Syriac Studies (Taught)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

The MSt in Syriac Studies has been designed to give students experience in reading and interpreting a wide range of Syriac texts, from a choice of genres and in all the major scripts, as well as a broad knowledge of Syriac literature and history, and an ability to use key research tools. It is either a stand-alone qualification or a solid foundation in the subject for those intending to go on to do doctoral research.

You must choose to study texts in three of the following subjects:

• biblical versions

• exegetical literature

• early poetry

• liturgy

• historical literature

• secular literature

• monastic literature

• hagiography

• translations of Greek patristic texts

• theological texts

• any other subject approved by the Faculty Board

The choice of the precise texts to be read in each of the three subjects selected is decided by consultation between yourself and your supervisor in the first week of Michaelmas term. No more than three of these subjects will be taught in any one year.

Teaching takes the form of:

• text-classes (usually six hours per week), for which you are expected to prepare;

• seminars (usually one and a half hours per week), for which you are expected to prepare oral or written presentations on specified topics; and

• lectures on the general background of Syriac literature (normally one hour per week).

These classes and lectures are normally given by Professor David Taylor or Professor Alison Salvesen.

You are also encouraged to attend seminars in relevant areas. There are regular series in:

• Patristic studies

• Late Antique and Byzantine studies

• Armenian Studies

• Jewish Studies in the Greco-Roman Period

• Old Testament and New Testament

• Ancient Near Eastern studies.