Teacher: Maximilian Kinzler (Beginners) & Dr Ofir Haim, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Advanced)
Class Level: Beginners & Advanced (basic knowledge of Persian is recommended for the Beginners class and required for the Advanced class)
Class Schedule 2023-24: Beginners class Tuesdays from 17:00-18:00 UK Time; Advanced class Wednesdays from 18:15-19:15 UK Time (you can check time-zone comparisons on sites such as this one)
Class Length: Both 3-term classes (Michaelmas Term 2023-Trinity Term 2024) (Oxford dates of term are available on the University website)
Class Description: The classes will be dedicated to Judeo-Persian language and literature of the Jews of the Iranian world (present-day Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia). Students will be familiarized with a wide array of Judeo-Persian sources from as early as the 9th century CE onwards. By exploring these texts, we will discuss the evolution of Judeo-Persian from a diachronic and synchronic perspective, sociolinguistic aspects of Judeo-Persian and the literary and religious heritage of Persian-speaking Jewry in its wider Jewish and Islamic contexts.