The doctoral program at Edinburgh University is an intensive, self-motivated research degree, in my personal experience. The program involved course work during the three-year period during which I wrote my dissertation (now published as A Reassessment of "Asherah": A Study According to the Textual Sources of the First Two Millennia B.C.E. AOAT 235. Kevelaer: Verlag Butzon & Bercker and Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1993). Since courses are taken on an "as needed"basis, transcripts are not kept for doctoral students. The proof of their effectiveness comes in the passing or failing of the thesis.
Edinburgh is one of the four ancient Scottish Universities, and it has consistently maintained the highest level of research ratings in the United Kingdom in the study of religion.
My degree was not only cross-cultural, it was interdisciplinary. My work encompassed Hebrew Bible (in the then Old Testament Department) supervised by Prof. John C. L. Gibson, Religious Studies/History of Religions, supervised by Dr. Nicolas Wyatt, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, supervised by both of my advisors.
Gibson has authored:
Wyatt has authored:
The courses which I completed were as follows:
| Ugaritic Translation | Three years. This course consisted of instruction in and translation of the Ugaritic tablets. The instructors were Wyatt and Gibson. While I took this course we translated large portions of the Baal Cycle, Kirta and Aqhat. We also translated the more obscure texts KTU 1.23 and 1.114, and some smaller mythological fragments. Edinburgh is recognized as one of the leading European universities in the field of Ugaritic Studies. |
| Hebrew Translation | Two years. This course consisted of translation and exegetical discussion of large sections of Psalms, 1 Kings, and Job. The instructors were Wyatt, Gibson, and A. Graeme Auld. |
| Northwest Semitic Epigraphy | One year. This course consisted of translation and epigraphic analysis of major Northwest Semitic inscriptions. Translated in this course were the Siloam Tunnel Inscription, the Moabite Stone, and various Phoenician inscriptions. The instructor was Gibson. |
| Akkadian Translation | One semester. This course consisted of instruction in the basics of Akkadian and beginning translation of Akkadian as found in incantations and the Code of Hammurabi. The instructor was Dr. T. Watkins of the Archaeology Department. |
| Ugaritic Religion | One semester. This course, taught by Wyatt, was an introduction to the religious thought and practice of ancient Ugarit. It involved in-depth discussion of the Ugaritic texts translated in the first course noted. |
| Egyptian Religion | One semester. This course, taught by Wyatt, was an introduction to the religious thought and practice of ancient Egypt. The influence of Egypt on the Levant was emphasized, and the symbolism of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing and iconography was explored. |
In addition to the formal courses which I took, I also researched and learned the Epigraphic South Arabian language. I began the study of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. When it became clear that this was subsidiary to my central research topic, I discontinued the study.
While at the University, I taught a seminar in the Introduction to Religion (Religion 1) for undergraduates in the Faculty of Arts, department of Religious Studies. I was supervised in this by Wyatt. This work consisted of facilitating discussion of lectures and the reading for the course. It met for one hour a week outside of class time.
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This page was last modified on 2 July 1999.