Time for post #3! School has officially started. The campus is full of people, all the students have come, and classes have begun. Here's a quick look at how the week went, and what I think I can expect for the rest of the semester. I don't want to bore you too much with details about what specifically we learned, so this might be a little shorter of a post.
The first semester is going to be a busy one. Mondays are busiest days, we start at 10am and go all the way to 6pm with minimal breaks. The rest of the week gets progressively easier, with only one class on Thursday. I don't have classes Friday through Sunday. This semester has 6 courses: 3 seminars on daily life and culture in different times and places in the biblical and pre-biblical periods, an intro class to the history the Levant from the Late Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Period, a class on how to think and write critically in an archaeological setting, and Ancient Greek for beginner archaeologists.
Most of the classes seem really interesting, and the professors are all very engrossed in their topics. The first few classes that went over history and archaeology terms and basic stuff was mostly review for me, but a lot of the people in the program don't have that background and need the introductions. In about a month we are going to start taking field trips to different sites around the country that are related to what we are studying. Early in November we will be traveling to places near Tel Aviv like Gezer and Aphek, late bronze age sites that we are currently studying. The Ancient Greek class is focused mainly on being able to identify and translate inscriptions and other written finds, not necessarily speaking it.
The first week was also host to a large fair/carnival/thing on campus to welcome back all the students. The main courtyard and surrounding walkways were full of vendor stalls selling clothing, shoes, and food, along with booths for different clubs and organizations on campus. This happened all week, not just on one day. There was also a stage for live bands that played periodically. It was a huge welcome celebration, and was really fun to experience.
The real grind is about to begin. I am going to have a lot of reading and a lot of writing to do, and my time is going to be full. It is going to be a challenge, but I think I'm going to enjoy it!
Friday, October 23, 2015
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Orientation Week
Welcome back to my blog, everyone! This post will be dedicated to covering the weekends and the week of orientation. I know all of you are eagerly waiting to hear what I've been up to, so sit tight while I take you with me on the long week I've had. It's a long post!
The weekend after I moved into the dorm was uneventful. I went to the beach again, explored the neighborhood around the university, and got situated into my room. Nothing special. My roommates are finally all here, they moved in on different days over the last week. Some may be leaving soon to move into the studio dorms, but for now it's a full house.
Monday was the first day of orientation, where we met everyone in our individual masters program. We met the faculty and staff of the archaeology department at TAU, along with most of our professors teaching us this semester. Some were out of town so we will meet them once classes begin. There are some big names in the department. The head of the department is Oded Lipschitz, a big important scholar in biblical archaeology. Israel Finkelstein and Omer Sergi are also professors of ours, and are very well known in the field. If you ever read articles from biblical archaeology magazines or watch specials on the History Channel, you might recognize their names. After meeting all the available professors we had a little break and snack, accompanied by a toast to a successful year. We met some of the previous students that had already gone through the program and had already graduated or are working on their theses. Then we learned more about actual program, what we were going to be doing and studying, and how the next year (or several years) was going to play out.
I know a lot of people have asked me about the second year of the program, and I finally have some answers for you! The minimum grade to be invited to apply to write a thesis is an 85. Then you apply to different groups in the staff for approval to participate in the second year. While it is not a requirement for receiving the MA that you plan on doing a thesis, it is recommended for those that intend on going further in their studies and encouraged throughout the year. Different staff members will meet with us about our interests and hobbies so that we can find a good theme and topic for the thesis. If we are accepted into the thesis track we do not need to have our thesis topic chosen and written in stone at the beginning. I have also heard that some students continue their work on their thesis past the second year and into a third or fourth year. My plan remains the same, to work hard and do the best I can so that I might be accepted into the thesis track for the coming year.
After all the explanation was done we left the department and went on a tour of campus. We saw many of the important buildings and places that we would need to be successful, including the main library, the exits, and the cafeterias. That closed out the first day of orientation on Monday.
Monday night was the first social event for international students, held at a bar in south-central Tel Aviv. The event was full of students from all the different international programs, and while there was some mingling, it mostly ended up being everyone sticking around their own program colleagues. It was a fun night. We drank, talked, and got to know each other better.
Tuesday was orientation for all the international students together. It started with a placement test for those students who wanted (or were required) to take Hebrew classes, but I was not one of them so I slept in. Then we all met together in a classroom where two of the international student office staff members told us all the rules, regulations, and general information about the international program. It was very long, dry, and boring, made worse by the fact that everything they said was included in the multitude of emails they had sent to us during the previous several days. After a while we split up into groups to do "ice breakers," where we met with people from other programs and talked about different topics that moderators brought up. The ice breaker was way too short, and after like ten minutes it was time for lunch. After lunch we went back into the classroom for an academic writing workshop. I thought the first half of the day was boring, but the writing workshop seemed completely useless.It was almost entirely devoted to talking about plagiarism. I get why that is important, but it didn't have to be a two hour lecture. Anyway, that ended orientation on Tuesday.
Wednesday we had a 4 hour "introductory class" with Omer, one of the professors from the program. The class was an introduction and overview into the different important settings for the entire program, focusing on the geography, terminology, and scope our studies into archaeology and history of the land of the Bible. The class was one of a three-part 'series' of intro classes we will be having these first two weeks. One of the other professors is out of the country and won't be back until the second week, so we are having intro courses during that time slot instead. Even though almost all of the information was review for me, the class was still very entertaining, engaging and exciting. Omer is a very good professor, and I am looking forward to taking more classes with him.
Thursday morning we had a tour of the archaeology department. We saw the different offices, the archaeology library, the displays of the different dig sites, and met some multi-year students that were working in the labs on specific projects. It was very interesting to see all the different sites that the university was involved in, like Megiddo, Ramat Rachel, Tel Azeka, and Timna.
That was the end of orientation week. Friday night I went to the Chabad rabbi's apartment for Shabbat dinner, and had a great time. I met some new friends from the university, made friends with the rabbi, and had great food. Saturday I spent reading. We were assigned a multitude of articles to read for class on Monday, so that took up a lot of time. Sunday, today, the archaeology department held a tour of central Tel Aviv. It was a lot of walking around neighborhoods of Tel Aviv that I was previously familiar with, but I'm sure it was useful for the students that didn't know the city very well or had never been there before. It was a fun walk, and we ate lunch at a good falafel restaurant.
That pretty much covers everything important that's happened over the last week or so. Tomorrow morning I start classes. I have classes Monday through Thursday, so I'm not sure if it's going to be easy, with fewer class days, or very hard, with lots of work to do between classes and on off days. In my next post I'll be sure to update everyone on how classes are going, and how I think the year will progress. Have fun!
The weekend after I moved into the dorm was uneventful. I went to the beach again, explored the neighborhood around the university, and got situated into my room. Nothing special. My roommates are finally all here, they moved in on different days over the last week. Some may be leaving soon to move into the studio dorms, but for now it's a full house.
Monday was the first day of orientation, where we met everyone in our individual masters program. We met the faculty and staff of the archaeology department at TAU, along with most of our professors teaching us this semester. Some were out of town so we will meet them once classes begin. There are some big names in the department. The head of the department is Oded Lipschitz, a big important scholar in biblical archaeology. Israel Finkelstein and Omer Sergi are also professors of ours, and are very well known in the field. If you ever read articles from biblical archaeology magazines or watch specials on the History Channel, you might recognize their names. After meeting all the available professors we had a little break and snack, accompanied by a toast to a successful year. We met some of the previous students that had already gone through the program and had already graduated or are working on their theses. Then we learned more about actual program, what we were going to be doing and studying, and how the next year (or several years) was going to play out.
I know a lot of people have asked me about the second year of the program, and I finally have some answers for you! The minimum grade to be invited to apply to write a thesis is an 85. Then you apply to different groups in the staff for approval to participate in the second year. While it is not a requirement for receiving the MA that you plan on doing a thesis, it is recommended for those that intend on going further in their studies and encouraged throughout the year. Different staff members will meet with us about our interests and hobbies so that we can find a good theme and topic for the thesis. If we are accepted into the thesis track we do not need to have our thesis topic chosen and written in stone at the beginning. I have also heard that some students continue their work on their thesis past the second year and into a third or fourth year. My plan remains the same, to work hard and do the best I can so that I might be accepted into the thesis track for the coming year.
After all the explanation was done we left the department and went on a tour of campus. We saw many of the important buildings and places that we would need to be successful, including the main library, the exits, and the cafeterias. That closed out the first day of orientation on Monday.
Monday night was the first social event for international students, held at a bar in south-central Tel Aviv. The event was full of students from all the different international programs, and while there was some mingling, it mostly ended up being everyone sticking around their own program colleagues. It was a fun night. We drank, talked, and got to know each other better.
Tuesday was orientation for all the international students together. It started with a placement test for those students who wanted (or were required) to take Hebrew classes, but I was not one of them so I slept in. Then we all met together in a classroom where two of the international student office staff members told us all the rules, regulations, and general information about the international program. It was very long, dry, and boring, made worse by the fact that everything they said was included in the multitude of emails they had sent to us during the previous several days. After a while we split up into groups to do "ice breakers," where we met with people from other programs and talked about different topics that moderators brought up. The ice breaker was way too short, and after like ten minutes it was time for lunch. After lunch we went back into the classroom for an academic writing workshop. I thought the first half of the day was boring, but the writing workshop seemed completely useless.It was almost entirely devoted to talking about plagiarism. I get why that is important, but it didn't have to be a two hour lecture. Anyway, that ended orientation on Tuesday.
Wednesday we had a 4 hour "introductory class" with Omer, one of the professors from the program. The class was an introduction and overview into the different important settings for the entire program, focusing on the geography, terminology, and scope our studies into archaeology and history of the land of the Bible. The class was one of a three-part 'series' of intro classes we will be having these first two weeks. One of the other professors is out of the country and won't be back until the second week, so we are having intro courses during that time slot instead. Even though almost all of the information was review for me, the class was still very entertaining, engaging and exciting. Omer is a very good professor, and I am looking forward to taking more classes with him.
Thursday morning we had a tour of the archaeology department. We saw the different offices, the archaeology library, the displays of the different dig sites, and met some multi-year students that were working in the labs on specific projects. It was very interesting to see all the different sites that the university was involved in, like Megiddo, Ramat Rachel, Tel Azeka, and Timna.
That was the end of orientation week. Friday night I went to the Chabad rabbi's apartment for Shabbat dinner, and had a great time. I met some new friends from the university, made friends with the rabbi, and had great food. Saturday I spent reading. We were assigned a multitude of articles to read for class on Monday, so that took up a lot of time. Sunday, today, the archaeology department held a tour of central Tel Aviv. It was a lot of walking around neighborhoods of Tel Aviv that I was previously familiar with, but I'm sure it was useful for the students that didn't know the city very well or had never been there before. It was a fun walk, and we ate lunch at a good falafel restaurant.
That pretty much covers everything important that's happened over the last week or so. Tomorrow morning I start classes. I have classes Monday through Thursday, so I'm not sure if it's going to be easy, with fewer class days, or very hard, with lots of work to do between classes and on off days. In my next post I'll be sure to update everyone on how classes are going, and how I think the year will progress. Have fun!
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Pre-program Post
Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog documenting my year-long study in Israel to obtain an MA in Archaeology and History of the Land of the Bible! For those of you returning to my blog after reading about my journeys here in Israel nearly two years ago, welcome back! To all my new followers, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!
Let's get things started by answering the basic questions everyone has: What are you studying? For how long? How'd you hear about it? Is it in English? And so on.
1) What program is this, what are the details?
I am part of a 1-2 year master's program in archaeology, specifically archaeology of the Holy Land (as I mentioned in the first paragraph) at Tel Aviv University International in Israel. Now I say 1-2 years because, I'm not quite clear on the exact details, but it is a 1-year program to receive the MA, and then depending on your performance you can pay to attend a second year doing research, writing a thesis, and having it published. Again I'm not sure exactly how it works, so once I have more information I'll explain it here for you all. I know some of you may be thinking, "One year to get a master's? That's really quick!" and I agree with you. Whether I'm extremely overwhelmed with work or I'm able to manage everything and still have time to lay on the beach, we'll soon find out!
2) How did you hear about this program?
I actually heard about this program at the end of my conservation internship in Akko a year and a half ago. I was discussing my future plans with the director of the program, one of the things being furthering my studies. When I mentioned that I was interested in studying for an MA, she mentioned this program here at Tel Aviv University. During the last few weeks of my program I did more research on the MA program, and decided to apply for the upcoming year (2014-15). The application process was quick and easy, and I was accepted! However, since I applied so close to the start of the program, there was no financial aid available, and the program does have a price tag. After weighing all the options, I decided to refuse acceptance and save money and work, and then apply for the following year (2015-16). So that's what I did. I worked, saved money, reapplied, and was accepted again.
3) Is the program in Hebrew or English? Why are you starting so late in the year?
The program is entirely in English. The MA is part of Tel Aviv University's International branch, which is run entirely in English for primarily international students. All students must be able to speak English fluently. We will be studying ancient Greek, but learning Hebrew is not included in the curriculum. The school year in Israel is mostly determined by the dates of the Jewish High Holidays, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Because Israel is a religious state, and everything shuts down on holidays, there would be a lot of days off right at the beginning of the year. I'm not sure how primary and high school schedules are made, but for universities, they almost always begin after the end of Sukkot. This year Sukkot ended Monday, Oct. 5th, so school is starting the following week.
4) What is the program like? What classes are you taking?
The first semester is primarily divided into four blocks. Each block delves into a different period of ancient history in the region, starting with the Late Bronze Age (1550-1100 BCE) and ending with the Hellenistic Period. After each block we will take field trips to sites relevant to the period. Second semester continues the history lesson, looking at themes relevant to the broader region of the ancient Near East. There are also courses in archaeological method and science, as well as classes on ancient culture.
Now that I've bored you all with the technical information, I can tell you how my trip has been so far.
I arrived in Israel Sept. 30th and have spent the last week with my cousins in Beit Shemesh. On the plane I actually met one of my colleagues in my program, a girl from Toronto. We met one day along with her roommate and explored the artists market in Tel Aviv, then walked on the promenade along the beach and ate hummus for lunch. My second cousin is also starting a master's at TAU, and she spent some time with my cousins as well. On my second day here my aunt and uncle took my cousin and me to the old Turkish train station outside Jerusalem, and then we went and watched part of a parade.
This morning I moved into the dorm. After a long, traffic-filled drive from Beit Shemesh, I arrived at Einstein dormitories, and am now all unpacked and settled into my room. Here's a little bit about the room: I am in Building E of the Einstein dormitories complex, in room 55. The building has four horizontal sections, each containing a block of rooms. The first fifteen or so in section 1, fifteen more in section 2, etc. I am in the last section, on the second floor. No elevators by the way, I had to carry all my luggage up myself. Each room is actually a suite, with two rooms connected to a main kitchen and bathroom. Each individual room houses two people. As of writing this blog, no other person has moved into the suite, so I don't have any roommates yet. Also, the dorm is lacking some key things, namely trash cans, silverware and utensil, and toilet paper.
After I got unpacked, I met up with Raquel (the girl from Toronto) and her roommate and we went to the beach. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sand, then ate shawarmas for a late lunch. I came back, went shopping, took a shower, and then a nap. Now I'm writing my blog, thinking about what I want for dinner.
Orientation starts next Monday, and in my next blog I'll let you know more details! Check my Facebook for pictures, and have fun!
Let's get things started by answering the basic questions everyone has: What are you studying? For how long? How'd you hear about it? Is it in English? And so on.
1) What program is this, what are the details?
I am part of a 1-2 year master's program in archaeology, specifically archaeology of the Holy Land (as I mentioned in the first paragraph) at Tel Aviv University International in Israel. Now I say 1-2 years because, I'm not quite clear on the exact details, but it is a 1-year program to receive the MA, and then depending on your performance you can pay to attend a second year doing research, writing a thesis, and having it published. Again I'm not sure exactly how it works, so once I have more information I'll explain it here for you all. I know some of you may be thinking, "One year to get a master's? That's really quick!" and I agree with you. Whether I'm extremely overwhelmed with work or I'm able to manage everything and still have time to lay on the beach, we'll soon find out!
2) How did you hear about this program?
I actually heard about this program at the end of my conservation internship in Akko a year and a half ago. I was discussing my future plans with the director of the program, one of the things being furthering my studies. When I mentioned that I was interested in studying for an MA, she mentioned this program here at Tel Aviv University. During the last few weeks of my program I did more research on the MA program, and decided to apply for the upcoming year (2014-15). The application process was quick and easy, and I was accepted! However, since I applied so close to the start of the program, there was no financial aid available, and the program does have a price tag. After weighing all the options, I decided to refuse acceptance and save money and work, and then apply for the following year (2015-16). So that's what I did. I worked, saved money, reapplied, and was accepted again.
3) Is the program in Hebrew or English? Why are you starting so late in the year?
The program is entirely in English. The MA is part of Tel Aviv University's International branch, which is run entirely in English for primarily international students. All students must be able to speak English fluently. We will be studying ancient Greek, but learning Hebrew is not included in the curriculum. The school year in Israel is mostly determined by the dates of the Jewish High Holidays, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Because Israel is a religious state, and everything shuts down on holidays, there would be a lot of days off right at the beginning of the year. I'm not sure how primary and high school schedules are made, but for universities, they almost always begin after the end of Sukkot. This year Sukkot ended Monday, Oct. 5th, so school is starting the following week.
4) What is the program like? What classes are you taking?
The first semester is primarily divided into four blocks. Each block delves into a different period of ancient history in the region, starting with the Late Bronze Age (1550-1100 BCE) and ending with the Hellenistic Period. After each block we will take field trips to sites relevant to the period. Second semester continues the history lesson, looking at themes relevant to the broader region of the ancient Near East. There are also courses in archaeological method and science, as well as classes on ancient culture.
Now that I've bored you all with the technical information, I can tell you how my trip has been so far.
I arrived in Israel Sept. 30th and have spent the last week with my cousins in Beit Shemesh. On the plane I actually met one of my colleagues in my program, a girl from Toronto. We met one day along with her roommate and explored the artists market in Tel Aviv, then walked on the promenade along the beach and ate hummus for lunch. My second cousin is also starting a master's at TAU, and she spent some time with my cousins as well. On my second day here my aunt and uncle took my cousin and me to the old Turkish train station outside Jerusalem, and then we went and watched part of a parade.
This morning I moved into the dorm. After a long, traffic-filled drive from Beit Shemesh, I arrived at Einstein dormitories, and am now all unpacked and settled into my room. Here's a little bit about the room: I am in Building E of the Einstein dormitories complex, in room 55. The building has four horizontal sections, each containing a block of rooms. The first fifteen or so in section 1, fifteen more in section 2, etc. I am in the last section, on the second floor. No elevators by the way, I had to carry all my luggage up myself. Each room is actually a suite, with two rooms connected to a main kitchen and bathroom. Each individual room houses two people. As of writing this blog, no other person has moved into the suite, so I don't have any roommates yet. Also, the dorm is lacking some key things, namely trash cans, silverware and utensil, and toilet paper.
After I got unpacked, I met up with Raquel (the girl from Toronto) and her roommate and we went to the beach. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sand, then ate shawarmas for a late lunch. I came back, went shopping, took a shower, and then a nap. Now I'm writing my blog, thinking about what I want for dinner.
Orientation starts next Monday, and in my next blog I'll let you know more details! Check my Facebook for pictures, and have fun!
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