The Polis Institute

{{Short description|Non-profit academic institution based in Jerusalem, Israel}} {{Infobox university | name = Polis – The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities | native_name = פוליס – המכון ללשונות ולמדעי הרוח בירושלים (Hebrew) | native_name_lang = | image = Polis name with pi.jpg | image_upright = | image_alt = | caption = | latin_name = | other_name = پولــِس- معهد اللغات والعلوم الإنسانية – القدس (Arabic) | former_name =  | motto = | motto_lang = | mottoeng = | top_free_label =  | top_free =  | type = Language teaching institution focusing on ancient languages | established = 9 May 2011 | closed =  | founder =  | parent = | affiliation = | religious_affiliation = | academic_affiliation =  | endowment = | budget = | officer_in_charge = | chairman = | chairperson = | chancellor = | president = | vice-president = | superintendent = | vice_chancellor = | provost = | rector = | principal = | director = | dean = Christophe Rico | head_label = | head = | academic_staff = 20 | administrative_staff = 10 | students = 500 | undergrad = | postgrad = | doctoral = | alumni = | other_students =  | address = 8 HaAyin Het St. | city = Musrara | state = | province = | country = Israel | postalcode =  | coordinates = {{coord|31|46|59.2|N|35|13|35.6|E|}} | campus = Urban | language = All students are required to be fluent in English. Language courses are given in the target language. | colors = Maroon and white | athletics = | sports = | sports_nickname =  | sporting_affiliations = | mascot =  | sports_free_label =  | sports_free =  | free_label = Symbol | free = π (Greek letter pi) | website = https://www.polisjerusalem.org/ | logo = | logo_size = | logo_upright = | logo_alt = | footnotes = | embedded =  }} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} '''Polis – The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities''' is a non-profit academic institution based in Jerusalem, Israel founded in 2011<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 April 2020|title=A new Renaissance of Latin|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/a-new-renaissance-of-latin/|access-date=23 October 2020|website=Polis|language=en-US}}</ref> which focuses on the humanities through the study of Western and Eastern cultural sources.<ref>Katarzyna Ochman, "Zmierzch cywilizacji łacińskiej czy początek szóstego renesansu?"</ref><ref>Chistophe Rico, Forum: Speaking Latin as Living Language, pages 10–15, Polis Institute Press, 2017</ref><ref>Die Tagespost, Die Quellen des Abendlandes freilegen, 16 June 2012</ref>

The institute was founded by a team of seven scholars from different scientific backgrounds, religions, and countries, including Israel<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 October 2020|title=History of Polis Institute 2011|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/about/#Our%20History/|access-date=7 May 2025|website=Polis|language=en-US}}</ref> and is located in Musrara, near the Old City of Jerusalem. Students come from more than thirty countries from six continents.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|title=Polis Community|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/students/polis-community/|access-date=3 November 2020|website=Polis|language=en-US}}</ref>

==History== thumb|Street-view placard of Polis bearing the official name of the Institute in English, Hebrew, and Arabic

Polis and its faculty have organized intensive language courses and as well as shorter seminars and talks in Italy,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Master & Summer courses {{!}} Pontificia Università della Santa Croce|url=https://en.pusc.it/centri/dipartimento-di-lingue/home/corsiestivi|access-date=17 November 2020|website=en.pusc.it}}</ref> Peru,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Jeltzz|date=11 August 2014|title=Compliant Subversity: Interviews with Communicative Greek Teachers (3): Christophe Rico|url=http://jeltzz.blogspot.com/2014/08/interviews-with-communicative-greek.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108102228/http://jeltzz.blogspot.com/2014/08/interviews-with-communicative-greek.html|archive-date=2020-11-08|access-date=16 November 2025|website=Compliant Subversity}}</ref> Argentina,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Academia.edu|last1=Rico|first1=Christophe|last2=Casa|first2=Romina Della|title="Language, Writing and Alphabet: an Interview with Christophe Rico"|url=https://www.academia.edu/620306|language=en}}</ref> the United States,<ref>[http://www.avemaria.edu/Portals/0/GMC/blog/classics/Polis-Institute-Courses-at-AMU.pdf Hebrew and Latin Intensive Course] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002095925/http://www.avemaria.edu/Portals/0/GMC/blog/classics/Polis-Institute-Courses-at-AMU.pdf |date=2 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Rogelio Toledo-Martin, περὶ τῆς γλώττης τῶν τελείων ψυχῶν τοῦ σώματος ἠλευθερωμένων – LLiNYC 2019 – YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh0rgjUh8HU&ab_channel=PaideiaMedia|access-date=17 November 2020|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref> Spain,<ref>{{Cite web|title=News|url=http://www.uic.es/en/news/uic-and-polis-institute-promote-study-classic-languages|access-date=17 November 2020|website=UIC Barcelona|language=en}}</ref> Morocco,<ref name=":2"/> Finland,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Blog|url=https://blogs.helsinki.fi/reasonandreligiousrecognition/category/general/page/2/|access-date=27 October 2020|website=Reason and Religious Recognition|language=en-US}}</ref> Sweden,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Polis Method: Speaking Ancient Greek as a Living Language – Romanska och klassiska institutionen|url=https://www.su.se/romklass/om-oss/evenemang/registrera-evenemang/the-polis-method-speaking-ancient-greek-as-a-living-language-1.300236|access-date=3 November 2020|website=www.su.se}}</ref> and the Philippines.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CRC Research Catalog SY 2013–14 Version 7 Sept 5 2014 {{!}} Manila {{!}} Philippines|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/239378637/CRC-Research-Catalog-SY-2013-14-Version-7-Sept-5-2014|access-date=26 October 2020|website=Scribd|language=en}}</ref>

==The Polis Method==

=== Theoretical Principles === The 'Polis Method' encompasses a variety of approaches and techniques for teaching modern languages applied to ancient languages.<ref>{{Cite journal| journal=Academia.edu|last=Rico|first=Christophe|title=The Polis Method|url=https://www.academia.edu/18712650|language=en}}</ref>

==== Dynamic language development ==== Polis believes that grammatical structures must be learned according to their natural order of acquisition. It thus recognizes not only the student's continuous progression in language acquisition based on the four basic language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, but also the modes of discourse or literary genres – dialogue › narration › argumentation › poetry – involved in this progressive language acquisition.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Taking these principles into account, Polis puts together and adapts a wide range of approaches and teaching techniques that have been developed since the 70s in the States and Canada.<ref>Nauka jezyka starogreckiego w sposob czynny – metoda POLIS (Michal Kabat), pages 134–136, Nowy Filomata XIX 2015(1)</ref>

=== Practical Techniques ===

thumb|Classroom in Polis

==== Living Sequential Expression (LSE) ==== In the Polis LSE approach, students are presented with a series of sentences that express "sequences of logically connected actions" and they eventually understand the meaning of the sentences "by performing and then reporting on" the actions referred to.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Polis Method "Polis|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/about/the-polis-method/|access-date=23 October 2020|website=Polis|language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Other activities and techniques ==== Activities that require the use of language as one of its chief components can help a great deal in creating a more natural immersive experience. With this principle in mind, Polis encourages students to attend extra-class activities such as the full immersion lunches, where students and teachers dine together while speaking exclusively in the target language.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ancient Greek|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/language/ancient-greek/|access-date=27 October 2020|website=Polis|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Academic programs ==

=== Third-party Master of Arts (MA) degrees === ==== Master of Arts in Ancient Philology ==== The Ancient Philology MA is dedicated to the study of both Ancient Greek and Biblical Hebrew. The MA degree in Ancient Philology is granted by either the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome or the International University of Catalonia in Barcelona.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=MA in Ancient Philology|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/program/ma-in-ancient-philology/|access-date=9 November 2020|website=Polis|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Polis Institute|date=2020|title=Polis – the Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities Academic Programs 2020/21|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/wp-content/uploads/Brochure-spread-web.pdf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref>

==== Master of Arts in Near Eastern Languages ==== The MA degree in Near Eastern Languages is granted by the University of Navarra in Pamplona.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=MA in Near Eastern Languages|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/program/ma-in-near-eastern-languages/|access-date=9 November 2020|website=Polis|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== Certificate programs === thumb|Students of Historical Geography in the underground network of the Herodian fortress developed by the Jewish rebels during the Revolt of Bar Kochba (130–135 AD).|link=Special:FilePath/Underground_network_of_the_Herodian_fortress.jpg

==== Certificates in language fluency ==== Polis offers MA-level certificate programs in language fluency in Ancient Greek and Arabic.<ref name=":0" />

=== Other programs === ==== Summer programs and international programs ==== In the summer, Polis offers several intensive language courses, both in Jerusalem and abroad. Courses in Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Latin, Modern Standard Arabic and Methods in Teaching Ancient Languages have been held in Rome, Italy and the US<ref name=":0" /> Venues have included the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Master & Summer courses {{!}} Pontificia Università della Santa Croce|url=https://en.pusc.it/centri/dipartimento-di-lingue/home/corsiestivi|access-date=11 November 2020|website=en.pusc.it}}</ref> Christendom College in Virginia,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Christendom College|url=https://www.summer-classics.com/2019/02/christendom-college.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250613025718/https://www.summer-classics.com/2019/02/christendom-college.html|archive-date=2025-06-13|access-date=16 November 2025|website=Summer Classics}}</ref> Wisconsin, Ave Maria University in Florida,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vidani|first=Peter|title=Classics at AMU|url=https://classics.avemaria.edu/post/26267016836/dr-christophe-rico-of-the-polis-institute-in|access-date=27 October 2020|website=Classics at AMU|language=en}}</ref> Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Polis, The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities|url=https://www.summer-classics.com/2017/04/polis-institute.html|access-date=11 November 2020|website=Summer Classics}}</ref> and the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.<ref>{{Cite web|title=University of Kentucky|url=https://www.summer-classics.com/2016/03/university_of_k.html|access-date=16 November 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119145346/https://www.summer-classics.com/2016/03/university_of_k.html|archive-date=2020-11-19|website=Summer Classics}}</ref> In the Polis Institute itself, during the summer, in addition to the language courses already mentioned, Classical Syriac and Spoken Arabic are likewise taught.<ref name=":0" />

==== Language courses ==== In the regular school year (October – February) Polis teaches ancient and modern language courses. Ancient languages include Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Latin, Classical Syriac, and Bohairic Coptic. Modern languages include Modern Hebrew (Ulpan), Spoken Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic. In the past Sumerian was also taught.<ref>{{Cite web|date=5 January 2017|title=The Sumerian Verb: A Workshop for the Non-Sumerian Speaker|url=https://www.polisjerusalem.org/the-sumerian-verb-a-workshop-for-the-non-sumerian-speaker/|access-date=12 November 2020|website=Polis|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Steinberg|first=Jessica|title=Spelling out Harry Potter in Arabic, Greek and Hebrew|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/spelling-out-harry-potter-in-arabic-greek-and-hebrew-too/|access-date=12 November 2020|website=The Times of Israel|language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

==See also== *Education in Israel

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.polisjerusalem.org Polis – The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polis Institute, The}} Category:Classical philology Category:Non-profit organizations based in Israel Category:Research institutes in Israel Category:Humanities institutes