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The "Oriental Collection" Reading Group is a student-led reading and discussion group exploring Queens’ College Library’s historic "Oriental Collection", featuring rare books and manuscripts from the 16th to 20th centuries. 

The collection highlights the study of the languages, religions, and cultures of Asia and the Middle East, in Cambridge and Europe more broadly. The hands-on exploration of this historical body of scholarship allows us to re-think fundamental questions of humanities and social sciences through the lens of concrete objects. The group’s aim is to explore and critically consider the origins, objectives, and limitations of European Oriental studies, and any other areas of interest that arise from the collection. 

The group is designed as an accessible, low-intensity opportunity to roam, discuss, and explore. No prior knowledge is expected! Open to all members of the University.

About us

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Upcoming Sessions 

Led by Tim Eggington (Librarian), Emma Sibbald, and Lucille Munoz (Rare Books Curators)

3pm Munro Room
Queens’ College

05/05/25: From Catalogue to Discovery: New Perspectives on the Queens' College Oriental Manuscript Collection

Led by Vanessa Paloma Elbaz, Research Associate, Faculty of Music

3pm, Erasmus Room
Queens’ College

13/02/25: Time, Natural Cycles, Sound and Belief: Tu BiShvat and the Ineffability of Sephardi Being

Joint session with the History of Science and Medicine in Southeast Asia Reading Group 

2pm, Angevin Room
Queens’ College

25/02/25: Science and Orientalism

20/03/2025: A Life-Giving Force: Kabbalistic Interpretations of Hebrew Vowel Signs

Queens' College map 🗺️

Find out more! 

Browse the Collection 📚

Blog Post: Return of Queens’ "Oriental Collection"

Queens' College Digital Library

Get in touch

Mary Beth Lascurain, PhD student,  Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Jonas Wieschollek, PhD student, Faculty of Law

Elliot Cobb, Graduate Trainee Librarian, Queens' College

Queens' OCRG

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