Turcology

The Master’s in Turcology offers an advanced curriculum in general and comparative Turcology, including linguistics, philology and literary studies. Right from the start, it encompasses a complementary combination of the acquisition of advanced theoretical knowledge with the training of the corresponding applied methodological competences. Accordingly, each of the three consecutive linguistics modules consists in the acquisition of structural knowledge in a Turkic language (or alternatively a Mongolic or Tungusic language, depending on the course schedule), a seminar on linguistic theory and methodology and a research-oriented seminar where specific working techniques in domains like field work, transcription, corpus linguistics, or quantitative methods can be trained in individual or group projects. The modules on Turkic Literature and Culture are composed of lectures and seminars ranging from classical Ottoman literature to post-modern novels, and from society and culture of the late Ottoman Empire to women’s writing. Each course has both a theoretical component, like the theory of the novel, and a practical one, including a close reading of texts and discussing ways of interpretation. In the elective module, students can participate in the Turcological Colloquium, a lecture series with distinguished guests from different countries presenting on their research and new trends in Turkish and Oriental studies, learn an additional language, or visit the Mainz Türk Edebiyatı Günleri with lectures in Turkish by renowned Turkish scholars. During the study period, it is possible to spend one term of the curriculum at a partner university abroad. We have co-operations with universities in Turkey (Istanbul, Ankara, Adana, Eskişehir), Sweden, Poland, Macedonia, Czechia and Cyprus. We also closely collaborate with the Bukhara State University (Uzbekistan). Master's graduates with an adequate average degree have the possibility to subsequently enter a consecutive PhD programme. The MA programme in Turcology at the JGU is unique in its focus on language and literature and in its engagement not only with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, but also Central Asian languages and cultures. With a long tradition, two Master’s programmes in English and two full professorships, the Department of Turcology at the JGU belongs to the most important centres of Turcological research in Germany. The programme is set for a standard duration of four semesters, comprising in total seven modules and 120 ECTS credits. It is equally divided into a linguistic-oriented part and lectures and seminars with focus on culture and literature. The three consequent modules of “Foundations of Turkic Linguistics”, “Intermediate Turkic Linguistics” and “Advanced Turkic Linguistics” each consist of a practical course in a Turkic language (this might include Uzbek, Crimean Tatar, Tuvan, Uighur, etc.), a research seminar and a seminar on linguistic Turcology, both introducing and expanding methods of language description and analysis. Analogically to the linguistic part, the three modules of “Foundations of Turkic Literature and Culture”, “Intermediate Turkic Literature and Culture” and “Advanced Turkic Literature and Culture” offer the possibility to critically engage with the cultural heritage of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, with lectures and seminars on such topics as Ottoman poetry, the Turkish historical novel, post-modern literature, secularism and religion, women writers, ideology and literature, travelogues and many others. In the Elective Module, students have the option of learning a new language (German for non-German speakers) or choose from a wide range of seminars offered both at the department and at the JGU in general. In the past, for example, we offered a workshop on Uzbekistan combined with an excursion to Tashkent, Bukhara and Samarkand. The Final Module is mainly devoted to the writing of the MA thesis. The thesis must be written in English.