dissertation oxford university

Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principal tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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• Graduate school
• Information for postgraduate research students
• Submitting your thesis

This section contains essential information and guidance for the preparation and submission of your thesis.

Preparation and Submission of your Thesis

IMPORTANT - When preparing your thesis please ensure that you have taken into account any copyright or sensitive content issues, and dealt with them appropriately. 

COVID-19  Additional academic support – Supporting Students to Submission

Additional academic support is available for postgraduate research students impacted by the pandemic. If your research has been disrupted by COVID-19, it will now be possible to have this taken into account in viva examinations.

Tips on planning your thesis

At an early stage you should:

• Prepare a detailed work plan for your research in consultation with your supervisor.
• Build some flexibility into your plan. It is difficult to give general advice about the allocation of time on theory‑oriented projects, because the nature of these is so variable. In the case of experiment‑based research projects, you should normally allow up to six months to write a DPhil thesis, or three to four months for a corresponding MSc by Research thesis.
• Consider attending available skills training courses, for example  Thesis and Report Writing .

It is not advisable to leave all the writing to the end, for several reasons:

• You will need practice at writing over a period of time in order to develop a good style.
• There will inevitably be hold‑ups in experimental work and it is better to use that time to work on part of your thesis, rather than to waste it. If you do some writing earlier the final completion of your thesis will not seem such a daunting task.
• Approaching your submission date will become more stressful than necessary.

About your thesis

The best way to find out what is required for a successful thesis in your subject area is to look at some written in recent years. You should obviously look particularly closely at theses written by previous members of your own research group, which are available in the University library.

The formal requirements for obtaining your degree are set out in detail in the ‘ Examination Regulations ’. The standard required for success in the DPhil examination is defined as follows: that the student present a significant and substantial piece of research, of a kind which might reasonably be expected of a capable and diligent student after three or at most four years of full‑time study in the case of a full-time student, or eight years in the case of a part-time student. For the MSc by Research the standard required is that the candidate should have made a worthwhile contribution to knowledge or understanding of the relevant field of learning after a minimum of one year or two years of full-time study.

Thesis structure - Integrated Thesis

Subject to approval, students registered on research programmes (DPhil, MSc (Res) and CDTs) in the following departments may submit an integrated thesis rather than a conventional thesis: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering Science and Statistics. Where a student is admitted to an interdisciplinary doctoral training programme (CDT/DTP), the regulations for the department that the student is hosted in will therefore determine whether an integrated thesis may be applied for.

An integrated thesis may either be a hybrid of conventional chapters and high-quality scientific papers, or be fully paper-based. Regardless of the format, the content of the thesis should reflect the amount, originality and level of work expected for a conventional thesis. It should not be assumed that the act of publication (in whatever form) means the work is of suitable academic quality and content for inclusion in a thesis, and students should discuss all papers in detail with their supervisor before including. It would be anticipated that the candidate would be a lead contributor, rather than a minor author, on at least some of the papers in order to consider this format. There is no minimum, or maximum, number of papers a candidate is expected/allowed to include as part of such a thesis and it will remain a matter for the examiners to conclude whether the contributions are equivalent to that which would be expected of a standard DPhil.

Any papers utilised must concern a common subject, constitute a continuous theme and conform to the following guidelines:

 (i) If a candidate for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy wishes to be examined through an integrated thesis (in the departments listed above), they should apply for permission to be examined in this way when they apply for confirmation of status, as detailed in the relevant departmental handbook. A candidate for the Degree of Master of Science by Research should normally apply to the DGS for permission to be examined in this way six months before submitting their papers for examination. To revert to being examined by a conventional thesis rather than an integrated thesis, the candidate must inform their department of the change as detailed in the relevant departmental handbook.

(ii) Work can be included regardless of its acceptance status for publication but candidates may be questioned on the publication status of their work by the examiners.

(iii) Any submitted/published papers should relate directly to the candidate’s approved field of study, and should have been written whilst holding the status of PRS or a student for the MSc (by Research), or DPhil.

(iv) The collection of papers must include a separate introduction, a full literature review, discussion and a conclusion, so that the integrated thesis can be read as a single, coherent document.

(v) The candidate must ensure all matters of copyright are addressed before a paper’s inclusion. A pre-print version of any published papers should be included as standard.

(vi) Joint/multi-authored papers are common in science based subjects and thus acceptable if the candidate can both defend the paper in full and provide a written statement of authorship, agreed by all authors, that certifies the extent of the candidate’s own contribution. A standard template is available for this purpose.

• Download the Statement of Authorship template as a Word document
• View the Statement of Authorship template as a webpage  

The length and scope of theses, including word limits for each subject area in the Division are set out in Departmental guidelines.

In all departments, if some part of the thesis is not solely your work or has been carried out in collaboration with one or more persons, you should also submit a clear statement of the extent of your contribution.

• Download the guidance for submitting an Integrated Thesis as a Word document
• View the guidance for submitting an Integrated Thesis as a webpage

Thesis page and word limits

Several departments place a word limit or page limit on theses. Details can be found in the  Examination Regulations  or  GSO.20a Notes of Guidance for Research Examinations .

Permission to exceed the page and word limits

Should you need to exceed your word/page limit you must seek approval from the Director of Graduate Studies in your department. You and your supervisor must submit a letter/email requesting approval, giving reasons why it is necessary to exceed the limit. This must be sent to the MPLS Graduate Office ( [email protected] ).

Proof-reading

It is your responsibility to ensure your thesis has been adequately proof-read before it is submitted.  Your supervisor may alert you if they feel further proof-reading is needed, but it is not their job to do the proof-reading for you.  You should proof-read your own work, as this is an essential skill in the academic writing process. However, for longer pieces of work it is considered acceptable for students to seek the help of a third party for proof-reading. Such third parties can be professional proof-readers, fellow students, friends or family members (students should bear in mind the terms of any agreements with an outside body or sponsor governing supply of confidential material or the disclosure of research results described in the thesis).   Proof-reading assistance may also be provided as a reasonable adjustment for disability.    Your thesis may be rejected by the examiners if it has not been adequately proof-read.  

See the University’s Policy on the Use of Third Party Proof-readers . The MPLS Division offers training in proof-reading as part of its Scientific Writing training programmes.

Examiners and Submission Dates

You are strongly advised to apply for the appointment of examiners at least four to six weeks before you submit your thesis.

Appointing examiners for your thesis

Approval of the proposed names of examiners rests with the Director of Graduate Studies. Two examiners are normally appointed. It is usual for one of the examiners to be a senior member of Oxford University (the ‘internal examiner’) and the other to be from another research organisation (the ‘external examiner’). The divisional board will not normally appoint as examiners individuals previously closely associated with the candidate or their work, representatives of any organisation sponsoring the candidate’s research, or former colleagues of a candidate. Your supervisor will make suggestions regarding the names of possible examiners. Before doing so, your supervisor must consult with you, in order to find out if you have any special views on the appointment of particular examiners. Your supervisor is also allowed to consult informally with the potential examiners before making formal suggestions. Such informal consultation is usually desirable, and is intended to determine whether the people concerned are willing in principle to act, and if so, whether they could carry out the examination within a reasonable period of time. (For example, there may be constraints if you have to return to your home country, or take up employment on a specific date).

See information on examiner conflicts of interest , under section 7.3.3 Examiners.

What forms do I need to complete?

You will need to complete the online  GSO.3 form. Supervisors complete the section indicating names of the proposed examiners, and they should provide alternatives in case the preferred examiners decline to act.

Timing for appointment of examiners

You are advised to submit your appointment of examiners form in advance of submitting your thesis to avoid delays with your examination process. Ideally you should apply for the appointment of examiners at least 4-6 weeks before you expect to submit your thesis for examination.

There are currently no University regulations requiring examination to take place within a certain time limit after thesis submission. However, your examiners would normally be expected to hold your viva within 3 months. If you need to have your examination sooner than this, you may apply for an early viva , by completing the 'Application for a time specific examination' section on the appointment of examiners form, this section must be endorsed by your supervisor and DGS in addition to their approval in the main body of the form. The request must be made at the time of completing and submitting the appointment of examiners form, it cannot be done after this.

Please bear in mind that the examination date requested must not be earlier than one calendar month after the date on which the thesis has been received by the Research Degrees Team or after the date on which the examiners have formally agreed to act, whichever is the latest. The actual date of the examination will depend primarily on the availability of both examiners. In the Long Vacation, a longer time is normally required. It is therefore essential that you leave sufficient time for your forms to be formally approved, and for your examiners to be formally invited.  If sufficient time has not be given this could impact on your early examination request .

If, for any reason, examiners wish to hold a viva within four weeks of receiving their copy of the thesis, permission must be sought from the Director of Graduate Studies. The internal examiner will need to give details of the proposed arrangement and the reasons for the request. Under no circumstances will a viva be permitted to take place within 14 days of receipt of the thesis by the examiners.

Special considerations

Your supervisor is permitted to indicate to the Director of Graduate Studies if there are any special factors which should be taken into account in the conduct of your examination. For example, a scientific paper may have been produced by another researcher which affects the content of your thesis, but which was published too late for you to take into account. The Director of Graduate Studies will also need to be told of any special circumstances you may require or need to inform your examiners of which may affect your performance in an oral examination, or if any part of your work must be regarded as confidential. The Director of Graduate Studies will then forward (via the Graduate Office), any appropriate information that they think should be provided to the examiners. The Graduate Office will also seek approval from the Proctors Office if required.

Change of thesis title

If during your studies you want to change the title or subject of your thesis, you must obtain the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies using the online form GSO.6 . If you are requesting the change at the time of submitting your thesis, you may do this on the application for appointment of examiners form. A change of title is quite straightforward; it is common for students to begin with a very general title, and then to replace it with a more specific one shortly before submitting their thesis. Providing your supervisor certifies that the new title lies within the original topic, approval will be automatic. A change of the subject of your research requires more detailed consideration, because there may be doubt as to whether you can complete the new project within the original time‑scale.

If following your examination your examiners recommend that your thesis title be changed, you will need to complete a change of thesis title form to ensure that your record is updated accordingly.

From MT19 y ou must submit your digital examiners’ copy of your thesis online, via the Research Thesis Digital Submission (RTDS) portal, no later than the last day of the vacation immediately following the term in which your application for the appointment of examiners was made.   If you fail to submit by this date your application will be cancelled and you will have to reapply for appointment of examiners when you are ready to submit. Y our thesis should not be submitted until your application for confirmation of status has been approved (this applies to DPhil students only) . For MSc by Research students you should ensure that your transfer of status has been completed .

If you are funded on a research council studentship, you will have a recommended end-date before which your thesis must be submitted. If you do not know this date, please consult your supervisor.

Please note that you must not submit copies of your thesis directly to your examiners as this could result in your examinations being declared void and you could be referred to the University Proctors.

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The Research Thesis Digital Submission Quick Reference Guide for Examiners explains how to examine a digital copy of a student’s thesis and additional materials using RTDS

Contact & Help

In case of any problems or inquiries contact:

Submissions and Research Degrees Team Examination Schools 75-81 High Street Oxford OX1 4BG UAS Research Degrees Office: [email protected] Research examinations information page Tel: 01865 286384 / 286382 08:30-17:00, Monday to Friday

Frequently Asked Questions

I can’t open the files. What should I do?

First please ensure you have the programs or apps capable of opening Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files and ZIP files, if you are unsure about this please talk to your IT Support team. If it appears that the files are corrupt then please contact the Submissions and Research Degrees Team (contact details on the left-hand side of this web page) who can arrange for the files to be uploaded again.

I can’t download the files using the provided link. What should I do?

a.  Ensure that the files haven’t already been downloaded to the location of the Downloads specified by your browser.

b.  Contact your local IT Support.

c.  If still unable to download then contact the Submissions and Research Degrees Team (contact details on the left-hand side of this web page).

I haven’t received an email for the thesis I am examining. What should I do?

Please contact the Research Degrees Team. It is most likely that either the student has not yet submitted or that your fellow examiner has not yet accepted the formal invitation.

I have lost the email containing the thesis file links. What should I do?

Contact the Submissions and Research Degrees Team (contact details on the left-hand side of this web page) who will be able to send you a new link.

I have changed my email address. Who do I need to contact?

Contact the Submissions and Research Degrees Team (contact details on the left-hand side of this web page) with your new details.

What happens if the title of a thesis has been changed, but the original title is showing on the upload screen?

This could be because either the candidate hasn’t informed their GSA and Submissions and Research Degrees Team of the new title or there is a delay in processing the title change.

What happens if I realise that the student has not submitted an accompanying document which is referred to in the main thesis document?

You should contact the Submissions and Research Degrees Team (contact details on the left-hand side of this web page), who will arrange for the files to be made available.

Is it safe to download files using the provided links?

Yes, the files have been checked for viruses and are safe to download.

I received an email not meant for me. What should I do?

Forward the email to the Submissions and Research Degrees Team (contact details on the left-hand side of this web page) stating why you shouldn’t have received the email.

What are the additional files for?

The additional files are any document(s) that are part of the thesis but either too large to be included with it or of a different media type to the main body of the thesis. This could include sound recordings, photographs, programming, video, etc.

What happens if an examiner has downloaded the thesis, which the student has now realised is the ‘wrong’ file?

The student will need to contact the Research Degrees Team in the first instance.

How do I zip or/and unzip files and what can I include in my ZIP files?

You need to use a program or app to create or open a ZIP file, if unsure please talk to your local IT support team.

I have reached the maximum number of downloads. What should I do?

Please contact the Submissions and Research Degrees Team (contact details on the left-hand side of this web page). They will be able to reset the number of downloads permitted.

The student has sent me their thesis copy by email. Why do I need this version?

The RTDS version is the offical submission. Please do not accept any other version from the student. This could lead to the examination being deemed void.

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Particle theory

Research group

Research theme

• Fields, strings, and quantum dynamics
• Fundamental particles and interactions
• Particle astrophysics & cosmology

Sub department

• Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics
• Publications
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• Recent Theses

Related research groups

• Beecroft Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

Theses written by recent former students of the group, listed by main supervisor

Joseph Conlon Searches for Axion-Like Particles with X-ray astronomy Nicholas Jennings (2018) Astrophysical signatures of axion and axion-like particles Francesca Day (2017) Cosmology & Astrophysics of Dark Radiation Andrew Powell (2016) Phenomenology of Dark Radiation & String Compactifications Stephen Angus (2014)

Andre Lukas Aspects of string model-building and heterotic/F-theory duality Callum Brodie (2019) Calabi-Yau Manifolds, Discrete Symmetries & String Theory Challenger Mishra (2017) Heterotic string compactification & quiver gauge theory on toric geometry Chuang Sun (2016) Heterotic Compactification on Spaces of General 6-Structures Eirik Eik Svanes (2014) (with Prof Xenia de la Ossa Maths) Elementary Particle Physics from String Theory Compactifications, Michael Klaput (2014) Heterotic string models on smooth Calabi-Yau threefolds Andrei Constantin (2013)

John March Russell Radiation from Black Holes George Johnson (2020) Aspects of massive spin-2 effective field theories James Bonifacio (2017) (with Prof Pedro Ferreira Astro) Multimetric theories of gravity James Scargill (2016)  (with Prof Pedro Ferreira Astro) Searching for New Particles at the Large Hadron Collider: Theory and Methods for Extradimensional Supersymmetry James Scoville (2015)  (with Prof Alan Barr PP) New Phenomenology from Asymmetric Dark Matter Robert Lasenby (2015) Supersymmetry and Electroweak Fine Tuning Edward Hardy (2014) Aspects of Asymmetric Dark Matter James Unwin (2013) (with Prof Philip Candelas   Maths) The String Axiverse and Cosmology David Marsh (2012)

Gavin Salam Precision fits for the LHC and beyond Emma Slade (2020) (with Juan Rojo, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) Precision Physics at the Large Hadron Collider Frederic Dreyer (2016) (with Matteo Cacciari, LPTHE, Paris Diderot University) Theoretical & experimental study of electroweak corrections for inclusive production of jets and development of methods for detecting extreme topologies Nicolas Meric (2013)  (with Philippe Schwemling, LPNHE, Paris Diderot University)

Subir Sarkar

On the impact of new, light states in some astrophysical and laboratory systems Giacomo Marocco (2022) (with John Wheater ) Investigating new physics with high power lasers  Konstantin Beyer (2021) (with Gianluca Gregori , ALP)

Inhomogeneities in Cosmology David Kraljic (2016) From the LHC to IceCube Jim Talbert (2016) (with Dr Guido Bell) The Standard Model to the Planck scale Kyle Allison (2015) (with Prof Graham Ross) Phenomenology of Asymmetric Dark Matter Felix Kahlhoefer (2014)

Andrei Starinets Holographic Approaches to Strongly-Interacting Systems Nikola Gushterov (2018)  (with  Dr Andrew O'Bannon Southampton) Applications of the gauge/gravity duality Jonas Probst (2017) Gauge/Gravity Duality & Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Strongly Coupled Quantum Systems Philip Kleinert (2017) Hidden structures in scattering amplitudes & correlation functions in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories Jakub Sikorowski (2015) (with Prof Luis Fernando Alday Maths) Hydrodynamics: from effective field theory to holography Saso Grozdanov (2014) Holographic quantum liquids Nikolaos Kaplis (2013) Excitations in holographic quantum liquids Richard Davison (2012)

John Wheater

On the impact of new, light states in some astrophysical and laboratory systems Giacomo Marocco (2022) (with Subir Sarkar )

Topics in quantum gravity and quantum field theory Dennis Praveen Xavier (2022) Spin systems and boundary conditions on random planar graphs Aravinth Kulanthaivelu (2020) Naturalness in beyond the standard model physics Isabel Garcia Garcia (2017) Random Matrices, Boundaries and Branes Benjamin Niedner (2015) Spectral dimension in graph models of causal quantum gravity Georgios Giasemidis (2013)

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Writing a Thesis or Dissertation

A course for students who are either writing, or preparing to write, a dissertation or thesis for their degree course at oxford, course timetable: michaelmas term.

To ensure that we have time to set you up with access to our Virtual Learning Environment (Canvas), please make sure you have enrolled and paid no later than five working days before your course starts. 

MT = Michaelmas Term (October - December); HT = Hilary Term (January - March); TT = Trinity Term (April-June)

Course overview

This course is designed for students who are either writing, or preparing to write, a dissertation or thesis for their degree course at Oxford. Each lesson focuses on a different part of the thesis/dissertation/articles (Introductions, Literature Reviews, Discussions etc.), as well as the expected structure and linguistic conventions. Building upon the foundational understanding provided by our other Academic English courses (particularly Introduction to Academic Writing and Grammar, and Key Issues), this course prepares students for the challenges of organising, writing and revising a thesis or dissertation.

Learning outcomes

• Gain an understanding of the different organisational structures used within Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences dissertations and theses
• Consider works of previous Oxford students in order to understand the common structural, linguistic and stylistic issues that arise when drafting a research project
• Increase competence in incorporating citations into texts, including choosing appropriate tenses and reporting verbs   
• Learn how to structure the various parts of a dissertation or thesis (Introduction, Literature Review, Discussion, Conclusion and Abstract)

Enrolment information

For Learners with an Oxford University SSO (Single Sign-On) simply click on the enrol button next to the class that you wish to join. 

For Learners without an Oxford University SSO, or who are not members of the University, once enrolment opens , please email  [email protected]  with the following details:

• Email address and phone number
• The name of the course you wish to study
• The start date and time of the course
• Your connection to Oxford University, if any (to determine course fee)

We will then provisionally enrol you onto the course and send you a link to the Oxford University Online Store for payment. Once payment is received we will confirm your place on the course. Please note that we will be unable to assist you until enrolment has opened, so please do not send us your enrolment details in advance.

Course structure

• Taught in Weeks 2-8 of term
• Seminars per week: 1
• Length of seminar: 2 hours
• Academic English tutor will provide all materials

Intensive course structure

• One week intensive course
• Taught in week 9 of term (Monday - Friday)
• Number of classes throughout the week: 5
• Length of class: 2-3 hours
• Total hours of tuition over the week: 14

Course fees

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Search the Library

On this page is information for anyone wanting to find theses written by other people and also information for PhD students about their online thesis.

Finding theses

Copyright and your online thesis.

This section is for researchers who would like to find and read theses from Oxford Brookes or other universities.

Oxford Brookes theses

A copy of every Oxford Brookes PhD and MPhil thesis is deposited with the Library in print format (also known as a 'hardcopy'), online format (also known as 'electronic' theses or eTheses), or in both print and online formats. Oxford Brookes theses submitted from 2021 onwards are only available from the Library in online (or 'electronic') format.

To find print and online Oxford Brookes theses you can search LibrarySearch  by author, title, keyword, while for only the online theses you can browse or search  our repository RADAR .

Locating theses from other institutions

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses provides access to multi-disciplinary dissertations and theses from around the world, offering over 5 million citations and 3 million full-text works from thousands of universities.
• EBSCO Open Dissertations : enables you to search for thousands of open access dissertations
• British Library’s EThOS project : a theses digitisation project. You can search across 500,000+ theses for free and download / order full text where available. You will need to register and log in if you want to download a thesis or to order digitisation of a thesis.
• CORE : CORE (COnnecting REpositories) is an aggregation of open access content from UK and worldwide repositories and open access journals. It includes access to theses.
• DART-Europe : provides details of European theses with access to full text where available.
• National Library of Australia Trove Service : a free repository of Australian material, including almost a million Australian theses.
• Global Electronic Theses and Dissertation Search : a database of open-access electronic theses and dissertations worldwide from the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.

Academic Liaison Librarians

For help finding theses contact your Academic Liaison Librarian (select course resource area from list on page)

This section is for postgraduate researcher students who will be submitting an online PhD thesis as part of their doctorate degree.

What is 'third party content'?

Many theses will include text, images, or other materials that were originally created by other people - this is known as 'third party content'. Material that might be in your thesis and which could be considered third party content includes:

• Lengthy quotations and extracts from publications such as books or journals even if you have attributed them correctly.
• Patented material
• Models/diagrams copied as found from books, even if attributed correctly
• Maps, such as Ordinance Survey photocopies, or taken from books, even if attributed correctly
• Photocopies/scans of paintings and other artworks, or manuscripts and historical documents.

Sometimes students believe they can reproduce third party material in their thesis if they provide a reference to the original - but this is not the case. See the next section for more details.

Using third party content in your online thesis

Third part content is the intellectual property of other people, which means you may need the permission of the copyright holders before including the material in the version of your thesis that will be publicly available on the institutional repository of Oxford Brookes. Here are some conditions under which you can use third party content in your online thesis:

• The third party content has been given a licence (e.g. a Creative Commons licence) which allows you to use the material in your online thesis without contacting the copyright holder.
• A formal legal exception to copyright law means you can include the third party content in your online thesis without the permission of the copyright holder.
• The work is 'out of copyright', meaning that the duration of copyright protection has expired.

You have contacted the copyright owner of the third party material and they have given you permission to include the material in your online thesis. To request permission first establish who the copyright holders are (there may be more than one), try to contact them ( here is a template letter  that you can adapt), and keep records of all communications (separately from your Oxford Brookes email).

If none of the above conditions apply then you must remove the third party content from your the version of your thesis that will be publicly available before you upload it to RADAR. This can be done individually or in bulk:

• Individually: remove each item of third party content that you do not have permission to use in your online thesis but leave a similar amount of blank space so that the pagination is unchanged.
• In bulk: when writing your thesis put all the third party content that you do not have permission to use in the publicly available version of your thesis within a single section of your thesis (e.g. an appendix), then remove that particular section before uploading that version of the thesis to RADAR. For example, Thompson's thesis The furrowed face originally had an Illustrations section (see the Contents List) that is not actually included in this online version of the thesis (though the bibliographic details of the sources are included in the List of Illustrations).

Whichever way you remove the third party content, please remember these two key points:

• Remember to include the bibliographic details of all the third party content in the main body of the text and/or in a separate section so that the readers of your online thesis can easily find the original sources for themselves. Ideally this will also include an electronic hyperlink to each resource (preferably a persistent link, e.g. a DOI).
• For any third party content that you do have permission to use in your online thesis, ensure you state this clearly directly underneath the third party content (e.g. 'Used with permission of the author / publisher /photographer / author /creator' or 'Used under the terms of the licence...', etc.).

Sources of information relating to using third party content:

• General guidance on using third party content by the Intellectual Property Office of the UK Government
• Duration of copyright by Copyright User
• Quotation and copyright by Copyright User
• Using images by Oxford Brookes as part of a Moodle course called 'Copyright and Publication'
• Digital images, photographs, and the internet by the Intellectual Property Office of the UK Government
• Creative Commons licences are often used by publishers and authors to state how online materials can be reused by other people

Personal data and issues of confidentiality

Personal data and confidentiality are usually separate issues from copyright and third party content, but the involvement of human participants in your research (or the inclusion of material that identifies individuals in your thesis) also requires special consideration when submitting the electronic version of your thesis.

Sources of information on personal data:

• Data protection and privacy : considerations for research by Oxford Brookes
• Guidelines for informed consent by Oxford Brookes
• GDPR and Research – An Overview for Researchers (PDF) by UK Research and Innovation

[email protected]

For help with your online thesis contact the Scholarly Communications Team

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Where a student can show evidence that he or she is capable of a long dissertation of 12,000 words and wishes to submit such a long dissertation, this may replace two of the electives, subject to agreement on a topic by an MSc in Taxation programme director. A programme director must be satisfied that the dissertation topic is of sufficient scope and depth to be appropriate to replace two courses. The director shall make the decision in consultation with the other directors.

The long dissertation may cover material not covered expressly by any other course on the programme or may build on material covered in another course within the programme provided it has the necessary element of originality, analysis and independent research.  A teacher on the MSc in Taxation must have the suitable knowledge to supervise the dissertation before it can be accepted as an appropriate topic. The topic must, however, be sufficiently different from that chosen for the Tax Research Round Table extended essay to avoid overlap and unfair reduction of burden. It may not be a dissertation, or part of a dissertation, that has been or is being submitted for any other degree in Oxford or elsewhere.

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Russian-American cooperation in the Middle East – an analysis of Moscow’s interests, leverage, and strategies of linkage

This study assesses the drivers of Russia’s security cooperation with the United States in the Middle East since 11 September 2001. The four empirical case studies analyze Russian-US cooperation: (1) in stabilizing Iraq after Operation Iraqi Freedom

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Anyone consulting a physical Oxford thesis is required to sign a copyright declaration. This states that you recognise that the thesis’ copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent. Some Oxford theses cannot be consulted without the author's permission. Permission may be in the form of a signed letter, or an email sent from a verifiable (ie institutional) email address.

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Many Oxford theses held in digital form by the libraries are available for download via the Oxford Research Archive (ORA) . Where ORA holds a digital copy of a thesis but it is not yet available for download – due to an embargo period or other restriction – a record for the thesis will exist in ORA, and you can request access via the ORA contact form.

The request will be passed to the author for permission to share a digital copy with you under the ORA terms of use. 

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Tips for Starting Your Thesis or Dissertation

By Jodie Nicotra, Department of English and Amy Ross, U of I Writing Center

• Establish a clear structure. With your advisor, clarify a good question (one that matches with your interests but is also relevant and marketable); establish clear guidelines re: the process and what will be expected of you; establish a timeline with due dates (for proposal, chapter drafts, complete final draft, defense date, etc.); decide what role the other members of your committee will play in the process.
• It’s a good idea to turn in a proposal early in the process to clarify what you plan to do in the project and make sure that everyone is on board with it ahead of time (see other side for typical proposal structure and tips for writing). After you discuss the proposal with your advisor, you can then send it to the other members of your committee. It’s a good idea to set up a meeting time where all of you can discuss it.
• See example proposal structure on other side.
• It’s a good idea to do a literature review as part of the proposal (and, of course, for science dissertations/theses this will be part of the document itself). While you have obviously learned from seminars, coursework, and lab work, this is probably your first major foray into the field. Doing a literature review will give you a better sense of the relevant questions or conversations within the field. Literature reviews also, generally speaking, help you to establish a better question for your project.
• Framing an appropriate question (one that’s significant, answerable, and relevant to the field) and deciding on sites to examine is the most important part of the pre-work.
• Divide up large tasks into more manageable ones. Commit yourself to working on your project (especially the writing part) for at least fifteen minutes every day to prevent procrastination and to keep the project moving.
• Talk with your advisor about reading chapter drafts: earlier intervention often saves you and her/him a lot of work down the line (I recommend having due dates for chapter drafts).
• If your advisor has more than one student working on a dissertation or thesis, a dissertation/thesis group might be a good idea. Meet once every three weeks to collectively review somebody’s draft.
• Make sure that your advisor sees a final draft well before your defense date so that you have time for revision.

For more on this, see:

• Joan Bolker, Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1998).
• Eviatar Zerubavel, The Clockwork Muse: A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dissertations, and Books (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999).
• Peter Elbow, Writing with Power 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
• Anne Lamotte, Bird by Bird (New York: Random House, 1994).

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• ORA: Oxford University Research Archive by Jason Partridge Last Updated Apr 10, 2024 3384 views this year

Tips for Finding Theses at Oxford

SOLO now allows you to search for theses in the Oxford collections very easily.

1. Navigate to the SOLO homepage.

2. Type details of the Thesis you would like to search for into the main search box.

3. Under the search box is a series of drop-down menus marked 'Refine your search'. In the first box select the the ' Theses ' option.

4. Now press the ' Search ' button to run your search.

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• SOLO Search for print and electronic Oxford DPhil theses in the library catalogue. Electronic versions will link directly to the record in ORA. Limit your search to "Theses".
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Walter Edward Young

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Publications

Dr. Walter Edward Young is a post-doctoral researcher currently working with Prof. Robert Wisnovsky (PI) on the John Templeton Foundation project “Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s Supercommentary on al-Dawānī’s Commentary on al-Ījī’s Creed : A New Source for the Renewal of Islamic Analytical Theology.” With both an MA and PhD in Islamic Studies from McGill University’s Institute of Islamic Studies, he has held numerous post-doctoral research positions in the broader domain of Islamicate Intellectual History. His research interests permeate several domains of Islamic thought, with particular concentrations in premodern law, legal theory, logic, and dialectic.

Dr. Young’s MA thesis theorized pre-Islamic origins for various ḥadd -penalties (esp. those for theft and adultery), while his doctoral dissertation uncovered proto-systems of juristic dialectic, contributing a theoretical model for dialectic’s formative dynamic with respect to legal theory ( uṣūl al-fiqh ). He has since held research appointments at Harvard Law School (on juridical dialectic), the University of Oxford (on the ādāb al-baḥth , or “protocol for dialectical inquiry”), Ruhr-Universität Bochum (on post-Avicennan dialectical empiricism), the Universität Bonn (on the ādāb al-baḥth ), and McGill University (Islamic philosophical and scientific manuscripts). His first monograph, The Dialectical Forge (link: https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Dialectical_Forge.html?id=OWm3DQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false ), was published by Springer in early 2017. Ongoing research falls in the domains of early manuscripts on the ādāb al-baḥth and juristic dialectic ( jadal ), post-classical scholastic prosopography, Islamic legal and dialectical theory, and cross-discipline argument analysis. Among other projects he envisages for the future is a broadening of the currently self-administered Society for the Study of Islamicate Dialectical Disputation (SSIDD) (link: https://ssidd.org/ ) into a greater association for the study, teaching, and practice of dialectic.

[Complete version for download PDF]

• (2012) Ph.D., Islamic Studies, McGill University, Institute of Islamic Studies
• (2006) M.A., Islamic Studies, McGill University, Institute of Islamic Studies (Dean’s List)
• (1994) B.A., Studio and Visual Arts, Hamilton College (Honors: Sculpture and Arabic Language Studies)

PhD Dissertation: “The Dialectical Forge: Proto-System Juridical Disputation in the Kitāb Ikhtilāf al-ʿIrāqiyyīn ”

MA Thesis: “Stoning and Hand-Amputation: The Pre-Islamic Origins of the Ḥadd Penalties for Zinā and Sariqa ”

Academic Positions

Visiting Fellowships

• (2016-2017) Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Alexander von Humboldt Kolleg (AvHK) for Islamicate Intellectual History
• (2015-2016) Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Käte Hamburger Kolleg (KHK), Dynamics in the History of Religions Between Asia and Europe
• (2014-2015) University of Oxford, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Islamic Philosophy and Theology (IMPAcT)
• (2013) Harvard Law School, Islamic Legal Studies Program (ILSP)

Research Associate / Assistant Positions

• current project: “Muḥammad ʿAbduh’s Supercommentary on al-Dawānī’s Commentary on al-Ījī’s Creed: A New Source for the Renewal of Islamic Analytical Theology” (PI: Robert Wisnovsky)
• Post-classical Islamic Philosophy Database Initiative (PIPDI)
• Transmission, Translation, and Transformation in Medieval Cultures (TTT)
• Islamic Scientific Manuscripts Initiative (ISMI)
• (2017) The Dialectical Forge: Juridical Disputation and the Evolution of Islamic Law ; Springer: Logic, Argumentation & Reasoning

Articles [in square brackets = year submitted, awaiting proofs]

• (2019) “Concomitance to Causation: Arguing Dawarān in the Proto- Ādāb al-Baḥth ,” in Peter Adamson, ed., Philosophy and Jurisprudence in the Islamic World , pp. 205-281 (De Gruyter: Philosophy in the Islamic World in Context)
• [2019] “On the Formal Evolution of Islamic Juridical Dialectic,” [edited volume from the workshop “Logic, Law, and Legal Reasoning,” at the 6th World Congress and School on Universal Logic (UNILOG), Vichy, France, 2018], Springer: Logic, Argumentation & Reasoning
• [2019] “Ibn Ḥazm on Heteronomous Imperatives and Modality. A Landmark in the History of the Logical Analysis of Norms” (Co-authored with Shahid Rahman and Farid Zidani), Cambridge Journal of Arabic Sciences and Philosophy
• (2018) “Al-Samarqandī’s Third Mas’ala : Juridical Dialectic Governed by the Ādāb al-Baḥth ,” Oriens 46.1-2, pp. 62-128 (Special Issue: Rationalist Disciplines and Postclassical Islamic Legal Theories)
• (2016) “ Mulāzama in Action in the Early Ādāb al-Baḥth ,” Oriens 44.3-4, pp. 332-385 (Special Issue: Major Issues and Controversies of Arabic Logic)
• [2015] “Have You Considered ( A-ra’ayta )? Don’t You See/Opine ( A-lā Tarā )? A Working Typology of Ra’ā Formulae in Early Islamic Juridical Disputation,” in Patterns of Argumentation and Exchange of Ideas in Late Antiquity and Early Islam , Y. Papadogiannakis and B. Roggema, eds., Routledge: Centre for Hellenic Studies

Online Resources

• (2019) Digital Edition and Translation: Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī, Kitāb ʿAyn al-Naẓar fī ʿIlm al-Jadal (TEI infrastructure by Frederik Elwert), Digital Humanities at the Center for Religious Studies (DH@CERES), Ruhr-Universität Bochum; https://pages.ceres.rub.de/ayn-al-nazar/
• (2016) Website and Forum: Society for the Study of Islamicate Dialectical Disputation (SSIDD); https://ssidd.org/

Encyclopedia Entries [in square brackets = year submitted, awaiting proofs]

• [2018] “Dialectic, in the Religious Sciences,” Encyclopaedia of Islam Three
• (2014) “Karakī, ʿAlī (1466-1534),” Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics; Oxford Islamic Studies Online
• (2013) “Origins of Islamic Law,” Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law ; Oxford Islamic Studies Online
• (2013) “Uṣūl al-Fiqh,” Oxford Islamic Studies Online (originally for Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Finance )

Book Reviews

• (2016) “ The Logic of Law Making in Islam: Women and Prayer in the Legal Tradition , by Behnam Sadeghi,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 136.1, pp. 227-230

Publications in Progress

• On the Protocol for Dialectical Inquiry (Ādāb al-Baḥth): A Critical Edition and Parallel Translation of the Sharḥ al-Risāla al-Samarqandiyya by Quṭb al-Dīn al-Kīlānī (fl. ca. 830/1427), Prefaced by a Critical Edition and Parallel Translation of its Grundtext: the Risāla fī Ādāb al-Baḥth by Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 722/1322)
• Dialecticians in the Margins: Common Glosses on Quṭb al-Dīn al-Kīlānī’s Sharḥ al-Risāla al-Samarqandiyya
• The Jadal Primer: An Introduction to Classical Sunnī Juridical Dialectic
• “Islamic Legal Theoretical and Dialectical Approaches to Fallacies of Correlation and Causation (7th-8th/13th-14th centuries)” [for an edited volume: papers from the conference “Islamic Legal Theory: Intellectual History and Uṣūl al-Fiqh,” Istanbul, 2019]
• “On the Logical Machinery of Post-Classical Dialectic: The Kitāb ʿAyn al-Naẓar of Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 722/1322)” [for the Journal of Islamic Philosophy ]
• “Dynamics of Dialectical Disputation in Islam” (Part I: Intra-Religious Contact; Part II: Inter-Religious Contact) [for Entangled Religions: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer ]

Invited Talks

• (2019) Talk: “Towards Cataloging the Muslim Dialecticians’ Arsenal against Fallacious Reasoning in the Religious Sciences: A Preliminary Inquiry with Example Contributions from Islamic Legal Theory and Dialectic,” Project Workshop: “Logic in Reverse. Fallacies in the Latin and the Islamic Traditions (RevLog),” Université de Lille, France, 21-22 Oct.
• (2019) Talk: “Islamic Legal Theoretical and Dialectical Approaches to Fallacies of Correlation and Causation (7th-8th/13th-14th centuries),” Conference: “Islamic Legal Theory: Intellectual History and Uṣūl al-Fiqh,” convened by Law, Authority, and Learning in Imami Shi‘ite Islam (LAWALISI) and the Faculty of Theology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, 15-17 Oct.
• (2018) Keynote: “On the Formal Evolution of Islamic Juridical Dialectic,” Workshop: Logic, Law, and Legal Reasoning; 6th World Congress and School on Universal Logic (UNILOG), Pôle Lardy, Campus Albert Londres, Vichy, France, 25 June
• (2018) Seminar: “Do Grandfathers Disinherit Brothers? Al-Shāfiʿī vs. the Ahl al-Kalām: Proto-System Jadal in the Dialectical Forge,” Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, United Kingdom, 24 Jan.
• (2017) Response to summary paper: “The Transcendence / Immanence-Distinction (TID) as a tertium comparationis in the Study of Religious Contacts,” Conference: The Transcendence/Immanence Distinction in the Study of Religious Contacts Between Asia and Europe, Käte Hamburger Kolleg, Dynamics in the History of Religions Between Asia and Europe, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, 08 Sept.
• (2015) Talk: “Mulāzama in Action in the Early Ādāb al-Baḥth,” Project Workshop: “Major Issues and Controversies of Arabic Logic and Philosophy of Language,” Seminar für Orientalistik und Islamwissenschaft, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, 12 Dec.
• (2014) Talk: “Have You Considered (A-ra’ayta)? Don’t You See (A-lā Tarā)? Further on the Dialectical Formulae of Early Islam,” “Patterns of Argumentation in Late Antique and Early Islamic Interreligious Debates,” 2nd workshop of the ERC project ‘Defining Belief and Identities in the Eastern Mediterranean: the Role of Interreligious Debate and Interaction (DEBIDEM)’, King’s College, London, United Kingdom, 21 Feb.

Conferences & Workshops

• (2019) Talk: “On the Logical Machinery of Post-Classical Dialectic: The Kitāb ʿAyn al-Naẓar of Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 722/1322),” Islamic Philosophy Conference, Harvard University, USA, 20 April
• (2019) Text Presentation: “The Section on Dawarān (causal concomitance), in Burhān al-Dīn al-Nasafī (d. 687/1288), al-Fuṣūl fī ʿIlm al-Jadal, and Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 722/1322), Sharḥ Fuṣūl al-Nasafī.” Workshop: “Qiyās in Uṣūl and Related Genres,” Law, Authority, and Learning in Imami Shi‘ite Islam (LAWALISI), Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, United Kingdom, 31 Jan.
• (2018) Reading Participant: “Texts on Naskh in Late Classical Uṣūl al-Fiqh” (workshop), Law, Authority, and Learning in Imami Shi‘ite Islam (LAWALISI), Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, United Kingdom, 22 Jan.
• (2017) Talk: “Dawarān: Concomitance and Causation in Post Classical Islamic Dialectic and Legal Theory,” Panel: “Islamicate World,” 2nd World Congress on Logic and Religion, University of Warsaw, Poland, 20 June
• (2017) Panel Chair: “Logic of Talmud and Other Legal Traditions,” 2nd World Congress on Logic and Religion, University of Warsaw, Poland, 19 June
• (2017) Talk: “Marginal Munāẓara: Dialectical Pedagogy in the Scholia and Glosses of al-Kīlānī’s Sharḥ al-Risāla fī Ādāb al-Baḥth,” Panel: “Between Texts and Networks: Visualizing fourteenth through sixteenth Century Islamicate Intellectual Landscapes,” Fourth Annual Conference of the British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS), University of Chester, United Kingdom, 12 April
• (2016) Talk: “Observing God: Dawarān and Empiricism in Post-Classical Islamic Juridical Dialectic,” Conference: Religion and the Senses, Käte Hamburger Kolleg, Dynamics in the History of Religions Between Asia and Europe, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, 08 Sept.
• (2016) Talk: “Taḥqīq al-Muḥaqqiq fī Ādāb al-Baḥth: Editing a Verifier-Dialectician,” Plenary Session: “IMPAcT: Islamic Intellectual History from Late Medieval to Early Modern,” Third Annual Conference of the British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS), University of London, United Kingdom, 11 April
• (2015) Talk: “Models for Argument Analysis: Scripting al-Samarqandī’s Risāla fī Ādāb al-Baḥth” (read in absentia by Judith Pfeiffer), Panel: “ʿIlm wa Taʿallum: Madrasas, Dialectic and Mysticism in the 13th-16th Centuries,” Second Annual Conference of the British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS), University of London, United Kingdom, 13 April
• (2012) Panel Chair: “The Qur’ān,” Second Annual Graduate Student Symposium of the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies Student Council, McGill University, Montréal, Canada, 28 April
• (2007) Talk: “Defining Casuistry in Islamic Law,” Panel: “Modern Encounters with the Pre-modern in Islamic Law,” 41st Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Montréal, Canada, 19 Nov.

Visiting Fellow Talks

Alexander von Humboldt Kolleg for Islamicate Intellectual History, Universität Bonn

• (2017) “Student-Reading the Risāla fī Ādāb al-Baḥth: Unpacking al-Samarqandī’s Problems through Commentary and Gloss,” 27 July
• (2017) “Dialecticians’ Contexts: New Material for the Scholarly Lives of Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 722/1322) and Quṭb al-Dīn al-Kīlānī (fl. ca. 830/1427),” 28 Feb.
• (2016) “From the Margins of the Ādāb: a First Protocol for Gloss Collation,” 06 Dec.
• (2016) “Exploring Islamic Dialectical Disputation,” 13 Oct.

Käte Hamburger Kolleg, Dynamics in the History of Religions Between Asia and Europe, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

• (2015) “Islamic Dialectics and Post-Avicennian Argument to the Senses,” 16 Nov.

ERC Project: Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Oxford (Series: Late Medieval and Early Modern Islamicate Intellectual History)

• (2015) “A Muḥaqqiq of the Ādāb al-Baḥth: Quṭb al-Dīn al-Kīlānī’s Sharḥ al-Risāla al-Samarqandiyya as a Model of Verification-Commentary in the Early 9th/15th Century,” 25 July
• (2015) “Critical, Functional, and Accessible? Challenges in Formatting Kīlānī’s Commentary,” 09 Feb.
• (2014) “A Dialectic on Definitions: the Aristotelian Analyses of Quṭb al-Dīn al-Kīlānī (fl. ca. 830/1427) in his Commentary on the Risāla fī Ādāb al-Baḥth,” 11 Dec.

Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School (2013 Lecture Series)

• (2013) “Jadal and Uṣūl al-Fiqh: Vignettes from the Dialectical Forge,” 16 April
• (2010, 2011) Instructor: “Central Questions in Islamic Law” (Part I: Premodern)
• (2010) Teaching Fellow: “Science and Civilization in Islam” (with Prof. Jamil Ragep)
• (2006, 2007) Teaching Fellow: “Central Questions in Islamic Law” (with Prof. Wael Hallaq)

Related Content

Email: walter.young [at] mcgill.ca

Address: Institute of Islamic Studies 3485 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 0E1 Canada

academia.edu page http://mcgill.academia.edu/WalterEdwardYoung

Society for the Study of Islamicate Dialectical Disputation (SSIDD) https://ssidd.org

Digital Critical Edition: Kitāb ʿAyn al-Naẓar https://pages.ceres.rub.de/ayn-al-nazar/#crs_k5h_chb

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