MIUR - Department of excellence

Department of
Asian and North African Studies

News

Applications Open for the 2026 Ca’ Foscari – Princeton Summer School in Classical Chinese and Japanese/Kanbun
Applications Open for the 2026 Ca’ Foscari – Princeton Summer School in Classical Chinese and Japanese/Kanbun

From July 6 to August 7, 2026, immerse yourself in Classical Chinese or Classical Japanese/Kanbun with expert faculty from Ca’ Foscari and Princeton. This five-week program combines intensive language study with lectures on premodern culture. Open to students at all levels, it offers 15 ECTS credits.
Apply by March 15, 2026. Spots are limited.

Call for applications for the assignment of a Visiting Scholar position for the development of project proposals
Call for applications for the assignment of a Visiting Scholar position for the development of project proposals

A public selection is announced for the assignment of one Visiting Scholar position for scholars/experts who wish to spend a research period at the Marco Polo Research Centre – Centre for Global Europe-Asia Connections. The deadline for submission of applications is December 3rd, 2025, at 12.00 noon (Italian time, CET). For further information check the MaP website.

The Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan celebrates its 70th anniversary and launches new project “Khyber PATH
The Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan celebrates its 70th anniversary and launches new project “Khyber PATH"

On 25 October, the city of Saidu Sharif in Swat, Pakistan, hosted the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan — today jointly managed by ISMEO (the International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies) and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. 

All Department activities - Subscribe to our newsletter!
All Department activities - Subscribe to our newsletter!

Follow all the activities in the Department: workshops, conferences, symposiums... and also theatre and music! Check regularly our online agenda and subscribe to Orior Newsletter

Welcome message from Laura De Giorgi, Director of the Department

"Our department is unique nationwide. It is a lively and dynamic place with a long tradition of studying and researching Eastern civilisations, which has developed at Ca' Foscari since its inception. In our courses, you can learn languages and explore cultures from a vast area spanning from North Africa to East Asia. Our research is multidisciplinary by nature, with many active laboratories and research centres. We also have exchanges and collaborations with Venetian institutions.”

Laura De Giorgi,
Director of the Department of Asian and North African Studies

Agenda

Caricamento...

Our research

Research areas

The Department of Asian and North African Studies offers a great variety of research topics, which reflects the great variety of interests of the teaching staff. This variety contributes to creating a stimulating environment; it promotes a multi-disciplinary approach; and it offers ample support to the most diverse research prospects. 

In order to help you navigate these ramifications, the staff’s main research interests are linked to linguistic and geographical areas, and organised in themes, in order to help you identify the research topics that the Department focuses on: Arabic studies, Armenian-Caucasian studies, Korean studies, Jewish studies, Indian studies, Iranian studies, Japanese studies, Chinese studies, Southeast Asian studies, and Turkish studies.  

 

Research projects
EJCM - Early Jewish and Christian Magical Traditions in Comparison and Contact

Supervisor: Joseph E. Sanzo
Length: 5 years (01/02/2020 - 31/01/2025)

FUZZFARM - Modelling of the early agricultural spread in south of the Eastern Europe

Supervisor: Paolo Biagi
Length: 24 months (15/03/2021 - 14/03/2023)

Publications

The research conducted at the Department of Asian and North African Studies results in internationally recognised scientific work, including contributions to journals, books, and conference proceedings.