Admission requirements
Basic knowledge of Vedic or Classical Sanskrit grammar is advised. Knowledge of Devanāgarī script is not required. The course is designed for BA and MA students of (Indo-European) Linguistics and Indology but may also appeal to students of History of Religion interested in Vedic mythology, ritualistic texts, and the development of Indian religion.
Description
The main focus of the course will be familiarising with the syntax of Vedic prose and its literary genres (saṃhitā, brāhmaṇa, āraṇyaka, upaniṣad, and sūtra prose literature). Each week the students will be asked to prepare a translation at home, which will be then discussed in class. This will give us the opportunity to further study the grammar and focus on special syntactic topics (nominal sentences, the use of demonstrative pronouns, correlation, relative clauses, particle strings, the functions of verbal tenses and moods, etc.).
The first part of each class will also be dedicated to introducing general notions about Vedic society, history, mythology, ritual, and to highlighting some important issues of Indological research.
Course objectives
Ability to read and interpret Vedic prose texts
General knowledge of Vedic society, history, mythology, ritual.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the Taalwetenschap
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
Total course load: 5 EC = 140 hours
Seminar: 26 hours
Assignments: 90 hours
Preparation exam: 24 hours
Assessment method
Written exam: translation and grammatical analysis of a selection from the texts read in class, plus short open questions on the topics treated in class.
MA students will be assigned an additional assignment (essay or presentation), the MA catalog uSis number for this course is: 5194KCI28
Resit
Students who fail the course may resit the exam and/or the aditional assignment.
Blackboard
This course is not supported by Blackboard.
Reading list
Course material will be distributed in class.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Registration Contractonderwijs
Contact
Education Administration Office Wijkplaats
Coordinator of Studies: Else van Dijk