Dominic Brookshaw
Senior Research Fellow in Persian and Professor of Persian Literature and Iranian Culture
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
BA Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (and joint schools)
Image of painting of Qi Jiguang by Thomas Chen via Wikimedia Commons
Average intake at Wadham: 9
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is unique in its sole focus on introducing students to civilisations that are different from the Western ones upon which the curriculum in most British schools and colleges is based. The courses present both the major traditions and cultural trends of the regions studied and, in most cases, their modern developments. All courses include a combination of linguistic, literary, historic and cultural studies and there is a wide range of options in fields such as art and archaeology, history, literature, philosophy, religion and modern social studies.
Within the course our main emphasis is on Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and Persian, but we welcome candidates in other subjects within Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, as well as in Classics with Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and European and Middle Eastern Languages.
The Courses
BA (Hons) Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
BA (Hons) Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
BA (Hons) European and Middle Eastern Languages
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Wadham
The tutors here at Wadham will oversee your work and help you with organising your schedule, and you will also be taught by them depending on the subject you are studying. Your other teachers will be University Lecturers who are also Fellows at other colleges and Language instructors.
The number of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies students in the University as a whole is small, compared with Modern European Languages, but Wadham was one of the first colleges to take such students and it has built up a strong tradition with a large contingent of students, especially in Chinese.
The courses are organised centrally from the Asian and Middle Eastern Institute or Institute for Chinese Studies (about ten minutes’ walk from Wadham) where classes and tutorials shared with undergraduates from other colleges are usually held.
The College Library provides subjects such as Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and Persian with specialist books. The Chinese section, having been built up over many years, caters especially well for undergraduates, offering a valuable alternative to the Faculty Library in the Institute for Chinese Studies. The College Persian Library, which is of national importance, would be of interest to graduates researching in this field, as well as to undergraduates reading Arabic, Persian, Islamic History, and Persian Literature and Art in particular.
The College offers a wide range of financial support for its undergraduates, including funds which can assist with additional costs related to the year abroad, for those students undertaking one.
Tutors
Charlie, a 3rd year undergraduate student of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, specifically Chinese, describes the mix of teaching and learning for his course. This includes lectures and small-group tutorials, where he goes through his essays with an expert tutor. Charlie also attends language tutorials that focus on translation. There is a lot of self study in the College and Faculty libraries. Charlie's favourite thing about his course was the life-changing year abroad.