Carole Roche-Hawley

Announcing ELASU, a new school for studying ancient languages in Paris

The team of ELASU (École des langues anciennes de Sorbonne Université) is pleased to announce the inauguration of several new classes in ancient languages at Sorbonne Université.

For the last few generations, Paris students wishing to acquire basic training in the languages and cultures of the ancient Near East were wont to do so at the “École des langues et civilisations de l’Orient ancien” (or “ELCOA” for short), long housed at the Institut catholique de Paris. Thankfully, classes at ELCOA will continue next year (in biblical studies, for example, where ELCOA’s offer has long been strong), but owing to budget restrictions those language classes which have fewer than five enrolled students will unfortunately no longer be offered. This situation naturally affected many of the languages needed for serious training in Near Eastern studies, since for some such languages it is quite rare to find classes with more than five students.

For this reason, in September 2020 many of the ELCOA instructors will be migrating “across town” to an initiative to be offered by Sorbonne Université that has been set up in an attempt to fill this lacuna in available language instruction in Near Eastern studies. This newly created school, the “École des langues anciennes de Sorbonne Université” (or “ELASU” for short), will open its doors this coming fall, offering introductory, intermediate and advanced levels of language instruction (on a rotating basis). In addition to the “classical” curriculum long offered at the Sorbonne, the following classes will be opening this coming September (presented here in alphabetical order).

Akkadian (Carole Roche-Hawley), Aramaic (Robert Hawley), Coptic (Anne Boudhors), Old Kingdom Egyptian (Elsa Oréal), Elamite (Wouter Henkelman), Classical Ethiopic (Gəʿəz) (Marie-Laure Derat), Hittite and Luwian (Alice Mouton), Meroitic (Claude Rilly), epigraphic North Arabian (Alessia Prioletta), Ugaritic (Robert Hawley), Phoenician and Punic (Françoise Briquel Chatonnet), Comparative Semitic (Alessia Prioletta), epigraphic South Arabian (Iwona Gajda), Sumerian (Camille Lecompte), and Syriac (Émilie Villey).

The instructors (indicated in parentheses above) are all either professorial level educators or CNRS researchers with specialized competence in their field. These introductory language classes will thus prepare students for advanced level specialized seminars (including those directed by many of the same teachers), such as those offered at Sorbonne Université, at the EPHE, or elsewhere. 

The school’s brochure can be downloaded here:
https://www.orient-mediterranee.com/spip.php?article4445

and the program, here:
https://mycore.core-cloud.net/index.php/s/RGq3Jv3bD0kN2iQ

Since some of the languages concerned here are not otherwise currently taught in France, and in order to encourage the free circulation of students amongst the various institutions of higher learning in the area (an age old practice among the Paris universities), conventions have been established (or are in the process of being established) which will allow students already enrolled in programs at ELCOA, at the EPHE, at INALCO and at the other Paris universities (such as Paris I, where the programs in Akkadian and Near Eastern archeology are strong) to enroll free of charge in language classes at ELASU.

For further information or to inquire about enrollment, please contact one of the program coordinators: Alessandro Garcea (alessandro.garcea@sorbonne-universite.fr) or Carole Roche-Hawley (carole.roche-hawley@cnrs.fr).


See you in September!