Asian Studies (Research) (Master 2013-2014) - Prospectus

First year

Course	EC	Semester 1	Semester 2
Semester 1 (Fall semester)
Common Core Course Besides the “Theory and Methods” course students are strongly advised to attend the Thesis Writing Seminar, which is obligatory in the second year only.
Theory and Methods in Area Studies	10
Specialisation courses Students choose two or more specialisation courses up to a minimum of 20 EC from the list.
Semester 2 (Spring semester)
Common Core Course: students choose one of the two following courses: Besides the CCC of their choice students are strongly advised to attend the Thesis Writing Seminar, which is obligatory in the second year only. Students may opt to take both courses. One of them will then be counted as a specialisation course.
Arts and Culture in Area Studies: Culture and Conquest: the impact of the Mongols and their descendants	10
State and Society: Orientalism, Colonialism, and Post-Colonialism	10
Specialisation courses Students choose two or more specialisation courses up to a minimum of 20 EC from the list.

Second year

After the completion of their first year students may opt to spend the summer or a complete semester (semester 3) to study abroad at one of the institutions affiliated with the programme or to do fieldwork. Students who want to go abroad need to contact a potential supervisor of their project early in the second semester (of the first year) to write a sound proposal. This proposal needs to be submitted to the Board of Examiners for approval at least two months before the student leaves (preferably before the end of the second semester).

Students who are staying in Leiden are obliged to take the Thesis Writing Seminar and choose two (or more) courses from the list of specialisation courses.

Course	EC	Semester 1	Semester 2
Semester 1 (Fall semester)
Common Core Course
Thesis Writing Seminar (Asian Studies (research) and Middle Eastern Studies (research))	10
Specialisation courses Students choose two or more specialisation courses up to a minimum of 20 EC from the list.
Semester 2 (Spring semester)
Common Core Courses
Thesis Writing Seminar (Asian Studies (research) and Middle Eastern Studies (research))	10
Research MA Thesis (Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Studies)	30

Specialisation courses

The courses listed are, in principle, open to all students admitted to the MA Asian Studies (research). However, some of them may have additional entry requirements such as, for example, a particular level of language sufficiency. Please, see the course descriptions for further details.

Course	EC	Semester 1	Semester 2
Semester 1 (Fall semester)
Specialisation courses offered by the Research Master These courses are only open to students of the MA Asian Studies (research) or MA Middle Eastern Studies (research). Other students who are interested need to get permission from the Board of Admissions. To obtain this permission they need to contact the student advisor, Ms. Nicole A.N.M. van Os.
The Information Age Across Asia and the Middle East	10
Pilgrimages and Holy Places	10
Specialisation courses offered by other MA programmes.
Anthropology of Muslim Societies	10
Buddhist-Confucian Dialogue in Pre-Modern Korea	10
Buddhism and Psychology (Sacred Texts), advanced course	5.0/10.0
Chinese Economy and its Institutions	5
Chinese Linguistics: The Basics	10
Democratizing Histories: Asia and the world	5.0/10.0
Economic Development and Social Change in Southeast Asia	10
Eurasian Studies	10
Fieldwork methods	10
Histories of Southeast Asia	5
Image, Empire, Ideology: Colonialism and Its Fields of Vision in South Asia	5
Literature and Mass Media in Colonial Korea	10
Modern China: Political Participation in China	10
Nation, State and Security in Post-war Japanese Political Thought	10
New Diversities in Asia	5.0/10.0
Oral Traditions	10
The Politics of Culture in Southeast Asia	5.0/10.0
Pre-Modern China: Topics in Chinese History (600-1300)	10
Religious Themes in Asian Art	5.0/10.0
Sociology of Japan	10
Understanding China's Economic Development	5
Linguistic diversity in and around Japan	10
Beginner's Level Language Courses Students of the MA Asian Studies (Research) can opt to take beginner’s level language courses, but need the approval of the Board of Examiners if they want these courses to count towards their degree. Note that the number of available places may be limited.
Hindi 1	10
Indonesian Language 1	10
Beginner’s level Japanese	10
Language Acquisition Persian 1 (beginner's level)	5
Language Acquisition Persian 2 (beginner's level)	5
Sanskrit 1	10
Tibetan 1	10
Language Acquisition Turkish (beginner's level)	10
Advanced Language Courses
Modern Chinese reading/writing	5
Modern Chinese Oral/Aural Proficiency A	5
Language Training: Advanced readings in Premodern Chinese	5
Hindi Literature	10
Advanced Reading & Writing in Japanese 1 (60 EC)	10
Advanced Korean Language Training: Reading	5
Advanced Korean Language Training: Translation	5
Advanced Readings in Sanskrit Literature	10
Semester 2 (Spring semester)
Specialisation courses offered by the Research Master.
Specialisation courses offered by other MA programmes.
Areas and Policies	10
Asia through Consumption	5.0/10.0
Hands-on Research Experience in Museum Volkenkunde	5.0/10.0
Chinese Art History	10
Contemporary Indian Politics	5.0/10.0
History and Heritage in South Asia	5.0/10.0
Image/Text in Pre-modern Japan	5.0/10.0
Indonesia through its Discourse	10
Life and Work in Contemporary China	10
Persian Literature outside Iran: A Literary History	10
Practicing Modernity: State and Society in Soviet and post-Soviet Central Asia	10
Topical Readings in Chinese (texts on premodern China)	10
Topics in Chinese Linguistics	10
`Ulamâ’ in the Modern Muslim World	10
Beginner's Level Language Courses Students of the MA Asian Studies (Research) can opt to take beginner’s level language courses, but need the approval of the Board of Examiners if they want these courses to count towards their degree. Note that the number of available places may be limited.
Hindi 2	10
Indonesian Language 2	10
Beginner’s level Japanese 2	5
Sanskrit 2	10
Tibetan 2	10
Advanced Language Courses
Korean Translation	5
Advanced Modern Chinese: Writing	5
Advanced Reading & Writing in Japanese 2 (60 EC)	5
Modern Chinese Oral/Aural Proficiency B	5
Topical Readings in Korean	10
Advanced Modern Chinese: Reading	5
Advanced Modern Chinese: Listening and Speaking	5

More info

Programme Details
Objectives
Structure
Master’s thesis and requirements for graduation
Contact Information

Programme Details

Title: Master of Arts
Duration: 2 years, full-time
Start dates: September and February
Language of instruction: English
Responsibility: Programme director Master Asian Studies (research), Prof. Dr. J.A. Silk

Objectives

This research master provides core training in an Area Studies approach to knowledge, opportunities for the development of disciplinary skills (politics, history, literature, philosophy, religion, etc.), and possibilities to build upon regional and language specialisation (such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Sanskrit, and Tibetan). Master students in Asian Studies develop sophisticated theoretical and methodological tools for scholarly reflexivity as well as tools specific for their research projects – which may be framed in more conventionally disciplinary and regional terms. They are guided to understand the parameters of the various disciplines and the ways in which they may be creatively combined into sophisticated forms of inter-disciplinarity, suitable to their subject matter. Students develop in-depth knowledge of one of the regions of Asia (East Asia, South or Southeast Asia [including Tibet]), and/or a transregional/comparative perspective that tracks particular themes through their relationship with ‘areas.’

Structure

The programme consists of four semesters with a course load of 30 EC each. The courses have a weight of 10 EC each (some language courses have a weight of 5 EC) and students generally follow three courses per semester. During the first year students have to take two Common Core Courses: ‘Theory and Methods of Area Studies’ (semester 1) and one of the two following courses: ‘State and Society in Area Studies: “Orientalism, Colonialism and Post-Colonialism”’ or ‘Arts and Culture in Area Studies: Culture and conquest: the impact of the Mongols and their descendants’ (semester 2). First year students are also strongly advised to attend the ‘Thesis Writing Seminar’ during their first and second semesters. This ‘Thesis Writing Seminar’ is obligatory for all students in their second year (semester 3&4).
All specialisations have a number of elective courses. Therefore, students may largely follow their own interest. It is even possible to take courses from other programmes, but when students chooses to do so, they need to obtain approval from the Board of Examiners first. Students should be aware, though, that for some of the courses a certain level of knowledge of a particular language is required (see course descriptions). Students are strongly advised to contact the track leader or student advisor when composing their programme. In the third semester students may opt to spend a semester or summer abroad doing fieldwork and/or studying at an affiliated institution

Master’s thesis and requirements for graduation

In the third semester students start working on their individual research (and if they want to do fieldwork in the third semester, even earlier). This will result in a master’s thesis. The thesis must be based on the student’s own research, including primary data. Whether this material is gathered during fieldwork and/or a study-abroad period depends on the road chosen by the student. The fourth semester is entirely reserved for the writing of the thesis. This phase can also be used to prepare an application for a PhD position. In order to graduate, students need to have successfully completed the 120 EC programme including having completed the thesis (30 EC) as part of that programme. The thesis should be related to the expertise of at least one of the members of staff involved in the programme.

Contact Information

Mailing address

MA Asian Studies (research) programme
Secretariat Vrieshof 4, rm 112a
P.O.Box 9515
2300 RA Leiden
The Netherlands

Visiting address (also address for courier services)

Matthias de Vrieshof 4, 2311BZ Leiden
Witte Singel 25, 2311BG Leiden

Secretariat

Matthias de Vrieshof 4, room 112a

Opening hours
Monday, 13.30-15.30 hs
Tuesday, 10.00-12.30 hs
Wednesday, 10.00-12.30 hs
Thursday, 10.00-12.30 and 13.30-15.30 hs
Friday, 10.00-12.30 hs

Phone +31 (0)71 527 2253
Fax +31 (0)71 527 3310
E-mail secrVrieshof@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Coordinator/Student adviser

N.A.N.M. van Os, MA
Phone: +31 (0)71 527 2937
E-mail: stucovrieshof@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Office hours: upon appointment on Mondays (until 13.00 hs), Tuesdays, Wednesdays

Asian Studies (Research)

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