Splash Biography

JAMES TOWNSEND, Funny talker, bad actor--also I have a beard

Major: Biology

College/Employer: University of Chicago

Year of Graduation: 2012

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I come from Dallas, Texas. I came to Chicago seeking out cold weather and a reasonable education--I have found both, and then some. My main area of interest in my day-to-day life is Biology, specifically in computational neuroscience. My very very specific main interest is in neural prosthetics--even more specifically cognitive neural prosthetics. But enough of all that--on to other things.

One of my other big hobbies is Near-Eastern studies, which also drew me to the U of C due to its association with the field and with the Oriental Institute. I encountered Hittite divination practices in a course on Hittite literature last year and have been very interested in the topic ever since. I decided it would be fun to share this niche topic with whoever wanted to listen to me rant about it, and maybe give them some chance to actually recreate the rituals in some form. I hope that those students who sign up for my class will have a genuinely fun and memorable experience. Perhaps the next Indiana Jones is out there?

Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S376: Oracle Reading the Hittite Way in Splash! Fall 2009 (Oct. 03, 2009)

The Hittites were an ancient people inhabiting the land that now makes up central Turkey lasting from around the 18th to 12th centuries BC. During the height of their power, they were right up there with the Egyptian Pharaohs and the great kings of Babylon! Hittites were really into oracles and telling the future, and used a variety of methods that were a little more exciting than today's horoscopes. In this class, we'll learn about various Hittite divination practices, with a special emphasis on liver oracles and discussion of KIN, serpent and bird oracles, as well as examples of the results from actual oracle readings. Come cut up livers with us to tell YOUR future!