Syriac Studies MSt

Syriac is the local Aramaic dialect of Edessa (modern Urfa, SE Turkey), which became the literary language of Aramaic-speaking Christians in the eastern Roman Empire and the Persian Empire, and spread with them from the Caucasus to Arabia and India, and from Syria to China, and is still spoken in classical and modern forms today. It has been studied and taught in Oxford since the 1570s and Oxford remains a major world centre of Syriac studies, with a great deal to offer all potential students in any of the academic disciplines associated with this language.

In addition to doctoral research and this MSt, Syriac is also studied in Oxford as part of the following degrees: undergraduate BAs in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the Faculty of Theology and Religion; the MPhil Eastern Christian Studies; the MSt Bible Interpretation; and as language options in the MSt/MPhil Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, and in the MSt Greek and Roman History. As a consequence, Oxford usually has a surprisingly large community of students with an interest in Syriac language, history, and culture.

The MSt in Syriac Studies is a one-year taught degree which is suitable as either a stand-alone qualification or a solid foundation in the subject for those intending to go on to do doctoral research. 

Course structure

Paper I, core course on the history, literature, and culture of the Syriac Churches.

An introductory lecture series on the background of Syriac literature, and key research tools for major literary genres, will be provided, 1 hour per week, in the first term. In addition students are expected to produce oral or written presentations on specified topics each week (for a tutorial or seminar lasting 1 and a half hours per week).

Papers II-IV, core courses on key Syriac literary genres.

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 approved subject

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).

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.

Assessment

The assessment towards the end of the third term takes the form of four written examinations:

• one paper with essay questions on the history, literature, and culture of the Syriac Churches; and
• three papers on the three specialist options, containing passages from the set texts for translation from Syriac into English and for comment, and also essay questions related to the set texts.