Learn to read Coptic!
About this Event

Tuesdays, February 4-March 25 (8 weeks), live on Zoom and recorded

Cost: Non-members ($392), Members ($314), Docents/Volunteers/ISAC Travellers ($157), UChicago Lab Students, Faculty, and Staff ($98). Not yet a member? Become a member today and save! https://isac.uchicago.edu/Join%20and%20Give/friends-isac

Bundle with the Introduction to Coptic II and save: Non-Members $706; Members $565; Docents/Volunteers/ISAC Travellers $283; UChicago, Lab, and Charter Students, Faculty and Staff: $176.

Instructor: Foy Scalf, PhD, Head of the ISAC Research Archives and Research Associate

“These are the secret sayings …,” so begins the Coptic version of the Gospel of Thomas. To read such “secret sayings,” this two-part course will provide a complete introduction to the Sahidic dialect of Coptic, the phase of the ancient Egyptian language written with the Greek alphabet and in use from ca. 200–1100 CE. The two courses combined are equivalent to one full year in a university program. Introduction to Coptic 1 will familiarize students with the Coptic script, build a 250-word Coptic vocabulary, and develop an understanding of over a dozen grammatical constructions. Throughout the course, students will apply this knowledge to excerpts of famous Coptic texts, including the Bible, the Sayings of the Fathers, and the Nag Hammadi library. These skills will provide a solid foundation for continued study of Coptic texts and language. For a comprehensive overview of the Coptic language, students may bundle Introduction to Coptic 1 and Introduction to Coptic 2.

Textbook: Thomas O. Lambdin. Introduction to Sahidic Coptic. Macon: Mercer University Press, 1983.

Instructor: Foy Scalf is Research Associate and Head of the Research Archives at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures. He received his Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. In his published work, he has made contributions to the study of ancient Egyptian religion and sacred scripture, language and linguistics, and the cultural contexts for textual transmission. He is dedicated to bringing the ancient world to the public through continuing education, outreach, and public scholarship.