Welcome to the Asian Studies Centre at the University of Münster

The Asian Studies Centre is based at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Münster and was founded in 2024. It aims at networking scholars, students, and employees interested in Asia, who do research on Asia, or who are from Asia, to bundle their wide-ranging interests and competencies and make use of otherwise unknown synergies. [more]

News & events

| Lecture series
Lecture series “History and culture of the Palestine region”
© Natalie Kraneiß

Lecture series “History and culture of the Palestine region”

The Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies is organising a lecture series on "History and Culture of the Palestine Region" in the winter semester 2024/25, which is aimed at students and members of the University of Münster as well as the interested public. We look forward to welcoming many visitors!
Some lectures will also be broadcast via Zoom. You will find the link to register after the respective lecture title. You will receive the access data as soon as your registration has been confirmed.

The programme [in German]:
17.10.2024 | Palästina verstehen – Prof. Dr. Alexander Flores (Zoom registration)
31.10.2024 | Palästina auf Münzen – Prof. Dr. Thomas Bauer & Prof. Dr. Achim Lichtenberger (Zoom registration)
14.11.2024 | Gaza, Hebron und Tiberias: Vormoderne Stadtansichten und Erinnerungsorte – Prof. Dr. Syrinx von Hees (Zoom registration)
12.12.2024 | Sehnsucht und Anspruch: Die Heiligkeit des Heiligen Landes für Juden, Christen und Muslime – Prof. Dr. Gudrun Krämer (Zoom registration)
09.01.2025 | Die osmanische Moscheebibliothek des al-Jazzār in Akka – Prof. Dr. Konrad Hirschler (Zoom broadcast still unclear)
16.01.2025 | „Wir haben ein Land aus Worten“ : Palästinensische Literatur zwischen Politik und Ästhetik – Dr. Barbara Winckler (Zoom broadcast still unclear)

The lectures will take place in Schloss Münster, Schlossplatz 2, lecture room S 2 and will start at 6.15 PM.

| Calligraphy Workshop
© Amina Catic

Calligraphy Workshop on Chinese and Arabic Calligraphy

On November 8th from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, we are offering an exciting calligraphy workshop specifically aimed at students. The workshop will be led by Dr. Yu Hong and Iyad Shraim, M.A., providing a unique opportunity to explore both Chinese and Arabic calligraphy.

After a theoretical introduction by both instructors, participants will gain a fascinating insight into the respective styles of calligraphy. In the practical part of the workshop, they will have the chance to create their own calligraphic artwork in one of the two styles.

This workshop is a great opportunity to learn more about the art of calligraphy and to get hands-on experience in this creative field.

Registration via email to: asienzentrum@uni-muenster.de.

| Workshop
Woman with camera
© Lea ! / photocase.com

Workshop: Recent Perspectives on Southeast Asian Colonial Photography

07 - 08 November 2024

Photography has been an important tool among the Western imperialists colonizing Asia.  Having been invented in the mid-nineteenth century, the images that it captured were quiet but effective mediums of categorization, racialization and epitomization and were also used for missionary aims.
This workshop, therefore, will delve further into this topic discussing the most recent trends and perspectives on colonial photography with a regional focus on Southeast Asia. Featuring researchers from Germany, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and the United States, this event will discuss the logics behind the photographs, their relationship with religion, modes of resistance against them as well as approaches as to how to deal with them in the present.

| Greater China Certificate
Greater China Certificate handover
© Institut für Sinologie und Ostasienkunde - Alexander Brosch

Handover of the first Greater China Certificates

We are delighted to welcome the first two graduates of the Greater China Certificate. Students Julian Sandten and Monja Anna Horstkötter received their certificates this week. Congratulations on their successful graduation!