Our courses in Middle Eastern Studies and East Asian studies are about much more than learning a language, although that's an important part of what we do.
Discover more in this video
Join the next exciting undergraduate Open Day at AMES: Thursday 10th July and Friday 11th July 2025.
For more information: www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/events/cambridge-open-days.
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Faculty Virtual Tour
For general enquires email: enquiries@ames.cam.ac.uk
Twitter: cambridgefames
YouTube: Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
Several of our subject areas have dedicated social media presences
Discover more about our programme
Educational Aims
- to provide teaching to undergraduate students in a number of the languages and cultures (across a wide range of disciplines) of East Asia and the Middle East as they have developed through history to the present.
- to introduce students to current developments in scholarship and research relating to these topics.
- to provide a stimulating, inherently multi-disciplinary environment in which students can realise their intellectual potential.
- to give students access to a broad range of methodological approaches in the humanities and to enable them to develop sensitivity to the similarities and dissimilarities between other cultures and societies and their own.
- to help students develop a range of cognitive, practical, interpersonal and cross-cultural skills and abilities which will enable them to make a significant contribution in their chosen careers and walks of life, including training in academic research.
Tasters
The videos below, featuring teaching staff from across the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, will give you an introduction to a range of topics.
Course structure
Farida el Keiy gives an overview of the Arabic Studies Year Abroad
Prof. Amira Bennison introduces the History component of our Undergraduate programme
Short online lectures
Prof. Hans van de Ven gives a mini lecture on "China's Second World War"
Japanese Studies sample lecture "Mapping Visual Culture" with Dr Joshua Batts
Professor Christine van Ruymbeke briefly introduces the contents of the second-year paper MES.15 - Intermediate Literary Persian
Prof. Roel Sterckx gives a mini-lecture about "Food Culture in China"
Prof. Roel Sterckx addresses the question "Who is Confucius?"
Student perspectives
A student's-eye view of studying Hebrew at Cambridge.
Hebrew with a Modern Language: two students' perspective of our course and Faculty.
Course Introductions
Dr Haijni Elias introduces paper C.15 - The Chinese Tradition
Language Tasters
Hebrew Language Taster by Prof. Geoffrey Khan