Assyrian Heritage Lecture Series

The Assyrian Heritage Lecture Series was established in 2004 by Anobel Odisho to bring together scholars focusing on Neo-Assyrian art, architecture, history, and literature. He worked with the Department of Near Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley and members of the Assyrian community to start the endowed lectures series at UC Berkeley.

Every year, the department invites a world-renowned scholar for a guest lecture. The scholar gives their lecture twice: once for the campus community at UC Berkeley and again for the Assyrian American Association of San Jose. This close collaboration has led to engagement of the Assyrian community with the broader Near Eastern Studies academic community. The Assyrian community has an opportunity to learn Assyrian history from some of the world’s leading archaeologists, art historians, linguists, and scholars, and fosters the exchange of ideas between our communities.

Leadership

ANOBEL ODISHO, MD MPH
ANOBEL ODISHO, MD MPHFounder
Anobel is an Assistant Professor of Urologic Surgery at UCSF. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley he majored in Near Eastern Studies and Molecular and Cell Biology. He founded the Assyrian Heritage Lecture Series.

NIEK VELDHUIS, PHD
NIEK VELDHUIS, PHDProfessor of Assyriology, UC Berkeley
Dr. Veldhuis is a Professor in the Department who specializes in Cuneiform languages and the History, Religions, and Cultures of Ancient Mesopotamia. He leads the Digital Corpus of Cuneiform Lexical Texts.
LAURIE PEARCE, PHD
LAURIE PEARCE, PHDLecturer in Assyriology, UC Berkeley
Assyriologist in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley. Dr. Pearce teaches courses in the Akkadian language and conducts research in the social and economic history of Babylonia in the late first millennium BCE.
GIL BREGER
GIL BREGERPhD Candidate, UC Berkeley
Gil is a Ph.D. candidate in Near Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on Mesopotamian astronomy in the 1st millennium BCE, from astronomy in the Assyrian courts to the knowledge produced in Babylonian temples.

I have read cunningly written texts in obscure Sumerian and Akkadian that are difficult to interpret. I have carefully examined inscriptions on stone from before the Deluge.

Ashurbanipal

Shamash grant your wish. What your mouth has said, may your eyes see.
May he open for you the barred path, unclose the road for your footsteps, unlock the mountain for your foot.

Epic of Gilgamesh

I have read cunningly written texts in obscure Sumerian and Akkadian that are difficult to interpret. I have carefully examined inscriptions on stone from before the Deluge.

Ashurbanipal

Together, we can learn and preserve our rich cultural heritage.

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