BA Modern Greek and Persian
About this course
Modern Greek and Persian at Oxford is a degree from the European and Middle Eastern Languages programme, an unusual pairing that rewards genuine intellectual curiosity about two language traditions that are geographically and historically intertwined in ways that the pairing illuminates. Modern Greek opens the living language of Greece and Cyprus alongside one of the world's great classical literary traditions, providing access to contemporary Hellenic culture as well as the ancient foundations from which it developed. Persian, the language of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia, carries a classical literary tradition of extraordinary richness and a contemporary significance as a language of major regional and geopolitical importance. The cultural and historical links between the Byzantine Greek world and the Persian-speaking East are genuine and productive areas of inquiry. At the University of Oxford you will study for four years full-time, developing genuine proficiency in both languages alongside scholarly engagement with the literatures, cultures and histories they represent. Oxford's approach to European and Middle Eastern languages is rigorously philological and literary, developing both linguistic competence and the interpretive skills needed to engage with texts in their original languages and cultural contexts. The pairing opens comparative analytical possibilities that few other programmes can offer. Graduates with modern Greek and Persian are exceptionally well placed for careers in academia, the diplomatic service, translation and interpreting, international cultural institutions, journalism and any professional context that requires engagement with Greece or the Persian-speaking world. The rare linguistic combination, coupled with the depth of literary and cultural training that an Oxford degree provides, is a genuine credential in competitive professional and academic markets. Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in Greek studies, Persian literature, Byzantine history, Islamic studies or comparative literature, where the cross-cultural perspective the degree develops is a distinctive and valued scholarly asset.
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