Unit information: Introduction to Sanskrit 2 in 2020/21

Unit name	Introduction to Sanskrit 2
Unit code	THRS20189
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Langer
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	THRS 20188 Introduction to Sanskrit I
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Religion and Theology
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit aims to consolidate previous work on basic Sanskrit grammar by continuing with a certain amount of grammatical practice with increasing emphasis on reading. The emphasis shifts to reading longer passages while new grammar is still introduced. It is intended to continue with informal vocabulary tests/quizzes and translation exercises from Sanskrit into English and vice versa. Teaching in the first eight weeks of this unit will still be based on Ruppel, as the convenience of the provided glossary will ease the students into reading adapted extracts from Sanskrit literature. The remaining two weeks, however, will be devoted to reading chosen short passages from Sanskrit literature with the help of the standard dictionary. In addition further reading material (secondary sources) will be provided to encourage the students to actively engage with the main themes of the texts.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit students will be expected to have:

1. acquired the progressive skills of analysing grammatical forms and sentence structure;
2. gained thorough experience in translating from Sanskrit into English and vice versa;
3. demonstrated a sophisticated approach to translations and secondary literature based on Sanskrit texts;
4. developed deep understanding of an important classical language and good linguistic skills, such as handling grammar books and dictionaries as well as analytical thinking
5. gained some expertise in dealing with original Sanskrit texts (e.g. Chandogya Upanishad)

ILOs 1-5 will be tested by one class test at the end of the unit.

Teaching Information

2 x 2 hour seminar shared with equivalent units at levels 4 and 6

Assessment Information

This unit will be assessed summatively by one class test lasting 2 hours (100%), testing knowledge and understanding of the vocabulary, syntax and grammar of Sanskrit and the ability to translate short, straightforward passages from Sanskrit into English, with the help of lexical aids.

Reading and References

Ruppel, A.M. The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2017)