Chinese Studies
| Degree: | Master of Arts in Chinese Studies |
|---|---|
| Mode of Study: | Full-time |
| Duration: | 2 years |
| Start date: | September |
| Language of instruction: | English |
This two-year MA in Chinese Studies combines content courses with intensive and advanced language training. You will be taught by internationally recognised experts in fields ranging from political science to literature and religion, as well as experienced teachers of Chinese as a foreign language.
The programme will equip you with an excellent command of Mandarin (and – in the case of certain specialisations – of Classical Chinese), a broad knowledge of China, insight into its internal and external dynamics, and starting points for contextualising China within Asia.
In addition, the programme utilises the resources of the world-renowned Leiden sinological library, one of the largest and most diverse collection in Europe and an important reference point for scholars from around the world.
The information about this programme is available in the following languages:
Chinese Studies at Leiden builds on a long, continuous tradition of internationally recognised, local expertise. This enables the combination of diachronic and synchronic perspectives, and constitutes a wide-ranging institutional memory. Evidence is found in a wealth of publications aimed at specialist and general audiences, and in top-quality library collections and archives. Direct access to source materials in Chinese provides the foundations for scholarship in the fields of art and material culture, including:
- Cultural/intellectual/social/economic history
- Language
- Literature and film
- Media and communication
- Philosophy
- Political science
- Religion.
As a programme unique in the Netherlands, it provides a nation-wide avenue for the first-hand study of a civilisation whose significance—past, present and future—needs no elucidation.
Objectives
The objective of the programme is to ensure you graduate with the following skills:
- An excellent command of Mandarin and – in the case of certain specialisations – Classical Chinese;
- A broad knowledge of China, and the ability to comment on China from other vantage points—for example, western Europe—for both specialist and general audiences, and to act as cultural mediators;
- Some awareness of the history of Chinese Studies, its current development, its interfaces with various disciplines—for example, anthropology, history, art history, linguistics, literature, religion—and its societal importance;
- Awareness of disciplinary thinking, concepts, terminology and methodology as dictated by your regional-disciplinary specialisation;
- The ability to carry out independent and academic-quality research.
