Faculty of Oriental Studies Setting conventions for the MSt in Jewish Studies, 2017-18 The formal procedures determining the conduct of examinations are established and enforced by the University Proctors. These conventions are a guide to the examiners and candidates but the regulations set out in the Examination Regulations have precedence. The examiners are nominated by the Nominating Committee in the Department and those nominations are submitted for approval by the Vice-Chancellor and the Proctors. Numbering of papers follows that in the Examination Regulations 2017. The Examination Schools website (http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/exams/entry/) gives information on the provisional start date of the examination. The date, time and location of individual papers will be published not less than 5 weeks before the start of the first examination. For the order of papers in the examination itself, please refer to the Examination timetable. Academic dress must be worn for all parts of the examination including the viva if applicable. In order to maintain the anonymity of the examination, candidates are instructed to write their numbers, not their names, on their scripts. When submission of written work is required, the penalty posed in case of late submission without the prior permission of the Proctors, will range from outright failure of the submitted work to a reduction in the mark awarded, as stated in Guidelines for the setting and marking of Examinations. As well as two hard copies of the dissertation, which it is compulsory for candidates to submit, we also request candidates to submit if possible a copy of their dissertation on CD or flash drive in PDF format. Candidates submitting written work (e.g. dissertation, extended essay, take-home essay etc.) to Examination Schools as part of their degree assessment are required to confirm the work is their own. You may do this by completing the declaration form (available from https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/access/content/group/a55c44d3-9f21-4dec-b48c- 2dc6fa4e4bee/Forms/work_declaration.pdf), seal it in a separate envelope and put this inside the envelope containing your written work. The Chairman of Examinations in Oriental Studies would like to advise candidates to obtain a signed receipt from Exam Schools for their submitted work (e.g. if you are submitting dissertations or take-home essays). Remember to write your candidate number and not your name on all submitted work. Candidates should note that if they have any complaints or queries concerning the examination process, including results, these should be directed in the first instance to their colleges and not to the examiners or any member of the teaching staff. Candidates may be examined by viva voce (oral examination) and so candidates should be prepared to travel to Oxford up until the final examiners meeting There will be two tracks: Syllabus A and Syllabus B: Syllabus A: o Unit (i) Three terms of either Biblical Hebrew, or Modern Hebrew, or Yiddish. Written examination will take place at the end of Trinity Term.
o Unit (ii) Two options, one option to be taken in Michaelmas Term and one option to be taken in Hilary Term. o Unit (iii) A thesis of not more than 15,000-words (excluding bibliography), on a topic selected in consultation with the candidate's supervisor and approved by the Faculty Board. Applications for such approval should be submitted to the Faculty office by Monday of Week 0 of Hilary Term. Two typewritten copies and an electronic copy, in PDF format in a memory stick or CD, of the thesis must be submitted to the Chair of Examiners, M.St in Jewish Studies (Oriental Studies), Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford, not later than 12 noon on Friday of Week 6 of Trinity Term. The work must bear the candidate s examination number (but not the candidate s name, which must be concealed). Candidates must include a signed declaration sealed in an envelope addressed to the Chair of Examiners that the work is the candidate s own. Syllabus B: o Unit (i) Three terms of either Biblical Hebrew, or Modern Hebrew, or Yiddish. Written examination will take place at the end of Trinity Term. o Unit (ii): Four options to be taken in Michaelmas Term, Hilary Term or Trinity Term. Options examined by essay must be taken in Michaelmas or Hilary Term. The method of examination will be either by three-hour written examination held at the end of Trinity Term or by essay examination. The method of examination of each option will be determined in advance and will be published in the course handbook. The essay topics will be published on the Friday of Week 8 of the term in which the option is taught. Candidates will be contacted with details of how to collect or access the question paper. The essay examination will consist of two essays of not more than 2,500 words each for Syllabus A and not more than 3,000 words each for Syllabus B. Two type-written copies of each essay must be submitted to the Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford by 12 noon on the Friday of Week 0 of the term following that in which the option was taught. The work must bear the candidate s examination number (but not the candidate s name, which must be concealed). Candidates must include a signed declaration sealed in an envelope addressed to the Chair of Examiners that the work is the candidate s own. Language Papers 1. Elementary Biblical Hebrew The paper consists of four sections. Candidates must answer all questions. The first section tests verbal paradigms and is worth 10 marks. The second section consists of two seen passages for translation from Hebrew into English. Each is worth 20 marks. The third section is the translation (into English) of an unseen Biblical passage and is worth 25 marks. The fourth section is an exercise in Hebrew prose composition with the requirement of translating an unseen passage from the English Bible into pointed Biblical Hebrew. It is worth 25 marks. 2. Intermediate Biblical Hebrew The paper consists of four sections. Candidates must answer all questions. The first section tests verbal paradigms and is worth 5 marks. The second section requires candidates to translate three seen passages (narrative and poetic) from Hebrew into English; candidates must also add textual/explanatory notes where appropriate. Each translation is worth 15 marks (total 45 marks). The third section requires candidates to translate an unseen Biblical
passage into English. It is worth 25 marks. The fourth section is an exercise in Hebrew prose composition. The candidates must translate an unseen passage taken from the English Bible into pointed Biblical text. It is worth 25 marks. 3. Elementary Modern Hebrew The paper consists of three parts. Candidates must answer all questions. Part 1 will consist of an unseen text. Candidates must answer questions (in Hebrew) relating to the text (35 marks). Part 2 consists of grammar questions (30 marks). In the third part, candidates will be required to translate sentences into English (15 marks). The fourth part requires students to write a paragraph in Hebrew on a topic from a list of topics provided by the examiner (20 marks). 4. Intermediate Modern Hebrew The paper consists of three parts. Candidates must answer all questions. Part 1 will consist of an unseen text. Candidates must answer questions (in Hebrew) relating to the text (35 marks). Part 2 consists of six grammar questions (30 marks). In the third part, candidates will be required translate sentences into Hebrew (15 marks). The fourth part requires students to write a paragraph in Hebrew on a topic from a list of topics provided by the examiner (20 marks). 5. Advanced Modern Hebrew The paper consists of 4 parts. Candidates must answer all questions. Part 1 will consist of an unseen text. Candidates must answer questions (in Hebrew) relating to the text (30 marks). Part 2 consists of four grammar questions, each worth 8 marks. In the third part, candidates will be required to write a short essay (in Hebrew) of 200 to 300 words on a topic from a list of topics provided by the examiner (30 marks). The 4th part will be a short paragraph for translation from Hebrew to English.(8 marks) 6. Elementary Yiddish The paper is divided into two parts. Candidates must answer all questions in Yiddish. Part I of the paper tests candidate s knowledge of grammar and consists of exercises on the present tense (5 marks), the negative (5 marks), the past tense (10 marks), the future tense (5 marks), declension of articles and adjectives (5 marks), declension of proper names and other nouns (5 marks), pronoun declension (5 marks), the comparative and superlative (10 marks), the conditional (5 marks), repeated actions in the past (5 marks) and a short translation from English into Yiddish (10 marks). Part II tests reading comprehension and composition. Candidates will be given a short prose text in Yiddish on which they must answer a series of questions (30 marks). 7. Intermediate Yiddish The paper is divided into two parts. Candidates must answer all questions in Yiddish. Part I of the paper tests candidate s knowledge of grammar and consists of exercises on the comparative and superlative (10 marks), the conditional (5 marks), repeated actions in the past (5 marks), complemented verbs and periphrastic verbs (10 marks), the passive (5 marks), the genitive case (5 marks) and a translation from English into Yiddish (10 marks).
Part II tests reading comprehension and composition. Candidates will be given a (previously unseen) prose text on which they will have to answer a series of questions (25 marks) and will also write an essay (25 marks) on a topic or literary text covered in their course. 8. Advanced Yiddish The paper is divided into two parts. Candidates must answer all questions in Yiddish. Part I of the paper tests candidate s knowledge of grammar and consists of exercises on the passive (5 marks), periphrastic verbs and complemented verbs (10 marks), verbal prefixes (5 marks) and a translation from English into Yiddish (10 marks). Part II tests reading comprehension and composition. Candidates will be given a (previously unseen) prose text on which they will have to answer a series of questions (35 marks) and will also write an essay (35 marks) on a topic or literary text covered in their course. Course Options 1. Modern Hebrew Literature, 1880-Present 2. Zionism and its Critics 3. Holocaust: From History to Memory Candidates are required to answer two questions from the list of questions provided. Each essay should consist of not more than 2,500 words for Track A and not more than 3,000 words each for Track B. Each essay will count for half of the final 4. The Emergence of Modern Religious Movements in Judaism
5. Israel: History, Politics, Society 6. Modern Jewish History There will be two essay questions provided by the examiner. Candidates are required to answer both questions. Candidates are required to write an essay of not more than 2,500 words on each. There will be a choice of two topics in the second question. Each essay will count for half of the final 7. The Religion of Israel 8. Jewish History 200 B.C.E. to 70 C.E. Paper: Candidates are required to answer three out of twelve essay questions. Each question will count for one-third of the final 9. Jewish History 70 C.E. to 500 C.E. Paper: Candidates are required to answer three out of twelve essay questions. Each question will count for one-third of the final Chairman of Examiners: Prof. Jan Joosten Candidates must not under any circumstances contact examiners directly. Michaelmas Term 2017