Jawi and the Malay Manuscript Tradition

label Diverse autorenew 2025-09-29, 17:01 history_edu Diana Ignat
Jawi is the adapted Arabo-Persian script used from the sixteenth century to the early twentieth century across Indonesia and the Malay world. Materials written in Jawi include indigenous chronicles and romances, Sufi poetry, letters between rulers of the archipelago and European traders and administrators, legal codes, Islamic treatises, early autobiographies and nationalist journalism. Knowledge of Jawi is an essential tool for students and researchers in fields as diverse as history, politics, literature, Islam, art history, law, anthropology, and linguistics. For a hundred years, SOAS has been a global centre for the study of Jawi and the literary traditions of Indonesia and the Malay world, while the holdings of SOAS Library, the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society constitute one of the richest collections of Malay and Indonesian manuscripts in the world. This course is a unique opportunity to draw on this expertise and gain first-hand access to the collections.This intensive course will enable students with at least intermediate Indonesian or Malay to read Jawi. Students will also learn philological approaches to the study of manuscripts and other primary material, as well as related theoretical issues. Instructors will introduce students to key resources such as dictionaries, electronic resources and catalogues. Many of the materials discussed in class are in London collections - and students will have the opportunity to view them during the various visits included in the course. Weekly film screenings will explore the continued resonance of the manuscript tradition in the modern world.

Period
30-06-2014 - 18-07-2014 (3 weeks)

Target group
Students of Indonesian or Malay.

Course aim
On successful completion of the course, a student should be able to demonstrate the ability: To read simple printed and manuscript texts in the Jawi script. To develop an awareness of the various philological issues involved in the study and editing of manuscripts. To develop an understanding of the various writing systems in Indonesia and the Malay world, and the various writing materials used across the archipelago, including inscriptions, palm leaf books, manuscripts, letters, lithographs and newspapers. To develop an awareness of the key genres found in the Malay manuscript tradition, and the development and transformation of these genres with the emergence of lithograph and typographical production. To develop experience and knowledge of the various Indonesian/Malay bibliographic and other library resources. To understand issues of illumination and other decorative arts in the manuscript traditions of the archipelago.

Credits
7.5 ECTS creditsStudents are usually able to obtain credits from their home institution and generally our courses receive 3 credits in the US system and 7.5 ECTS in the European system. However the summer courses remain non-accredited by SOAS. If you intend to claim credits from your home institution, please check the requirements with them before you enrol.

Course fee
GBP 1250[Convert to USD]Tuition fees.GBP 800[Convert to USD]Accommodation fees.-

Course leader
Ben Murtagh and Mulaika Hijjas

Scholarships
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SOAS, University of London Enterprise
Address: Thornhaugh Street London
Postal code: WC1H 0XG
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/summerschool/ug/
E-mail: summerschool@soas.ac.uk
Phone: +44 0207 898 4205