University of Naples L’Orientale
The University of Naples “L’Orientale” is the oldest school of Sinology and Oriental Studies on the continent of Europe.
With its rich tradition in languages, cultural and social studies, from Europe to Asia, Africa to the Americas, the university has offered since its very foundation a centre for study with the aim of highlighting the differences and points of contact between cultures. The moment we begin to study difference we put ourselves into question. It is both a cultural and spiritual ‘exercise’. Studying people and culture, their relationships and their differences is, above all, a way of examining who we are.
Let doubt penetrate, open ourselves to comparison, untie the bonds that keep us too tight, become porous. Let ourselves be fractured and enriched by the other, by diversity. It is a philosophy which the University of Naples “L’Orientale’ puts into practice every day, and has done so always. It is one of the reasons for our enduring appeal.
Today, in a world in which people of different languages, cultures, religions and multiplicity of thought, art forms, moral attitudes and customs are coming into ever closer contact, our university is not to be found wanting. From the very beginning we have been engaged in intense international cultural relations and in constant collaboration with the academic institutions of other countries. The University of Naples “L’Orientale” thus guarantees its students an education more than able to meet the demands of the modern world.
The University today has a very original outlook, offering students intellectual experiences and academic input aimed fundamentally at the understanding of people and cultures different from our own. Interacting and communicating with them, we can identify a key with which to unlock entry into a rapidly evolving job market: a window onto the world where language and culture and knowledge overlap and interweave, and eventually blend into teaching and research.
Welcoming all those who are enrolling to become students at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, I assure the maximum commitment on the part of the University to guide you with care through your years of study. I would ask everyone – students and teaching staff alike – to face any difficulties that may arise with commitment, passion, dash and creativity.