MA in History and Anthropology of the Ancient World Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales Centre Louis Gernet, Paris

The Centre Louis Gernet in conjunction with the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS Paris) has recently introduced a one and a two-year Master’s programme in History and Anthropology of the Ancient World.

The EHESS is a renowned international research institution in History and the Social Sciences; Fernand Braudel, Claude Lévi-Strauss and Pierre Bourdieu taught here for many years. In the classical disciplines it is home to a number of leading French scholars associated with the ‘Paris School’ and the Centre Louis Gernet founded by Jean-Pierre Vernant and including Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Marcel Detienne, Nicole Loraux and many others. There is therefore a strong tradition in historical anthropology and in the anthropology of religion, the visual arts, and classical literature from the archaic period to late antiquity. The Master’s degrees give students the opportunity to work closely with specialists in this tradition.

The MA programmes are open to students holding first degrees in Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology, History or a related discipline.
They are designed as preparation for doctoral research in France or elsewhere. Coursework involves taught elements in research skills, graduate seminars, and independent research for an MA thesis on a topic of the candidate’s choice. An outline of the programme for the current year 2006-7 and a list of staff can be found at http://www.ehess.fr/centres/gernet/enseignement.htm

Life at the Centre revolves around the recently merged classical libraries of several Parisian institutions, situated in a newly refurbished 19th-century gallery in the heart of Paris. Teaching and research facilities are shared with academic establishments and research groups in related fields such as medieval history and history of art.
The new and spacious amenities are developing rapidly into a centre for research in cultural history, a perfect environment for interdisciplinary work.

Fees currently amount to circa 400 Euros per annum (covering matriculation and French social security). For enquiries on the
course(s) and the application procedure for the academic year 2007/8 please contact claude.calame AT unil.ch or christian.jacob AT ehess.fr.

General information on the Centre Louis Gernet and the EHESS may be found at http://www.ehess.fr/centres/gernet/index.html and http://www.ehess.fr/html/html/index.html