Egyptology courses. Emily’s research interests include women in religious and political roles in the Second Intermediate Period and New Kingdom Egypt. She is currently a volunteer in the Royal Ontario Museum’s Discovery Gallery and plans to enroll in a Master’s program at NMC, with a collaboration in Women and Gender Studies, here at the University of Toronto.

Pictured from left to right : Daniel Shin, Laura Hare, Emily Hotton. Photos are courtesy and copyright of the award-winners.

For more on the wide range of activities organized by our partners at the Foundation for Iranian Studies, the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies, the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, & the Archaeology Centre, we invite you to browse our events calendar at nmc.utoronto.ca/events

Community Events & ActivitiesSyriac Studies at NMC �e Canadian Society for Syriac Studies (CSSS), in conjunction with the Department for the Study of Religion, held its 14th annual symposium on November 15th at the Jackman Humanities Building. �is year’s theme was “Hidden Treasures of the Eastern Church: Syriac Perspec-tives of Late Antiquity and Early Islam.” Nine papers were presented, spanning a wide range of subjects, including Christian Apocrypha, encounters with Greek philosophy and Islam, Christology, and Sassanian and early Islamic histories. �e symposium was audio-visually rich, informative, and enjoyable for all involved. Presenta-tions on Christian themes in the Islamic scripture, the Qur’an, including the Virgin Mary’s encounter with the Angel, and Christian-Muslim theological polemics shed light on relations between Christians and Muslims from the formative period of Islam through the late Abbasid period. More than sixty people—including academics, students, and members of the general public—attended this very success-ful symposium.

— By Professor Amir Harrak. Pictured above: a CSSS XIV seminar session. Photo courtesy and copyright of the organizers.

Ancient Egypt Alive Ancient Egypt Alive—an initiative of NMC graduate students Laura Ranieri and �omas H. Greiner—has had an exciting fall and holiday season. In addition to hosting a successful lecture with Dr. Andrew Bednarski and producing a new video series, “Conversations with Egyptologists,” AEA launched a new website (www.ancientegyptalive.com) and organized a November excursion to the Kitchener Museum’s “Unwrapping Egypt” exhibit. AEA concluded the semester with a sumptuous Pharaoh’s Feast on December 10th, which featured ROM Egyptologist Gayle Gibson in conversation with Maha Barsoom, chef and proprietor of Toronto’s newest Egyptian restaurant, Maha’s Fine Egyptian Cuisine. Tickets to this delicious and educational event sold out almost immediately.

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