Double Degree in Critical Heritage Studies of Asia and Europe

Over the last few years, IIAS has been intensively engaged with the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) and targeted Asian partners in the development of a special master’s (and PhD) track in the field of ‘Critical Heritage Studies’. The uniqueness of this initiative is that the MA in Leiden will be combined with a parallel set of courses at a number of Asian universities, allowing for the students to obtain a double degree at the end of their training.

To date, the Asian partners involved are National Taiwan University in Taiwan and Yonsei University in South Korea, and contacts with other possible Asian partner institutes have been established.  

The programme is supervised by Elena Paskaleva (IIAS/LIAS), coordinator of the Asian Heritages cluster at IIAS.

MA programme at Leiden University

At Leiden University, students can opt for a specialisation in Critical Heritage Studies of Asia and Europe within the MA Asian Studies track 'History, Arts and Culture'. 

Inspired and supported by the IIAS Asian Heritages research cluster, the curriculum allows students to explore the contested character of all representations of culture, the plurality of notions of heritage in Asian and European contexts, and the way distinct and conflicting values of indigenous, local communities and official state discourses are negotiated. An in-depth description of the curriculum (2016-2017) is availabale in the University's E-Prospectus. 

The MA heritages specialisation is assisted by Prof Michael Herzfeld (Harvard), who is a guest teacher and the Senior Advisor to the Critical Heritage Studies Initiative of IIAS. The programme is supervised by Dr Elena Paskaleva (IIAS/LIAS), also teacher of the course Critical Approaches to Heritages Studies together with Michael Herzfeld.

Double Degree

Apart from the Leiden MA programme, students can also engage in the Double Degree Programme offered by Leiden University, IIAS and one of the Asian partner universities. Upon successful completion of the whole programme, the students will obtain three diplomas in total: the Leiden University MA diploma, the partner university MA diploma (two-year programme, of which the Leiden MA qualifies as one year) and a separate certificate for the Double MA Degree in Critical Heritage Studies of Asia and Europe, issued by IIAS.

Information

Course descriptions and application information is available on the University's Master's programmes website: MA Asian Studies track History, Arts and Culture of Asia. 

NOTE: Students who want to  apply for admission for the heritage specialisation are requested to add: “Critical Heritage Studies” on the application form provided on the Master's programmes website. 

Questions?

If you have any question about the Double Degree programme, please contact: 

Dr Elena Paskaleva (IIAS/LIAS)  
e.g.paskaleva@hum.leidenuniv.nl 

Dr Willem Vogelsang (Deputy Director IIAS)
w.j.vogelsang@iias.nl