MPhil in Jewish Studies in the Graeco-Roman Period

The course will introduce you to the range of primary sources for Jewish history in this period and equip you with both the understanding and the ability to use a range of historiographical and critical methods in the treatment of such primary sources.

The course consists of instruction in the history and institutions of the Jews and in three specialised areas of Jewish studies which involve close study of particular types of primary texts. You will be expected to have a working knowledge of the relevant languages (mainly Hebrew and ancient Greek) before starting the course, and no time is set aside for basic language instruction.

Teaching for the compulsory core course is covered by a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials covering the principal sources of the period of the Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism. The classes provide instruction in the translation and interpretation of most but not necessarily all of the set texts which you are required to study for your specialised papers. General questions about these texts are discussed in tutorials (usually eight per course), which normally consist in one-to-one discussion with a tutor of your written work. These may include selected texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, Jewish-Hellenistic compositions, and Jewish papyri.

The other three papers involve the study of prescribed texts in the following subject areas that are regularly offered:

• Ancient Jewish History and Historiography,
• The Dead Sea Scrolls,
• Jewish-Hellenistic Literature,
• Early Rabbinic Literature (Mishnah, Midrash, and Targum),
• Jewish Papyrology.

Other text-based papers may sometimes be available, such as the Septuagint, the Ancient Jewish Diaspora, or any other subject approved by the Faculty.

Most teaching for this Master’s course will take place in small classes or tutorials, normally given by the course convenor, but also supplemented by recommended lectures, classes and seminars taught by other colleagues. You are encouraged to attend events (reading groups, seminars, and courses) relevant to your subject of study in other faculties, eg at Classics or Theology and Religion. Numbers of students on the course are very small (1–2 per year) and so teaching is tailored according to the needs and interests of individual students.

You can expect to be engaged in academic work for at least thirty-five hours a week during the full term and to be expected to carry out a considerable amount of work during the vacations.

Most work for the written examinations is normally completed in the first year of the course, so that most of the second year can be devoted to the dissertation, but some text work may be carried over into the second year if this is convenient. You will be required to choose, in consultation with your supervisor, the special subjects that you wish to study during your first term so that set texts can be approved by the Faculty Board towards the end of that term.

After approval by the Faculty Board, set texts will be published in the Course Handbook, which can be accessed via the faculty's course webpage. There is less urgency in choosing a thesis topic, but you should have a general idea of the field you wish to work in by the middle of your second term so that thesis supervision can be arranged by your general supervisor. You should have a clear idea of your thesis topic by the end of the Trinity term in your first year so that you can work on your thesis over the summer vacation.

Attendance

Resources to support your study

Oxford has been an important centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies since the sixteenth century. There are unrivalled collections of Hebrew manuscripts, including Hebrew and Aramaic papyri, and printed books in the Bodleian Library. The Leopold Muller Memorial Library is housed in the Clarendon Institute and has a collection specialising mainly in the areas of Jewish history and Hebrew literature.

As well as the Bodleian Library (in particular the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library) and Leopold Muller library, you will have access to the Nizami Ganjavi Library part of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies which contains Biblical, Jewish, Islamic and other Asian and Middle Eastern works. Adjacent to the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is the Ashmolean Museum which, amongst its many other superb collections, houses material on the archaeology and material culture of the Land of Israel.

You will have access to the University's centrally provided electronic resources, the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies' IT Officer, and other bibliographic, archive or material sources as appropriate to the topic. There are common rooms in both the Pusey Lane Building of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the Clarendon Institute where tea and coffee is available, and staff and students can meet.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

Assessment

The course is examined at the end of the sixth term by four written essays (3,000 words each, submitted at the end of each term) and by a thesis of 30,000 words.

At the end of the first year of the course, you will be required, unless specifically exempted by the Faculty Board, to sit a qualifying examination to confirm your suitability to continue to the second year.

Further information on the course, and the examination process, can be found in the course handbook via the course webpage on the faculty's website.

Graduate destinations

Asian and Middle Eastern studies graduates have found employment in many diverse fields including business, finance law, civil service, journalism, government and industry.

Many graduates have also undertaken further research into subjects linked with Asian and Middle Eastern studies and have pursued successful careers in the academic world, education and in museums.

College preference

The following colleges accept students on the MPhil in Jewish Studies in the Graeco-Roman Period: