Past events
Over the years we have organised a wealth of lectures series, conferences, symposia, and workshops, which attract scholars from all over the world. We pride ourselves in making our Faculty the hub of ground-breaking research that fosters international collaboration and enables interdisciplinary dialogues.
Many of our events are open to the public. See our schedule for upcoming events.
Long-standing seminar series
(In alphabetical order)
Book Culture in Buddhism and Beyond, 2023 to date (with the generous support of the Glorisun Global Network).
China Research Seminars, 2018 to date.
Chuan Lyu Lectures in Taiwan Studies (annual lecture generously funded by the Chuan Lyu Foundation).
Dunhuang & Silk Road Seminar Series, 2018–2022 (with the generous support of the Glorisun Global Network and Dhammachai International Research Institute).
East Asian Seminar Series, 2018 to present (the Japanese Studies Group at the University of Cambridge gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation towards this seminar series).
Hebrew Studies Seminar Series, 2018–2020.
Israel Studies Seminar Series, 2025.
Middle Eastern Studies Seminar Series, 2021 to date.
Middle Eastern Linguistics & Philology Seminar, 2021–2024.
Seminars on Chinese Linguistics and Chinese as a Second Language, 2018–2019
The Ra Jong-Yil Distinguished Lecture, 2008 to date (established by Dr Ra Jong-Yil, former ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United Kingdom and to Japan and former head of the Republic of Korea's national intelligence service, on the basis of generous donations from Dr Ra himself and from some of his friends and colleagues).
Ullendorff Lectures in Semitic Philology, 2021–2024.
Yin-Cheng Distinguished Lecture Series, 2023 to date (established in honour of Venerable Cheng-yen 證嚴, founder of Tzu Chi, and her mentor Yinshun 印順 (1906–2005), with the goal of promoting topics in Buddhist studies and with the generous support of the Tzi Chi Foundation).
Other past events
Some of the conferences, symposia, and workshops that we have organized over the years include (in alphabetical order):
International Conference on Teaching Persian Language and Literature, 2018 to date (annual conference organized by Dr Dr Mahbod Ghaffari).
Decolonising East Asian Studies (Global Humanities Workshop), 2022 (organized by Prof Barak Kushner and Dr Vicky Young).
Fourth Biennial Arabic Language Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Conference, 2024 (organized by Dr Farida El-Keiy).
From morning hunt to beloved gazelle, 2021 (organized by Prof Christine van-Ruymbeke and Dr Charis Olszok, with Christiane Esche-Ramshorn).
International Symposium of The Association for Early Modern Japanese Literature, Early Modern Graphic Narratives (kusazōshi): Making the Most of Digital Data, 2025 (organized by Prof Laura Moretti).
Occupied by Play Rethinking Reading and Learning in Japan, 2023 (organized by Prof Laura Moretti with Prof Jaqueline Berndt from Stockholm University).
The Digital Turn in Early Modern Japanese Studies, 2022 (organized by Prof Laura Moretti).
Transgressive Beasts: Animals Challenging Boundaries in Chinese History, 2022 (jointly organised by the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge and the Chinese Studies Institute at Friedrich-Alexander-University).
