Polis Institute

Polis – The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities , is a non-profit academic institution whose goal is to promote the learning of ancient and Semitic languages. It is located in Musrara, near the Old City of Jerusalem.

History

The Institute was registered in 2011 (cfr. Non Profit Registry (in Hebrew)) and opened Modern Hebrew and Arabic courses along with Ancient Greek throughout the year. The main idea was to teach ancient languages as living ones, and to put together teachers of different languages in order to share techniques between them. They soon realized the importance of full immersion during the lessons in the language taught, with both modern and ancient languages. They counted especially on the methods for teaching Modern Hebrew in Israel and on the experience of Prof. Christophe Rico teaching Ancient Greek.

The main reason for running this activity as a non-profit organization was to foster the culture of dialogue through languages to as many people as possible. It soon became a contribution to better understanding of the different ethnic and religious groups present in Jerusalem.

In 2013, the Institute opened a Master's programme in ancient Philology, which brought together several students and scholars from the US and Europe.

In the same years, Polis has organized intensive courses in other countries, such as Italy,[1] Peru, US,[2] Spain,[3] Morocco and the Philippines.

Method

Following the example of the Humanists of the Renaissance, Polis aims at teaching ancient languages as modern ones. Modern as well as ancient languages are taught through total language immersion: the only language used in class is the one being studied. The immersion effect is reinforced by methods such as Story Telling and Total physical response, which simulate the process by which infants acquire their mother tongue. The results of these methods can be seen in the way students approach the texts: while students that were trained according to the traditional school focus on the lexical and grammatical analysis to understand texts, students of the "neo-humanist" school usually have a more intuitive, direct and contextual understanding of them.

Activities

Language Courses

The Institute offers in courses in several ancient and Modern Languages, such as Hebrew (modern and ancient), Koine Greek, Syriac, Talmudic Aramaic and Arabic (standard and Palestinian) throughout the year in Jerusalem.

In a short time, it has become an international point of reference in particular for learning Biblical Hebrew and Koine Greek,[4][5][6] and an important local institution for Modern Hebrew[7] and Spoken Arabic.[8]

Academic Programmes

In 2013, a Master's programme in Ancient philology was begun in the Institute. This program aims at providing students with linguistic training, allowing them to understand the original texts of the Bible and the Antiquity. It consists of intensive language course, as well as linguistics, paleography, history and philology.

Specialized Conferences

Each year, the Institute organizes an international conference on a topic in Humanities. These conferences bring together specialists of different aspects of the issue, with the intent to initiate a productive interdisciplinary exchange.

Urban Context

The Musrara neighbourhood, formerly a place of social and ethnic conflicts, is experiencing today a remarkable renewal: artists, intellectuals, international volunteers and workers are moving to the neighbourhood, which is becaming peaceful and multicultural. Together with other cultural institutions, such as the Art school Musrara, the School for Arabic music and the "On the Seam" Museum, Polis contributes to the rebuilding of the neighbourhood's image. The central location of the quarter, at the crossroad of several different cultures, as well as its history and its picturesqueness, make it one of the most popular for Tourism . The Institute is located near several important research centers in Humanities, such as the EBAF, the Swedish Theological Institute and the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University, as well as to important monuments of Jerusalem: the Dome of the Rock, the City Hall and the Holy Sepulchre.

Notes

  1. ↑ Corsi stivi alla usc
  2. ↑ Hebrew and Latin Intensive Course
  3. ↑ Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
  4. ↑ Summer Classic Courses
  5. ↑ Places to study abroad
  6. ↑ Forum Greek
  7. ↑ Ulpans in Jerusalem
  8. ↑ Social Page Analysis

External links

Coordinates: 31°46′59″N 35°13′36″E / 31.7831°N 35.2266°E / 31.7831; 35.2266

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