SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Structure

Core Course

Sources and Research Design in Historical Research (1.0 unit)
This course provides one-to-one training in research design and in the use of sources for a specific region under the guidance of the MA dissertation supervisor. It is assessed by 2 essays (10,000 words in total). The first is normally on source-based problems and the second on research design which is linked to the dissertation topic.

Structure of the Programme

This degree programme consists of four elements, including a 10,000-word dissertation:

1. Sources and Research Design in Historical Research (Core course, 1.0 unit)
2. Research Methods in History with reference to Asia and Africa (1.0 unit)
3. Dissertation (1.0 unit)
4. a minor course or courses (equivalent to 1.0 unit) chosen from the Minor Course Options list and/or a language course from the Faculty of Languages and Cultures.

Please note that not all the courses listed here will be available every year, and some new courses are likely to be added. 

For any queries, please contact the convener of the History MA Programme, who will also be pleased to provide more detailed information on individual courses. 

Minor Course Options

Comparative/Global

• History of Environment and Globalisation in Asia and Africa - 15PHIH023 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• The International History of the Contemporary World - 15PHIH021 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013

Africa

• African Missionaries - 15PSRH043 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Colonial Conquest and Social Change in Southern Africa - 15PHIH002 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Culture and Practice of Warfare in Pre-Colonial Sub-Saharan Africa - 15PHIH004 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Culture and Society of East Africa - 15PANC084 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Culture and Society of West Africa - 15PANC083 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Gendering African History - 15PHIH027 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Government and politics in Africa - 15PPOC205 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Historical Perspectives on Gender in Africa - 15PHIH029 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• International politics of Africa - 15PPOC009 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Islam, Christianity and Indigenous Religion in West Africa, 1800 to the Present - 15PHIH019 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Painting and Architecture in Christian NE Africa: 2nd - 17th Centuries - 15PARC012 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• Preaching Prayer and Politics: Independent Christians in Southern Africa - 15PSRH042 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2 - Not Running 2012/2013
• State & society in Asia & Africa - 15PPOC008 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Slavery in West Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries - 15PHIH028 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Social and Cultural Transformations in Southern Africa Since 1945 - 15PHIH003 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Warfare and the Military in African History - 15PHIC070 (1 Unit) - Full Year

Near and Middle East

• Culture and Society of the Near & Middle East - 15PANC097 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Envisioning the Past: Arabic Perspectives On History - 15PHIH005 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Israel, the Arab World and the Palestinians - 15PNMC038 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Modern Trends in Islam - 15PNMC228 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Origins and Development of Islam in the Middle East: Problems and Perspectives - 15PHIC040 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Ottoman Architecture in Istanbul: 15th-19th Century - 15PARH045 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Outsiders in Medieval Middle Eastern Societies: Minorities, Social Outcasts and Foreigners - 15PHIH006 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Reading Classical Arabic Historians: Themes and Trends in Islamic Historiography - 15PNMC378 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• The End of Empire in the Middle East & the Balkans - 15PHIC004 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• The Middle East, the Mongols and the Silk Road to China - 15PHIC067 (1 Unit) - Full Year

South Asia

• A Seascape in Transformation: Themes in Indian Ocean History - 15PHIC066 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• Body, Power and Society in Early India - 15PHIC020 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• Colonialism and Nationalism in South Asia - 15PHIC071 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Contemporary Islamism in South Asia: Readings in Sayyid Abu al-A'la Mawdudi - 15PSRC170 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• Culture and Society of South Asia - 15PANC087 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Government and politics of modern South Asia - 15PPOC003 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• History and Doctrines of Indian Buddhism - 15PSRC059 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• Islam in South Asia - 15PHIC042 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Literature & Colonialism in North India (Masters) - 15PSAH005 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Lineages of the Medieval: Texts and Histories in the South Asian World 2 - 15PSAH010 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Lineages of the Medieval: Texts and Histories in the South Asian World I - 15PHIH008 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Pakistan: History, Culture, Islam - 15PSAC288 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• Problems and Debates in the Social History of Modern South Asia - 15PHIC064 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• The Body and the Making of Colonial Difference in British India - 15PHIH033 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• The Indian Temple - 15PARC034 (1 Unit) - Full Year

East Asia

• Modern Bengal: the Evolution of Bengali Culture and Society from 1690 to the Present Day (MA) - 15PSAC289 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• Japanese Modernity I - 15PHIH013 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Japanese Modernity II - 15PHIH014 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Knowledge and Power in Early Modern China - 15PHIH024 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Nationhood and Competing Identities in Modern China - 15PHIH022 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Sex and Gender in the 20th Century: Contemporary Japan - 15PHIH010 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Culture and Society of China - 15PANC089 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• State and society in the Chinese political process - 15PPOC012 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Culture and Society of Japan - 15PANC086 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Topics in Modern Korean History - 15PEAC059 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Topics in the History of Traditional Korea - 15PEAC053 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Locating China I: China and other Worldviews before 'Westernization' - 15PSRH025 (0.5 Unit) - Not Running 2012/13
• Locating China II: Missionaries and Misfits in the British Construction of China - 15PSRH026 (0.5 Unit) - Not Running 2012/13

South East Asia

• Society and Politics in Late Colonial South East Asia - 15PHIC037 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
• State and Culture in Mainland South East Asia in the Sixteenth to Nineteenth Centuries - 15PHIH016 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• The State and the Art: Photography and Nation Building in Burma - 15PHIH015 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• World War II, Cold War, and the "War On Terror": the United States and South East Asia - 15PHIC059 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Jawi and the Malay Manuscript Tradition (Masters) - 15PSEH006 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Pre-Modern historical Texts of Java, Bali and the Malay World in English Translation (Masters) - 15PSEH007 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Histories of Ethnicity and Conflict in South East Asia I - Making States and Building Nations - 15PHIH011 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Histories of Ethnicity and Conflict in South East Asia II - Non-National Perspectives - 15PHIH012 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2

Programme Specification

• MA Historical Research Methods Programme Specification (pdf; 109kb)

Teaching & Learning

Teaching & Learning

Lectures and Seminars 

Teaching is generally by informal lectures and seminar discussions. At Masters level there is particular emphasis on seminar work where students may be expected to make full-scale presentations for units they take.

In addition to their studies on the MA programme, students at SOAS are able to participate in a wide range of research seminars, lectures and conferences that regularly take place in the School and in the University of London.

Dissertation

The 10,000 word Dissertation on an approved topic linked with one of the taught courses.

Learning Resources

SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Destinations

A postgraduate degree in Historical Research Methods from SOAS provides its students with an understanding of the world, giving them specialised historical knowledge and understanding of cultural sensibilities of a region.  Postgraduate students are equipped with the expertise to continue in research as well as the skills needed to enable them to find professional careers in the private and public sectors.  

Postgraduate students leave SOAS with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek, including familiarity with methods of research; the competence to manage large quantities of information; the ability to select and organise information and analytical skills.  A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website.

How to apply

How to apply

• How to Apply
• Online Application
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts

Scholarships

For further information visit the Scholarships section