Study plan for the academic year 2022/2023


List of courses / activities for the first year

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1) INTRODUCTION TO THE DOCTORAL COURSE IN CIVILIZATIONS OF ASIA AND AFRICA 2
2) STARTING THE RESEARCH: SOURCES AND METHODS OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 2
3) ORIENTAL STUDIES AND DIGITAL HUMANITIES 4
4) THEORETICAL-METHODOLOGICAL LESSONS ON HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINES RELATED TO THE RESEARCH PROJECTS 6
5) STUDY GROUP: THEORETICAL-SCIENTIFIC TEXTS AT THE TEACHERS' CHOICE 2
6) CURRICULUM SEMINARS 2
7) READING GROUP: PUBLIC SPEAKING EXERCISE 2
8) TUTORING AND SUPPLEMENTARY TEACHING ACTIVITIES 5
9) FOREIGN LANGUAGES: ONE ORIENTAL LANGUAGE CHOSEN BY THE DOCTORAL CANDIDATE 12
10) PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCES OR SEMINARS AT THE CHOICE OF THE PHD STUDENT 3

More information

Further information on the activities and courses listed above is provided below:

1) INTRODUCTION TO THE DOCTORAL COURSE IN CIVILIZATIONS OF ASIA AND AFRICA (compulsory and common to the three curricula):
The functioning of the Doctorate: reference legislation, rights and duties of doctoral students; deadlines and documentation (e.g. PhD student file for the PhD annual renewal file), meeting with the representatives of the PhD students. The operational and scientific structures for the study and research activity of doctoral students, with particular reference to the library heritage, language laboratories, sector databases. Presentation and discussion of the research of newly admitted PhD students in the presence of the Doctoral Board. Required preparatory activity: reading of the PhD Regulations.

2) STARTING THE RESEARCH: SOURCES AND METHODS OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESEAR (compulsory; partly transversal, partly common to the three curricula)
The teaching activity aims to provide an introduction to the discipline of bibliography and to present the main tools for bibliographic research. It consists of a general part, aimed at all curricula, and an in-depth part aimed at individual curricula. It includes a laboratory activity component aimed in particular at familiarizing the doctoral students with the main IT aids for research. Introduction to the writing of an annotated bibliography in anticipation of the mid-year monitoring. Introduction to writing a doctoral thesis: IT tools and general settings. Required preparatory activity: drafting of a bibliography focused on the research topic with only sources available in the Sapienza library catalogue.

3) ORIENTAL STUDIES AND DIGITAL HUMANITIES
Institutional and advanced educational activities aimed at examining how research in the Digital Humanities can promote new developments in Asian and African studies. These activities are open to the three years and transversal to the curricula. Required preparatory activity: reading an introductory essay on the ICT(s) covered in the lesson.

4) THEORETICAL-METHODOLOGICAL LESSONS ON HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINES RELATED TO THE RESEARCH PROJECTS
The activity is partly made up of specialized lessons organized by the Doctorate, which will take into account the research undertaken by the doctoral students at the beginning of their career. It also foresees that during the first year the PhD students attend specific training courses on research theories and methods in the context of the discipline(s) in which their project is framed. These courses can be provided by Sapienza or by other institutions and generally consist of 6 credits.

5) STUDY GROUP: THEORETICAL-SCIENTIFIC TESTS AT THE TEACHERS' CHOICE
This didactic activity proposes the analytical reading, with group activities at the level of the curriculum, of theoretical or methodological essays considered important within the individual disciplinary sectors or area. It is expected that the essays will be proposed by the professors and that the PhD students will prepare themselves with an advance reading aimed at guaranteeing active participation in the discussion.

6) CURRICULUM SEMINARS
Thematic lessons organized by the individual curricula in consideration of the research carried out by the PhD students.

7) READING GROUP: PUBLIC SPEAKING EXERCISE (Gruppo di lettura: public speaking su opere proposte dalle/i dottorande/i)
This activity is aimed at tackling, through group meetings, the reading of works (fiction, poetry, history of thought, etc.) considered particularly significant for the cultural and personal training of doctoral student in their research field; it is preferable, but not compulsory, to choose works relating to the civilizations of Asia and Africa. The meetings can eventually take place in the library and be open to users, offering an opportunity to practice public speaking in an informal context.

8) TUTORATION AND SUPPLEMENTARY TEACHING ACTIVITIES pursuant to Ministerial Decree 45/2013 (Attività di tutorato e didattica integrativa ex DM 45/2013)
In compliance with the provisions of art. 12 paragraph 2 of Ministerial Decree 45 of 2013, according to which "PhD students, as an integral part of the training project, can carry out tutoring activities for students, subject to authorization from the teaching staff and without this involving any increase in the scholarship of degree and master's degree courses as well as, in any case within the maximum limit of forty hours in each academic year, supplementary teaching activities", it is envisaged for first-year doctoral students the possibility of carrying out up to a maximum of 40 hours of tutoring for three-year degree students of the degree course in Oriental Languages and Civilizations, possibly in combination with supplementary teaching activities on the proposal and supervision of the reference tutor.

9) FOREIGN LANGUAGES: ONE ORIENTAL LANGUAGE CHOSEN BY THE DOCTORAL CANDIDATE (Attività di perfezionamento linguistico: prima lingua orientale)
This didactic activity provides the possibility, for first-year doctoral students, to attend specialization courses in an oriental language of their choice that is useful for doctoral research (courses generally consist of 12 credits). Particularly recommended is the attendance of the modules taught by mother tongue teachers.

10) PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCES OR SEMINARS AT THE CHOICE OF THE PHD STUDENT (Partecipazione a conferenze o incontri seminariali su proposta del/la dottorando/)
Each PhD student is expected to participate, as an auditor or possibly a speaker, in conferences, study meetings, national or international specialist in-depth seminars. Participation must be agreed with the tutor. The drafting of a short summary report on the event attended is expected, the preparation of which is considered an integral part of the number of hours considered in the calculation of credits. Among the meetings in which it is possible to participate, there are the teaching activities that are part of the training plan of the second and third year of the doctorate, in particular those of the curriculum.

It should be noted that the credit indicated here is to be considered as an indication of the total number of hours foreseen for each teaching activity. No credits are awarded from courses/seminars envisaged for PhD teaching, but attendance is compulsory up to a minimum of 80% of the lectures provided.


Method of choosing the subject of the thesis

The subject of the thesis is defined starting from the project presented by the candidate in the call. Once admitted to the PhD course, the candidate discusses the project with the supervisor and co-supervisor with whom she/he determines its scope and methodology.

Admission to the second year

The verification consists of two phases: 1) monitoring of the first semester; 2) monitoring of the second semester with admission to the following year.
The procedure, timing and documentation required for each of the two phases are illustrated below.

1) MONITORING OF THE FIRST SEMESTER
The first monitoring is usually held in early May. The material required for verification consists of: a) an annotated bibliography, articulated and enriched with respect to that already presented initially with the research project, possibly accompanied by other optional materials; b) a first draft of the thesis summary.

2) MONITORING OF THE SECOND SEMESTER WITH ADMISSION TO THE FOLLOWING YEAR
For the passage of the year which takes place in the second half of October, a written report must be submitted by 20 September. The material required for admission to the second year consists of a report on the progress of the research and the training activities carried out. The report consists of four sections, described below:

Section 1: Progress of the research work
In this section, the doctoral student can first briefly describe his research project, then focusing on the developments of the research that took place in the academic year just ended and on the various phases of the same, especially for the periods spent abroad. Any evolutions that the project has undergone with respect to the form in which it was presented at the time of admission to the doctorate may be described; this aspect can be made explicit by arguing the path of the study that has been produced up to that moment also through references - for example - to new studies and new bibliographic sources that add up to those presented in the initial project, comparisons made with other scholars or the outcome of any missions abroad. For greater clarity, this section can be divided into several sub-sections.

Section 2: Training activities
In this section you can proceed with the list and brief description of the training activities carried out in the a.y. recently passed, such as, for example, participation in conventions, conferences, workshops or other, both as a speaker and as an listener; participation in methodological lessons and any curriculum lessons; teaching support and more.

Section 3: bibliographic section, which reports in more detail any references cited in Section 1.

Section 4: Approval and signature (also electronic) of the supervisor and cosupervisor.



List of courses / activities for the second year

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1) 1) THE RESEARCH EVALUATION SYSTEM, RESEARCH DISSEMINATION AND OPEN SCIENCE 2
2) ORIENTAL STUDIES AND DIGITAL HUMANITIES 4
3) ORIENTAL STUDIES IN ITALY: SCHOOLS, TRENDS, PERSONALITIES 2
4) ADVANCED COURSE ON PUBLIC SPEAKING AND ACADEMIC WRITING 8
5) WRITING A DOCTORAL THESIS, WRITING A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE: METHODOLOGICAL LESSONS 2
6) STUDY GROUP: THEORETICAL-SCIENTIFIC TEXTS AT THE TEACHERS' CHOICE 2
7) TUTORING AND SUPPLEMENTARY TEACHING ACTIVITIES 4
8) PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCES OR SEMINARS AT THE CHOICE OF THE PHD STUDENT 4
9) CURRICULUM SEMINARS 2
10) INTERNATIONAL DOCTORAL SYMPOSIUM 8

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1) THE RESEARCH EVALUATION SYSTEM, RESEARCH VALORISATION AND OPEN SCIENCE
The national research system (types of research products, IRIS catalogue, National Scientific Qualification, Evaluation of Research Quality, etc.). Drafting of a curriculum vitae, use of academic social networks, Open access and European objectives of Open Science, European laws on the protection of intellectual property. The module is imagined as common to the three curricula and includes practical exercises.

2) ORIENTAL STUDIES AND DIGITAL HUMANITIES
Institutional and advanced educational activities aimed at examining how research in the Digital Humanities can promote new developments in Asian and African studies. These activities are open to the three years and transversal to the curricula.

3) ORIENTAL STUDIES IN ITALY: SCHOOLS, CURRENT, PERSONALITY:
Insights into the history of oriental studies in Italy.

4) ADVANCED COURSE OF PUBLIC SPEAKING AND ACADEMIC WRITING
Advanced institutional course open to 2nd year PhD students with native speaker teacher. The course will provide key techniques and guidelines to improve students' written academic communication and oral academic presentation skills.

5) WRITING A DOCTORAL THESIS, WRITING A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE: METHOD LESSONS
This activity consists of a frontal teaching part, followed by a laboratory activity. The frontal teaching part intends to provide general indications on the optimal setting of a scientific article and an effective abstract and is common to the curricula. The frontal lessons are preparatory to the drafting (which will mainly be developed in the third year) of a scientific article under the guidance of the tutor and with the supervision of the components of the curriculum. The article, to be published as a publication of the PhD in Asian and African Civilizations or elsewhere, will hopefully be published by the end of the PhD programme. Some meetings will be dedicated to a reflection on the writing of a doctoral thesis, with particular reference to the methodology and state of the art.

6) STUDY GROUP: THEORETICAL-SCIENTIFIC TESTS AT THE TEACHERS' CHOICE
This didactic activity proposes the analytical reading, with group laboratory activities at curriculum level, of theoretical or methodological essays considered important within the individual disciplinary sectors or area. It is expected that the essays will be proposed by the professors and that the PhD students will prepare themselves with an advance reading aimed at guaranteeing active participation in the discussion. The activity is transversal to the years.

7) TUTORATION AND SUPPLEMENTARY TEACHING ACTIVITIES pursuant to Ministerial Decree 45/2013
In compliance with the provisions of art. 12 paragraph 2 of Ministerial Decree 45 of 2013, according to which "PhD students, as an integral part of the training project, can carry out tutoring activities for students, subject to authorization from the teaching staff and without this involving any increase in the scholarship of degree and master's degree courses as well as, in any case within the maximum limit of forty hours in each academic year, supplementary teaching activities", it is envisaged for second-year doctoral students the possibility of carrying out up to a maximum of 40 hours of of tutoring for master's degree students of the degree course in Oriental Languages and Civilisations, possibly in combination with supplementary teaching activities on the proposal and supervision of the reference tutor.

8) PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCES OR SEMINARS AT THE CHOICE OF THE PHD STUDENT
Each PhD student is expected to participate, as an auditor or possibly a speaker, in conferences, study meetings, national or international specialist in-depth seminars. Participation must be agreed with the tutor. The drafting of a short summary report on the event attended is expected, the preparation of which is considered an integral part of the number of hours considered in the calculation of credits. Among the meetings in which it is possible to participate, there are the teaching activities that are part of the training plan of the second and third year of the doctorate, in particular those of the curriculum.

9) CURRICULUM SEMINARY LESSONS
Cycle of thematic lessons organized according to the lines of research enucleated by the individual curriculum.

10) INTERNATIONAL PHD STUDENTS' WORKSHOP
In line with the experience of February 2020 and with that scheduled for September 2021, the International PhD students' workshop is also expected to be held in spring 2022 in collaboration with the University of Heidelberg and that of Venice. Second-year PhD students who present their thesis will have the opportunity to put into practice what they have learned about public speaking; a part of the doctoral students will follow as auditors, in this case the credit amounts to 2 credits.

No credits are awarded from courses/seminars envisaged for PhD teaching, but attendance is compulsory up to a minimum of 70% of the lectures provided.


Method of preparation of the thesis

During the second year, the collection of materials (manuscripts, translations, interviews, lexicons, databases, etc.) is expected, which form the database for drafting the thesis. Research stays abroad in libraries (bibliographic research) or field missions to collect various types of material in the countries of interest are also highly necessary. PhD students participate in independently chosen seminars as well as in the doctoral teaching activities scheduled for the second year (compulsory).

Admission to the third year

The verification consists of two phases: 1) monitoring of the first semester; 2) monitoring of the second semester with admission to the following year.
The procedure, timing and documentation required for each of the two phases are illustrated below.

1) MONITORING OF THE FIRST SEMESTER
The first monitoring is usually held in early May. The material required for verification consists of: a) an annotated bibliography, articulated and enriched with respect to that already presented initially with the research project, possibly accompanied by other optional materials; b) a first draft of the thesis summary.

2) MONITORING OF THE SECOND SEMESTER WITH ADMISSION TO THE FOLLOWING YEAR
For the passage of the year which takes place in the second half of October, a written report must be submitted by 20 September. The material required for admission to the second year consists of a report on the progress of the research and the training activities carried out. The report consists of four sections, described below:

Section 1: Progress of the research work
In this section, the doctoral student can first briefly describe his research project, then focusing on the developments of the research that took place in the academic year just ended and on the various phases of the same, especially for the periods spent abroad. Any evolutions that the project has undergone with respect to the form in which it was presented at the time of admission to the doctorate may be described; this aspect can be made explicit by arguing the path of the study that has been produced up to that moment also through references - for example - to new studies and new bibliographic sources that add up to those presented in the initial project, comparisons made with other scholars or the outcome of any missions abroad. For greater clarity, this section can be divided into several sub-sections.

Section 2: Training activities
In this section you can proceed with the list and brief description of the training activities carried out in the a.y. recently passed, such as, for example, participation in conventions, conferences, workshops or other, both as a speaker and as an listener; participation in methodological lessons and any curriculum lessons; teaching support and more.

Section 3: bibliographic section, which reports in more detail any references cited in Section 1.

Section 4: Approval and signature (also electronic) of the supervisor and cosupervisor.



List of courses / activities for the third year

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1) NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORKS, CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND JOB PLACEMENT 2
2) ORIENTAL STUDIES IN ITALY: SCHOOLS, TRENDS, PROTAGONISTS 2
3) THE ORGANIZATION OF A CONFERENCE: MANAGEMENT AND SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS 2
4) WRITING A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE: FROM IDEATION TO PUBLICATION 8
5) INTERNATIONAL DOCTORAL SYMPOSIUM ON ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES 2
6) CURRICULUM SEMINARS 2
7) TUTORING AND SUPPLEMENTARY TEACHING ACTIVITIES 4
8) PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCES OR SEMINARS AT THE CHOICE OF THE PHD STUDENT 6

More information

1) NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORKS, CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND JOB PLACEMENT
Educational meetings to provide an overview of the possibilities for research funding, both nationally (from research start-up projects to Prin) and internationally (Marie Curie, ERC, Research Professionals, ERASMUS + etc.). It also aims to offer information on the main tools and paths for continuing a career in the academic field (e.g. post-doc opportunities, international placement opportunities), and/or entering the world of work with high-profile professionalism.

2) ORIENTAL STUDIES IN ITALY: SCHOOLS, CURRENT, PERSONALITY
This activity aims to offer a diachronic overview of area studies in Italy and is therefore thought of as an in-depth study to be developed within each curriculum, also making use of the most recent research aimed at reconstructing the history of oriental studies in our country.

3) THE ORGANIZATION OF A CONFERENCE: MANAGEMENT AND SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS
Accepting the proposal of the PhD students of previous years, a training activity is proposed aimed at providing some introductory information useful for planning an international conference. In the specific case, the planning of the International Workshop will be used as an example and as a tool for laboratory activities, which constitutes an integral part of the training program for second year PhD students. Third-year doctoral students, who the previous year will have been panelists or auditors of the conference, will have the opportunity to acquire management and coordination skills, both operational and scientific.

4) WRITING A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE: FROM IDEATION TO PUBLICATION
Reconnecting to the training activity started at the end of the second year on writing a scientific article, a training activity is foreseen focused on the completion of the process of writing a scientific essay, under the supervision of the tutor and the teachers of the curriculum, with the analysis of the referees received on the proposed article and the revision.

5) INTERNATIONAL DOCTORAL SYMPOSIUM ON ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES
PhD students will participate as listeners and possibly as discussants in the International doctoral symposium on Asian and African Studies , organized in collaboration with the University of Venice and Heidelberg. The workshop includes a series of expert reports, followed by the presentation of the research of the second year PhD students. The workshop is usually held in February.

6) CURRICULUM SEMINARS
Seminar lessons organized by the single curriculum according to the lines of research related to it.

7) TUTORING AND SUPPLEMENTARY TEACHING ACTIVITIES
In compliance with the provisions of art. 12 paragraph 2 of Ministerial Decree 45 of 2013, according to which "PhD students, as an integral part of the training project, can carry out tutoring activities for students, subject to authorization from the teaching staff and without this involving any increase in the scholarship of degree and master's degree courses as well as, in any case within the maximum limit of forty hours in each academic year, supplementary teaching activities", it is envisaged for second-year doctoral students the possibility of carrying out up to a maximum of 40 hours of of tutoring for master's degree students of the degree course in Oriental Languages and Civilisations, hopefully in combination with supplementary teaching activities on the proposal and supervision of the reference tutor.

8) PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCES OR SEMINARS AT THE CHOICE OF THE PHD STUDENT
Each PhD student is expected to participate, as an auditor or possibly a speaker, in conferences, study meetings, national or international specialist in-depth seminars. Participation must be agreed with the tutor. The drafting of a short summary report on the event attended is expected, the preparation of which is considered an integral part of the number of hours considered in the calculation of credits. The meetings in which it is possible to participate include the teaching activities that are part of the training plan of the second and possibly first year of the doctorate (for new activities, introduced in the training plan in the 2021-2022 academic year and therefore not attended in past).

No credits are awarded from courses/seminars envisaged for PhD teaching, but attendance is compulsory.


Method of admission to the final examination

The verification consists of two phases: 1) monitoring of the first semester; 2) monitoring of the second semester with admission to the final exam.
The procedure, timing and documentation required for each of the two phases are illustrated below.

1) MONITORING OF THE FIRST SEMESTER
Monitoring of the first semester is usually held in early May. In addition to the updated bibliography and index, the doctoral student will have to submit for approval at least one chapter of the thesis, together with the general index (which, however, may still be slightly modified); it is possible to bring other optional materials (e.g. other draft chapters, translations, tables, statistical data or other) for evaluation. Any essays being published or already published may be included in the material being evaluated.

2) MONITORING OF THE SECOND SEMESTER WITH ADMISSION TO THE FINAL EXAMINATION
For the changeover of the year which takes place in the second half of October, a written report must be submitted by 20 September. The material required for the passage of the year and admission to the final exam consists of a report on the state of research and the training activities carried out. The report consists of four sections, described below:

Section 1: Progress of research work
In this section, the doctoral student can first briefly describe his research project, then focusing on the developments of the research that took place in the academic year just ended and on the various phases of the same, especially for the periods spent abroad. Any evolutions that the project has undergone with respect to the form in which it was presented at the time of admission to the doctorate may be described; this aspect can be made explicit by arguing the path of the study that has been produced up to that moment also through references - for example - to new studies and new bibliographic sources that add up to those presented in the initial project, comparisons made with other scholars or the outcome of any missions abroad. For greater clarity, this section can be divided into several sub-sections.

Section 2: Training activities
In this section you can proceed with the list and brief description of the training activities carried out in the a.y. recently passed, such as, for example, participation in conventions, conferences, workshops or other, both as a speaker and as an listener; participation in methodological lessons and any curriculum lessons; teaching support and more.

Section 3: bibliographic section which reports in more detail any references cited in Section 1.

Section 4: Approval and signature (also electronic) of the tutor. The last part of this report must be reserved for an approval note signed by the tutor.


Final examination

Ø by October 31st the doctoral students will have to deliver the thesis to the external evaluators;
Ø by 15 December, the external evaluators will have to formalize their judgment to allow for the operations of admission to the final exam and the discussion of the thesis or the postponement up to a maximum of 6 months from that date;
Ø by 28 February the PhD students will have to discuss their thesis and obtain the title of PhD.

If the PhD course has PhD students whose careers have been suspended or who have been postponed by external evaluators following a negative judgement, for a period equal to or less than 6 months, it is established that an extraordinary session will be held by 30 September of each year.
Then:
Ø by June 15th the doctoral students must deliver the thesis to the external evaluators;
Ø by 31 July the external evaluators will have to formalize their judgment to allow the operations of admission to the final exam and the discussion of the thesis;
Ø by September 30th, the doctoral students will have to defend their thesis and obtain the title of research doctor.

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