Course summary

The MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) is an intense one-year course primarily for students who intend to go on to do a PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) at the University of Cambridge or elsewhere. It is designed for highly motivated future researchers who have a substantial undergraduate background in Chinese Studies or related fields but need more exposure to topic-specific or discipline-based analytical frameworks and more intensive training in primary source language(s) and research skills. Students admitted for the MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) will have the option to choose from one of the following streams: (1) Modern and Contemporary Chinese Studies or (2) Pre-Modern Chinese Studies. With the consent of their supervisor and relevant teachers, students may be permitted to combine papers from options (1) and (2). Students taking the MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) choose three papers from either: (1) Modern and Contemporary Chinese Studies: REQUIRED: Asia in Theory - [Team taught; theoretical and methodological approaches] Students then choose TWO optional papers from the following list: Chinese Literature and Modernity - Topics in Modern Chinese History - The Anthropology of China - Chinese Linguistics - Advanced Readings in Chinese on a relevant subject [e.g., Qing and Republican historical documents, Modern literary texts, Chinese religions, etc] - Alternative Paper (to be arranged with specific instructors). [An "alternative paper" can be a paper taken from the pre-modern Chinese Studies stream or in another department or faculty (e.g., POLIS, History, Anthropology, Development Studies) in the student's area of research focus.]