Teaching
Tamil classes for the Summer Term 2024
57-430 |
SLV (B): Introduction to Classical Tamil [W] Mondays 15:00–16:30, Fridays 10:15–11:45, Nikolay Gordiychuk Tamil is one of India’s classical languages, with a history of literary production of more than two thousand years. Different varieties of Old and Middle Tamil open to the reader the worlds of ancient love and heroic poetry, Medieval Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava religious hymnography, a rich heritage of court literature, grammatical works and much more. The course deals with the basic grammar of Old and Middle Tamil and will be a good introduction to reading and interpreting original texts. It is best suited for students already familiar with Modern Tamil or at least with some basic knowledge of Tamil script, reading and writing. |
57-431 |
MA – S (B): Translations: Literary, Philological, and Other Kinds [IND 4] [W] Tuesdays 16:15–17:45, Eva Wilden This course will examine the strategies used by translators of Tamil poetry, from the Caṅkam era to the Bhakti age. Students will discuss the merits of different approaches, from prose to poetic renditions, literal representations to more impressionistic transcreations. Each class will begin with the study of a poem in Tamil, alongside the various translations that have been produced over time, mainly in English. |
57-432 |
S (B): TP Kaḷaviyal and Kaṟpiyal – the Basics of Akam Poetics [W] Thursdays 16:15–17:45, Eva Wilden In continuation from last term, this course will be a close reading of two essential chapters in the Tolkāppiyam Poruḷatikāram, namely chapter 3, the kaḷaviyal on pre-marital love, and chapter 4, the kaṟpiyal of married love. |
57-433 |
S: Puṟapporuḷ Veṇpāmālai and its commentary [W] Tuesdays 14:15–15:45, Eva Wilden In this course, students will read from the Puṟapporuḷ Veṇpāmālai, a treatise on the poetics of "external" or heroic poetry, by Aiyaṉ Āritaṉār, probably active in the 9th century CE. The course will also cover an commentary on the text by Cāmuṇṭi Tēvanāyakar. |
57-434 |
S: Readings in Tamil Traditional Śāstras (grammar, lexicography, metrics) [W] Thursdays 14:15–15:45, Jean-Luc Chevillard In this course, students will be introduced to the Tolkāppiyam, the oldest extant long work of Tamil literature. Although often described as a grammatical treatise, it also contains a section on lexicography as well as an exposition of Classical Tamil metrics. In this term, in addition to the Tolkāppiyam, part of each session will be devoted to a first exploration of Tamil traditional poetical vocabularies, nowadays often referred to as nikaṇṭu. |
Tamilex readings
Puṟanāṉūṟu, verse 361 onwards
Mondays 8:30—9:30, online, Eva Wilden
Cilappatikāram, Canto V
Mondays 11:00—12:00, online, Neela Bhaskar