1. The Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Tripos shall consist of three Parts: Part Ia, Part Ib, and Part II.
2. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part Ia:
3. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part Ib:1
4. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part II:1
5. No student shall be a candidate for more than one Part, or for any Part and also for another Honours Examination, in the same term.
6. No student who has been a candidate for any Part shall again be a candidate for the same Part. No candidate shall offer a paper he or she has previously offered in any other Honours Examination.
7. The Faculty Board shall have the power to issue from time to time supplementary regulations defining or limiting all or any of the subjects of the examination, and to modify, alter or withdraw such supplementary regulations, provided that due care is taken to give sufficient notice of any change.
8. The Faculty Board shall have the power to prescribe, not later than the end of the Easter Term in the year next before the examination to which they apply, a number of additional papers to be offered to candidates in each subject of both Part Ib and Part II of the examination, providing that (i) the Faculty Board are not required to offer additional papers in Part Ib and (ii) at least two papers shall be prescribed in each subject in Part II. When giving notice of the additional papers, the Faculty Board shall prescribe the mode of examination for each paper and any restrictions on the combination of papers that any candidate may offer. The Faculty Board shall have the power of subsequently issuing amendments if they have due reason for so doing and if they are satisfied that no student’s preparation for the examination is adversely affected.
9. There shall be a separate body of Examiners for each Part. The Faculty Board shall nominate such number of Examiners for each Part as they may deem sufficient. For each body of Examiners, the Faculty Board shall also have power to nominate one or more Assessors to assist the Examiners.
10. The Examiners shall set, and shall be responsible for marking, all written papers except papers from another Tripos, and shall also mark dissertations submitted under Regulations 22 and 23. If required to do so, Assessors shall propose questions in the subject or subjects assigned to them, shall review the answers of candidates to those questions, and shall report as required to the Examiners. An Assessor may be summoned, for the purpose of consultation and advice, to meetings of the relevant body of Examiners, but shall not be entitled to vote.
11. The subject matter for each oral examination shall be approved by the body of Examiners for the corresponding Part. Two Examiners or Assessors shall conduct the oral examination of each candidate.
12. The Examiners shall have regard to the style and method of candidates’ answers and shall give credit for excellence in these respects. They shall give due credit for the performance of candidates in the oral examinations. The Examiners shall be empowered to examine any candidate viva voce.
13. The names of those candidates who deserve honours in each Part shall be placed in three classes, of which the second shall be divided into two divisions. The names in the first and third classes and in each division of the second class shall be arranged in alphabetical order. Each class-list shall also indicate the subject or subjects which each candidate has offered in the examination. A mark of distinction may be awarded for special excellence.
14. The subjects of examination in Part Ia shall be as follows:
East Asian Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Middle Eastern Studies with a Modern Language
Each candidate shall offer one subject.
15. The papers for the examination in Part Ia shall be as follows:
|
EAS.1 |
Introduction to East Asian history |
|
C.1 C.2 C.3 |
Modern Chinese translation and writing 1 Modern Chinese texts 1 Literary Chinese 1 |
|
J.1 J.2 J.3 |
Modern Japanese 1 Japanese grammar and translation Modern Japanese texts 1 |
|
MES.1 MES.2 MES.3 MES.4 MES.5 MES.6 MES.7 |
Elementary Arabic language A Elementary Arabic language B (one and a half hour written examination) Elementary Persian language Elementary Hebrew language A Elementary Hebrew language B Introduction to the history and culture of the Middle East Introduction to the contemporary Middle East |
|
X.1 |
Akkadian language I (Paper A4 of Part I of the Archaeology Tripos) |
|
X.2 |
Egyptian language I (Paper A5 of Part I of the Archaeology Tripos) |
Unless otherwise specified, all papers consist of a three-hour written examination.
16. There shall be separate examinations for each subject, as specified below:
17. The subjects of examination in Part Ib shall be as follows:
East Asian Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Middle Eastern Studies with a Modern Language
Each candidate shall offer one subject.
18. The papers for the examination in Part Ib shall be as follows:
|
AMES.1 |
Cinema East |
|
C.4 C.5 C.6 C.7 C.8 |
Modern Chinese translation and writing 2 Modern Chinese texts 2 Literary Chinese 2 History of dynastic China Globalization in China, 1850 to the present (an essay of 8,000 words, to be submitted not later than the first day of Full Easter Term) |
|
J.4 J.5 J.6 J.7 J.8 J.9 J.10 |
Modern Japanese 2 Modern Japanese texts 2 Japanese history Literary Japanese Japanese literature Japanese society Japanese politics |
|
MES.11 MES.12 MES.13 MES.14 MES.15 MES.16 MES.17 MES.18 MES.19 MES.20 |
Intermediate Arabic language Intermediate Persian language Intermediate Hebrew language Intermediate literary Arabic Intermediate literary Persian (a research essay of between 4,500 and 5,000 words including footnotes and excluding bibliography to be submitted not later than the fourth Friday of Full Easter Term, and an oral examination)Hebrew literature/culture (special topics) The formation of Islam Topics in Hebrew studies The formation of the modern Middle East Themes in the anthropology of Islam |
|
X.3 |
Structures and meanings (Paper 2 of the Linguistics Tripos) |
|
X.4 |
Life, thought, and worship of modern Judaism (Paper B14 of the Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion Tripos) |
|
X.5 |
Introduction to Islam (Paper B15 of the Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion Tripos) |
|
X.6 |
Akkadian language II (Paper ARC34 of Parts IIa and IIb of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)2 |
|
X.7 |
Middle Egyptian Texts (Paper ARC37 of Parts IIa and IIb of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)3 |
|
X.8 |
Sounds and words (Paper 1 of the Linguistics Tripos) |
Unless otherwise specified, all papers consist of a three-hour written examination.
19. There shall be separate examinations for each subject, as specified below:
20. The subjects of examination in Part II shall be as follows:
Chinese
Chinese with Japanese
Japanese
Japanese with Chinese
Middle Eastern Studies
Middle Eastern Studies with a Modern Language
Each candidate shall offer one subject.
21. The papers for the examination in Part II shall be as follows:
|
C.11 |
Modern Chinese translation and writing 3 |
|
C.12 |
Modern Chinese texts 3 |
|
J.11 |
Modern Japanese 3 |
|
J.12 |
Modern Japanese texts 3 |
|
MES.31 |
Advanced Arabic language |
|
MES.32 |
Advanced Persian language |
|
MES.33 |
Advanced Hebrew language |
|
MES.34 |
Advanced literary Arabic |
|
MES.35 |
Advanced literary Persian (a research essay of between 6,000 and 7,500 words including footnotes and excluding bibliography to be submitted not later than the fourth Friday of Full Easter Term, and an oral examination) |
|
MES.36 |
Advanced literary Hebrew |
Unless otherwise specified, all papers consist of a three-hour written examination.
22. There shall be separate examinations for each subject, as specified below:
23. Any candidate submitting a dissertation under Regulation 22 shall be required to have spent a period of at least eight months, since matriculation, in a country or countries deemed appropriate by the Faculty Board and under conditions approved for this purpose by the Faculty Board,6 providing that the Faculty Board may waive this requirement under exceptional circumstances.
A candidate who is required to submit a dissertation under Regulation 22 shall submit the proposed title, together with a statement of the papers to be offered in the examination, to the Secretary of the Faculty Board so as to arrive not later than the division of the Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination. Each candidate must obtain the approval of the proposed title by the Faculty Board not later than the end of that term. A dissertation, which shall be of not more than 12,000 words in length (inclusive of notes and appendices), should show evidence of reading, judgement, and power of exposition, but not necessarily evidence of original research, and must give full references to the sources used. One electronic and two paper copies of each dissertation, marked with the candidate’s examination number, shall be submitted in a format specified by the Faculty Board from time to time to the Secretary of the Faculty Board so as to arrive not later than the third day of the Full Easter Term in which the examination is to be held.
Each candidate will be required to sign a declaration that the dissertation is his or her own work, unaided except as may be specified in the declaration, and that it does not contain material that has already been used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose. Each copy of the dissertation shall be accompanied by a summary of not more than 300 words in English, except that a candidate offering a dissertation under Regulation 22(a) (Chinese) shall furnish instead a summary in Chinese of not less than 600 characters. The maximum marks allocated to the dissertation shall be one quarter of the maximum marks for the examination as a whole.
24. The Faculty Board shall have power to grant permission to a candidate for any Part of the Tripos to offer in the examination a subject or language other than those specified in Regulations 14, 17, and 20, provided that the Board are satisfied:
Applications for such permission shall be made through the candidate’s Tutor to the Secretary of the Faculty Board at the earliest possible date and in no circumstances later than the following dates:
the division of the Easter Term in the year next preceding the examination, for a candidate taking Part Ia or Part Ib;
the division of the Easter Term in the year next but one preceding the examination, for a candidate taking Part II.
For subjects offered under this regulation the Faculty Board shall have power to determine the papers to be set, in general conformity with the provisions of Regulations 16, 19, and 22.
25. Not later than the division of Full Michaelmas Term each year the Secretary of the Faculty Board shall inform the Registrary of any subjects for which permission has been granted under Regulation 24, together with the names of the candidates to whom such permission has been granted.
The course covers East Asia thematically from the earliest times to the present, focusing on China, Japan, and Korea. Students will read literature, historical monographs, and primary sources to familiarize themselves with various types of evidence.
This course is to enable students to use basic elements of Chinese grammar correctly, use Chinese over a range of everyday situations, write basic Chinese and translate English into Chinese at the sentence level, and write simple essays in Chinese.
Modern Chinese is taught intensively throughout the year, and in this paper students are required to translate passages in modern Chinese into English. This paper is mainly designed to assess the student’s ability in understanding and translating simple Chinese texts.
An introduction to the literary Chinese language. The course introduces students to basic vocabulary, syntax, and grammar of the classical period. Excursions are made into the etymology of graphs, the origins of common proverbs and set phrases as well as the intellectual world behind the selected text passages.
The aim of this paper is to help students acquire solid basic skills of language learning, both receptive (reading and listening) and productive (writing and speaking). In the Michaelmas and Lent Terms students undergo an intensive study of the grammar of modern Japanese. The textbook used for this purpose is Bowring and Laurie, Introduction to Modern Japanese. In the Easter Term, the emphasis shifts to reinforcing the basic structures and vocabularies learnt in the first two terms through developing students’ listening and speaking skills further.
This paper is taught in conjunction with J.1 in the Michaelmas and Lent Terms and separately in the Easter Term. It also draws upon skills learned in tackling the texts in J.3, both in terms of ability to construe Japanese texts and in terms of understanding of grammatical patterns.
The reading of selected texts in order to put into practice the skills and knowledge learned in the Michaelmas and Lent Terms.
These two papers are taught as a single course. The aim is to equip students to read and write Modern Standard Arabic, and cover all the basic grammar, and to hold simple conversations in one particular Arabic dialect.
This paper introduces students to Persian grammar and the written and oral use of the language (listening and comprehension practice in the language laboratory). Reading classes expose students to the language in action and to a variety of usages of the grammatical rules.
In this course students are introduced to the language of the Hebrew Bible. In Michaelmas Term students will concentrate on working through the textbook Introduction to Biblical Hebrew by T. Lambdin. In Lent Term the focus will be on a philologically and linguistically oriented reading of Genesis 1–4 (and possibly related texts) along with the integration of secondary literature dealing with pertinent issues of both a linguistic and non-linguistic nature.
In this course, students acquire competence in spoken and written Modern Hebrew. Classes will cover Modern Hebrew grammar and representative texts from Modern Hebrew literature. All students taking this course also take an introductory course on Biblical Hebrew grammar in the Michaelmas Term and are required to answer one question on Biblical Hebrew in the examination.
This paper provides an introduction to the history of the Middle East and the political, religious, and cultural developments of the different regions and periods. It aims to familiarize the student with the sources of information available and with the main themes that will arise in studying Middle Eastern societies in subsequent years of the Tripos.
This paper provides a critical introduction to the languages, cultures, and literatures of the Middle East.
The course provides students with the opportunity to explore the film traditions of East Asia through a number of possible themes, including modernity, identity and nation, and genre. These broad concerns encompass common themes of comparative significance, such as gender, city and countryside, love, marriage, and family and violence and are expressed in genres such as melodrama. Each student will give two presentations and write two essays (1,500–2,000 words) each term, one on each of the four sections of the course; feedback on these will be given in supervisions or in group discussions.
This course aims to develop the students’ ability to translate English texts into Chinese and to write Chinese compositions of various styles, such as letters, messages, notices, narration.
This course enables students to read modern Chinese writings, both literary and non-literary. Information about authors, the background, and the linguistic and stylistic features of the texts is provided as appropriate. The purpose is to give students experience of intensive and extensive reading. Students read unabridged texts from beginning to end, thus increasing their vocabulary and familiarity with modern written Chinese and advancing their understanding of aspects of Chinese historical and cultural experience in 20th-century and contemporary China.
An introduction to selected works of poetry, prose, and fiction in literary Chinese. The course draws on texts ranging from early medieval to late imperial times. Students are introduced to the basic features of grammar and genre and the intellectual and historical background of the readings in question.
The history of dynastic China from the Qin through Qing periods. The course, consisting of lectures and essay seminars, introduces students to the formative political, social, economic, religious, and cultural features that defined the Chinese empire.
The history of globalization in China from the Taiping Rebellion in the mid nineteenth century until today. For the century after 1850, it will examine the rise of the large vibrant port cities that resulted from the rapid expansion of foreign trade and became centres of social, political, and cultural change. It will also analyse Chinese migration, the emergence of Chinese forms of modernity, the rise of resistance movements to Western financial imperialism, and the effects of revolution and warfare. China’s current phase of globalization will be placed against the background of this earlier phase of globalization.
The main aims of this course are that students: (a) acquire the ability to understand intermediate written and spoken Japanese; (b) acquire the ability to express themselves in Japanese in a limited range of topics; (c) increase competence in written skills.
Reading selected twentieth-century Japanese literary and non-literary texts, with attention to style and content, the aim being to gain proficiency in reading, pronouncing, translating, and interpreting modern prose.
This paper explores a variety of narratives and approaches to understanding Japan’s history. Topics will include power politics, religions and ideologies, gender, warfare, and modernity, as well as Japan’s place in the world.
An introduction to the grammar of literary, pre-modern Japanese, followed by readings of simple prose and poetry. Some essay work on aspects of classical literature is also required.
This paper is a survey of Japanese literature. By reading a wide selection of primary sources in English translation, students will learn about authors, genres, texts, and themes that populate Japanese literary culture.
An introduction to Japanese society, its current phenomena and their historical and cultural background. Starting from our own images and influential descriptions of Japanese society, this course will investigate family, demography, education, work, and leisure, as well as life stages and different aspects of daily (and nightly) life of the various social groups.
An introduction to post-1945 Japanese politics examining Japan’s political parties and institutions from a comparative perspective. In considering the distinctiveness of the Japanese political system, it addresses a number of central issues including Japan’s economic growth, central-local government relations, the legal system, and the politics of defence and foreign policy. The paper pays particular attention to the nature of domestic political change since the mid 1990s as well as the economic and security policy challenges for a country that is increasingly active both globally and regionally. In analysing Japan’s politics comparatively, the paper also addresses the issues of authorization and democratization in Korea, Korea’s post-1945 political economy, and the security aspects of the Korean peninsula.
The aim of this course is to consolidate students’ understanding of Arabic grammar and expand their vocabulary so that they can confidently read a range of Arabic materials such as newspaper and magazine articles, and to develop their speaking and listening skills and their speaking in one particular dialect of Arabic.
This paper consists of language work, building on the four major language skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking. In addition, the students read a variety of texts in modern Persian as language exercises, for translation, and vocabulary build-up.
This paper enables students to deepen their knowledge of Hebrew. There will be two sections containing questions on classical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew respectively. Candidates taking the Modern Hebrew option will have an oral as part of their paper.
This paper introduces students to a variety of Arabic literary texts to enhance their understanding of textual analysis and linguistic expression.
This paper provides an introduction to Persian literary texts, using a selection of readings from classical prose writers and poets. The objective is both to introduce major classical Persian authors and to see the written language in action as a vehicle for literary expression.
This course will be divided into two sections, of which students must choose one: (a) Modern Hebrew culture, and (b) Medieval Hebrew texts. In both sections, the focus will be on linguistic, literary, or cultural analysis.
This paper examines how the development of the Islamic world was shaped by its social, political, economic, and ecological contexts, tracing the history of Islam from its origins in the religious and political turmoil of late antiquity through the rise and fall of the first Muslim empire and the emergence of the new religious and political formations of early medieval times. The paper engages both with the primary sources for these questions, and with the debates in the modern literature.
This course will enable students to study the special topics of: (1) Pre-modern Jewish Literature; and (2) Modern Hebrew Culture. The topic ‘Pre-modern Jewish literature’ subsumes two options, one of which the student must choose: (a) Aramaic, or (b) Ancient (post-biblical)/medieval Hebrew literature.
This paper examines key moments in the formation of the modern Middle East and North Africa with an emphasis on developing an understanding of the periods of transition and conflict that have shaped and defined modern societies in the region since the nineteenth century. The course is divided into three sections: the Ottoman empire and the Arab world, Iran, and Israel.
This course introduces anthropological approaches to the Middle East and Islam, and examines the relationship between different forms of knowledge about the Middle East and the modern political history of the region.
This paper introduces students to contemporary Hindi language through a series of exercises testing grammar, reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
This course enables students (a) to use an extensive range of Chinese vocabulary, idioms, and expressions in translation into Chinese and in Chinese essay writing, (b) to produce appropriate degrees of formality in translating and writing, and (c) to write in Chinese on various topics and in different styles.
The course continues the work done in the acquisition of the modern Chinese language in previous years. Students will be presented with various types of texts, ranging from modern and contemporary fiction, newspapers, and articles on contemporary China, to scholarly writings and government documents.
The main aims of the course are that students: (a) acquire the ability to understand advanced written and spoken Japanese; (b) acquire the ability to discuss, in Japanese, a wide range of topics; (c) increase competence in written skills.
This course consists of reading texts in advanced modern Japanese with much attention given not only to grammar and syntax but also to context. Supplementary reading will also be expected.
This paper aims to develop students’ reading and writing skills in Modern Standard Arabic. Students are introduced to a range of academic and literary texts in order to develop their ability to follow complex discussions and improve their understanding of linguistic structures. Classes run completely in Arabic.
This paper aims to develop students’ reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. The students will write essays and prepare presentations in Persian.
This paper enables students to develop their skills in writing and translating Hebrew and in critically assessing passages of Hebrew literature. There will be two sections containing questions on classical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew respectively. Candidates taking the Modern Hebrew option will have an oral as part of their paper.
This paper introduces students to a selection of advanced texts to enhance their understanding of textual analysis and linguistic expression and to develop their knowledge of literary historical and critical approaches. One or more types of Arabic writing from one or more periods will be the focus of sustained study.
This paper uses a selection of either classical or contemporary Persian poetry and prose, to study the treatment of particular themes and rhetoric techniques.
This paper focuses on themes of interest and importance in Modern and Medieval Hebrew literature.
The papers available will be drawn from the following lists:
A seminar-based course that extends the comparative approach adopted in EAS.1. It concentrates on thematic and policy issues relevant to understanding Japan, the Korean peninsula, China (broadly defined), and also Southeast Asia, as well as the role of the United States in East Asia. The course runs over two terms and draws explicitly on historical research and social science methodology in addressing how best to conceptualize ‘East Asia’ as a region. Topics addressed will vary from year to year, depending on the research interests of the teaching officers involved, but an indicative list of subjects covered in the course would include some, but not necessarily all of the following issues: the Cold War as a historical phenomenon; conflict and war in East Asia and contemporary security challenges; comparative models of economic development in East Asia and the role of ‘plan-rational’ policy-making; the role of the nation-state and competing models of historical identity; multilateralism, the emergence of trans-national actors and economic integration in East Asia; political legitimacy, contrasting models of authoritarian rule, and democratization as a political movement; demographic change; energy and environmental policy and technological change.
This course examines the contemporary form of East Asian cultural production known as the ‘Korean wave.’ Since the mid-1990s, South Korean pop culture has enjoyed tremendous popularity throughout Asia. This phenomenon marks an unusual moment in East Asian history as the economic rise of China has not led to Chinese cultural hegemony. By studying the Korean wave, it is possible to come to a better understanding of the dynamics of East Asia in the era of globalization and the possibility of the emergence of a pan-Asian identity. This paper focuses on two of the principal genres of the Korean wave, television dramas and cinema. Through a detailed study of representative works, it will examine issues such as Korean national identity, collective memory, melodrama, the Confucian family in the modern world, and the globalization of media cultures. Social and historical contexts, changes in film production and patterns of consumption, and the development of the Korean film industry on the global stage will be considered, as well as the key aspects of genre and film style.
This course introduces advanced selections of poetry, prose, and fiction in literary Chinese. The course draws on texts ranging from early medieval to late imperial times. Students will be introduced to features of grammar and genre as well as the intellectual and historical background of the readings in question.
This course involves the intensive study of texts that are specifically linked to the special subject that the student has chosen.
While never constant and always debated, in the course of Chinese history certain fundamental approaches emerged toward government, organizing society, prosecuting warfare, communicating, pursuing personal profit, and thinking about the supernatural. This lecture course will examine these approaches, discuss their historical development, and analyse how they still impact on China today. Topics may include the role of Confucianism in traditional China and its revival today, Chinese attitudes towards human and natural environments, aesthetics and the arts, religious practices, popular mobilizations against authority, attitudes toward poverty, wealth, redistribution and consumption, the organization of commerce, and governmentality.
This is an advanced, seminar-based, course with alternate modules on early and medieval China and late imperial China. The paper engages students in an in-depth study of the central socio-religious, philosophical, and socio-economic paradigms that shaped early and dynastic Chinese society. Students are asked to work with key primary sources of the period concerned and examine related secondary scholarship. The paper seeks to identify the origins of ideas, social practices, and institutions that have permeated traditional Chinese society and have shaped the Chinese tradition up to the present day. Thematic rubrics explored in this paper may vary and cover topics such as cosmology and correlative thought, the Confucian classics, the Buddhist and the Daoist traditions, sacrificial religion, food culture, ritual and law, perceptions of the body and medicine, writing and print culture, agriculture and mercantile culture, urban and local culture.
The course aims to introduce undergraduates to the field of modern Chinese literature as it evolved through the 20th century and up to the present. Literature, whether popular or elite, has had a vital place in modern experience. In the first term students become familiar with some of the major canonical writers and issues. Teaching in the second term is organized around a particular topic: possible examples are post-Mao and contemporary fiction; fiction and film in Republican popular culture; Chinese modernism.
The Second World War was an axial moment in East Asia. It reshaped the geopolitical contours of the region and it continues to have a deep impact on the historical identities of its citizens, the constitutions of its governments, and the high and low cultures of its societies. The focus is on China in this course; it places China in the wider context of a global Second World War, paying attention to the fighting itself and the changes that took place in its nature to explain the rise of the Chinese Communists. But students will also pay attention to literature, the press, and film and consider the aftermath of the war, including the difficulties of social and economic rehabilitation and the way these traumatic years are commemorated today in public events and museums.
This course is designed to acquaint students with the nature and workings of the Chinese language and to help them establish a linguistic framework for the description and analysis of Chinese. It will enable students to understand and explain typological and syntactic differences between Chinese and English on the basis of linguistic theories, and to introduce them to some contentious issues in the study of the Chinese language.
An introduction to key socio-political and cultural developments in reform-era China (from the early 1980s to the present), while situating them in the historical contexts of the late Imperial and Maoist periods. Topics covered will include Chinese political culture, kinship and marriage, reproduction and family planning, gender and sexuality, urban and rural lives, ethnic minorities, religion, state and society, nationalism, migration, the Chinese diaspora, etc. The analytical approaches are drawn from anthropology, political science, sociology, and cultural studies.
This course involves the intensive study of texts that are specifically linked to the special subject that the student has chosen.
This is a language-based paper in which students will read a variety of pre-modern and early-modern texts, covering a range of genres from historical documents to literary texts from the pre-Meiji era.
This seminar-style paper will explore specific facets, approaches and methodologies of modern and contemporary works of Japanese literature and culture. Topics may vary from year to year, but will generally cover a range of works that have been produced within contexts deemed ‘other’ or marginal vis-à-vis the mainstream, and will pay particular attention to issues of social, gendered, and ethnic difference that these works present.
This paper focuses on early-modern Japanese cultural history. It offers insights on key-aspects of Edo-period visual and literary culture and allows reflections upon aspects of Japanese contemporary society which have roots in early-modern times. The paper does not require any knowledge of classical Japanese, as primary sources available either in modern Japanese or in English translation are selected. Students who know classical Japanese can choose to work on the original texts in critical edition. Secondary sources include materials both in Japanese and in English. The specific topic of the paper may change from year to year, including a vast range of themes such as education, family, leisure, gender, disaster, news, etc.
This course will be run in seminar style with weekly discussions and student presentations. Topics will vary depending on the year but may include: propaganda and social mobilization, Sino-Japanese relations, post-War Japanese political and social development, food and culture, as well as comedy and Japan’s relations within East Asia. The focus will be on primary text readings in English and Japanese.
This is an advanced seminar-based course focusing on Japan’s 20th-century international relations. The precise focus will vary from year to year, but in each instance the emphasis will be on situating the study of Japan within the disciplinary context of International Relations and Diplomatic History, and will involve working with both secondary and primary source material. The course will consider aspects of Japan’s key bilateral relations in East Asia and globally, as well as a number of important thematic issues, including, but not necessarily limited to regional security, alliance relations, political economy, resource and trade policy, and debates over national identity.
This is an advanced seminar-based course focusing on contemporary Japanese society. The focus will vary from year to year, such as questions of learning and education, family, time, space, gender or the like, investigating these topics from a wide range of angles. In each instance the emphasis will be on situating the study of Japan within the disciplinary context of Social Anthropology and Sociology. The course is aimed at deepening students’ understanding of (selected aspects of) Japanese society as well as developing research and writing skills. It will involve working with both secondary and primary source material.
This course will cover the basic grammar of modern written Korean with a view to developing reading fluency. Students will mainly be reading materials in hangul script, but some texts in mixed script (with Chinese characters) will also be used.
This paper examines in some detail aspects of the history of the Middle East, either in a particular region and period, or addressing particular themes.
This paper examines in some detail the history of the modern Middle East since the 19th century, focusing on particular regions or themes.
This paper provides a focused analysis of a particular subject relating to the pre-modern Middle East.
Focusing on the Zionist revolution of the 20th century and the many cultural innovations it inspired, this course explores the new ideas and practices about language, literature, body, sexuality, visual culture, music, art, and architecture that shaped the modern Israel we know today.
This paper offers the opportunity for students of the Semitic languages to contextualize their language work within the larger field of comparative Semitic linguistics.
The course aims to cover the whole of Sanskrit grammar and introduce the students to some of the essential features and concepts of pre-modern South Asian civilisation and literary culture.
The aim of the course is to bring all students to a good level of proficiency in reading, writing, understanding, and speaking Hindi. However, only those students who have some prior knowledge of the language can join this course. The basic grammar of Hindi will be thoroughly reviewed, and detailed instructions will be given to aid the learning of both the Hindi script as well as grammar. This course will equip students with the tools which will help and encourage self learning of the language in the future. Teaching materials will include, in addition to published grammars and course books, video materials, film clips, film songs, and items taken from the print media.
This paper will consider the life, thought, and worship of medieval and modern Judaism. The Faculty Board of Divinity may from time to time prescribe subjects and texts for special study.
This paper will deal with two advanced topics in Islamic studies specified from time to time by the Faculty Board of Divinity. The Board may also from time to time prescribe texts for special study.
The Faculty Board of Divinity may from time to time prescribe texts for special study.