The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (formerly the Faculty of Oriental Studies), is a subdivision of the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
The faculty is engaged in a broad range of research and teaching on modern and historical Asian and Middle Eastern studies, focusing on politics, language, and culture. The faculty's main building is located on Pusey Lane near the
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
and
Sackler Library
The Sackler Library holds a large portion of the classical, art historical, and archaeological works belonging to the University of Oxford, England.
History
The Sackler Library building was completed in 2001 and opened on 24 September of tha ...
, with some research centres of the faculty having their own buildings elsewhere in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
(such as the Middle East Centre based at
St. Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics ...
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
. The faculty has its own library for students and professors, which is both a
lending library
A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...
and a
reading room
Reading room may refer to:
* Reference library
* British Museum Reading Room
* Christian Science Reading Room
image:5054_christian-science-reading-room-e.jpg, 400px, A typical storefront Christian Science Reading Room on the main street of a subu ...
of the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
.
The faculty was known as the Faculty of Oriental Studies until 1 August 2022, when the name was changed to Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The name was changed due to its perceived colonial implications.
Sub-faculties
The faculty is divided into three sub-faculties based on subject area, including:
* Sub-Faculty of Middle Eastern Studies, which covers
** Department of the Islamic World
** Department of Modern Middle Eastern Studies
** Department of
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
and
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish Studies (also based at the
Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies
The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (OCHJS) is a recognised independent centre of the University of Oxford, England. Its research fellows teach on a variety of undergraduate and master's degrees in Oriental studies, and it publishes ...
)
** Department of
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
Griffith Institute
The Griffith Institute is an Egyptological institution based in the Griffith Wing of the Sackler Library and is part of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, England. It was founded for the advancement of Egyptology and Ancient Nea ...
)
* Sub-Faculty of South and Inner Asian Studies, which covers
**
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
)
**
Tibetan
Tibetan may mean:
* of, from, or related to Tibet
* Tibetan people, an ethnic group
* Tibetan language:
** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
and Himalayan Cultural Studies
* Sub-Faculty of East Asian Studies (also based at the Eastern Art Department of the Ashmolean Museum), which covers
**
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
(based at the University of Oxford China Centre, Canterbury Road)
**
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
(also based at the
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
Institute of
Japanese Studies
Japanese studies (Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese ...
,
Winchester Road
Winchester Road is a road in North Oxford, England. It runs north–south between and roughly parallel with Woodstock Road to the west and Banbury Road to the east. It is in a desirable area with high house prices.
History and name
The area ...
)
**
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
Laudian Professor of Arabic
The position of Laudian Professor of Arabic, now known as the Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Laudian Professor, at the University of Oxford was established in 1636 by William Laud, who at the time was Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Archbi ...
Boden Professor of Sanskrit
The position of Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford was established in 1832 with money bequeathed to the university by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Boden, a retired soldier in the service of the East India Company. He wished th ...
–
Christopher Minkowski
Christopher Zand Minkowski (; born 13 May 1953) is an American academic, who has been Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford since 2005.
Education and early career
Minkowski was educated at Gilman School before studying English ...
Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics
The Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics is the holder of an endowed chair at the University of Oxford. The Spalding Chair of Eastern Religions and Ethics was established on a trial basis in 1936 with a grant from the Spalding Trust. ...
–
Diwakar Acharya
Diwakar Nath Acharya (born 6 November 1969) is a Nepali scholar specialising in the religious and philosophical traditions of South Asia. Since April 2016, he has been the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at the University of Oxfor ...
* I.M. Pei Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture – Alain Fouad George
* Stanley Ho Professor of Chinese History –
Henrietta Harrison
Henrietta Katherine Harrison, (born 1967) is a British historian, sinologist, and academic.
Education and career
Henrietta Harrison was educated at St Paul's Girls' School, Hammersmith, Newnham College, Cambridge (BA 1989), Harvard University ( ...
*
Soudavar Professor of Persian Studies
The Masoumeh and Fereydoon Soudavar Professorship of Persian Studies is a Chair at the University of Oxford, England, associated with the Faculty of Oriental Studies and Wadham College. The Chair was inaugurated in 1990.Ali Banuazizi (2019). Ali R ...
–
Edmund Herzig
Edmund Martin Herzig (born February 1958) is a British professor, historian, and author. He is currently the Soudavar Professor of Persian Studies, he is part of the faculty of Oriental studies at the University of Oxford, and also has served (198 ...
*
Yehan Numata was a Japanese industrialist and Buddhist missionary.
Early life
Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Numata was the third son of a priest of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism. He studied at Kyoto Heian Junior High School (today Heian High School) and ...
Professor of Buddhist Studies – Stefano Zacchetti
* Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud Professor for the Study of the Contemporary Arab World –
Marilyn Booth
Marilyn Louise Booth (born 24 February 1955) is an author, scholar and translator of Arabic literature. Since 2015, she has been the Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud Professor for the Study of the Contemporary Arab World at the University of Oxford and ...
* HH Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies – vacant
Other notable current academics:
* Martin Goodman
*
Christopher Melchert
Christopher Melchert is an American professor and scholar of Islam, specialising in Islamic movements and institutions, especially during the ninth and tenth centuries. A prolific author, he is professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the U ...
*
Judith Olszowy-Schlanger
Judith Olszowy-Schlanger, (' Olszowy; born 1967) is a French Jewish studies scholar who specialises in medieval Jewish documents. Since September 2018, she has been President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the University ...
*
Eugene Rogan
Eugene Lawrence Rogan, (born 31 October 1960) is an American historian of the Middle East and North Africa from the late Ottoman era to the present.
Education and career
After completing his undergraduate degree at Columbia University in econom ...