Single subject programme – Full-time study – Three-year study – Language specializations: Arabic, Persian, Turkish
The language of instruction is Czech.
For description of the entrance exam for the BA programme Middle Eastern Studies for the year 2025/2026 visit this page.
The programme Middle Eastern Studies is designed as area studies with a high focus on language learning. The student is introduced to the historical and present-day cultures of the area which includes not only the Middle East itself but also the related, though not identical, region of North Africa. Being designed as area studies, it is an interdisciplinary programme embedded in historical sciences and philology of the particular areas’ languages.
Although the programme is structured as area studies, the concept does not neglect the translocal character of the cultures that are its subject of study. In history courses, it observes the history of relationships between these cultures and the Western European civilization (e.g. the Islamic culture on the Iberian Peninsula, the concept of “orientalism”, etc.). In the courses focused on the modern and present history, the programme also concentrates on the issues of the political relationships and the presence of other studied cultures outside of the given area (e.g. course Islam and Europe).
The programme offers language specializations of Arabic, Persian, or Turkish language. Language courses in each specialization are supplemented with courses that extend the student’s knowledge of the cultural context of the particular language (literature, thought, history of the area). Owing to the courses common to all specializations, the student acquires general knowledge of the whole area of the Middle East. In their own specialization, they acquire more advanced knowledge of the language area.
Single subject programme – Full-time study – Two-year study – Language specializations: Arabic, Persian, Turkish
The language of instruction is Czech.
For description of the entrance exam for the MA programme Middle Eastern Studies for the year 2025/2026 visit this page.
The prospective students of Middle Eastern Studies are expected to have general knowledge about the history and present-day of the area’s cultures including not only the Middle East itself but also the related, though not identical, region of North Africa. This knowledge is further developed into a superior specialization and towards more independent reasoning on a higher academic level. Being designed as area studies, it is an interdisciplinary progr
amme embedded in historical sciences and philology of the area’s languages.
Same as the BA programme, the follow-up MA programme Middle Eastern Studies is structured as area studies, its concept and curriculum do not neglect the translocal character of the cultures that are the subject of its study. It observes the relationships between these cultures and the Western European civilization in diachrony (e.g. the Islamic culture on the Iberian Peninsula) and theoretical perspective (e.g. the concept of “orientalism” and its critique). It does not ignore the geopolitical relations and the presence of other studied cultures outside of the given area as well as its religious issues.
The Middle Eastern Studies programme program also places a strong emphasis on acquiring a high level of the language of the student’s specialization. Whether the language is their aim or instrument, the graduates of the program acquire the ability to conduct independent critical work in the source language. The prospective student is required to have appropriate entry-level knowledge of at least one of the given area’s source languages that corresponds with the proposed project of the master’s thesis.
Within the compulsory-elective courses, the student selects a module for their primary focus, allowing them to concentrate primarily on a specific aspect of Middle Eastern studies (Languages and Literatures, History and Contemporary Issues, or Culture and Religion).