MSc Middle East Politics at SOAS | University of London

Overview

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Minimum Entry Requirements: The qualification for entry is normally a first or upper-second class honours degree (or equivalent) in Politics or International Relations, or a related social science discipline. Applicants without such a background may be considered for admission depending on their academic training and undergraduate performance.

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full Time or Part Time

Politics and international relations in the Middle East display many of the characteristic features of the modern world. Contentious legacies of imperial map-making fuel frontier disputes and throw into question the legitimacy of the territorial nation state. Governments have been repeatedly challenged by populations tired of the old rationales for authoritarian rule and angered by its repressive effects. The politics of national identity, sometimes bound up with ideas of religious identity, have been given new urgency by class conflict, by military occupation and by the growth of the security state. Meanwhile, the long history of external intervention in the states of the region has heightened domestic and regional tensions.

The degree offers students an opportunity to study politics in the region through a number of disciplinary approaches, such as political sociology (class, gender, ethnicity and sect), comparative politics (state power, political economy of development, democratic openings and nationalism), and international politics (war, international political economy, regionalism and dependency). At the same time, it provides thematic courses that encourage students to look at political processes in the region from distinct perspectives, such as the study of political violence, the examination of the politics of resistance and the understanding of Islamic political ideologies and political movements.

At Masters level there is particular emphasis on seminar work. Students are expected to read extensively, to make a number of presentations and to engage actively in seminar discussions. They are also expected to write substantial papers, guided by their course tutors, but requiring significant independent work.

Structure

Learn a language as part of this programme

Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language which sets SOAS apart from other universities.

All MSc Politics Course Descriptions

Students take taught courses to the value of 3 full units + dissertation:

1. TWO half-units from A (compulsory);
2-3. ONE full unit or 2 half-units from B;
ONE unit from C;
4. Dissertation on some aspect of Middle East Politics (compulsory).

A. COMPULSORY- choose two half units, ONE in Term 1 and ONE in Term 2:

EITHER:

Political society in the Middle East - 15PPOH008 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1

Combined with ONE of the following half-unit courses offered in Term 2:

State and transformation in the Middle East - 15PPOH011 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
Islam and politics - 15PPOH006 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
Islam and political ideologies - 15PPOH007 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2

OR:

State and transformation in the Middle East - 15PPOH011 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2

Combined with ONE of the following half-unit courses offered in Term 1:

Political society in the Middle East - 15PPOH008 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
Political violence - 15PPOH009 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
Politics of resistance in the Middle East - 15PPOH010 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1

B. ONE full unit or TWO half-units from the following REGIONAL politics courses:

International politics of the Middle East - 15PPOC027 (1 Unit) - Full Year

OR:

Politics & society in Central Asia - 15PPOC007 (1 Unit) - Full Year

OR: TWO of the following, ONE in Term 1 and ONE in Term 2 (if not already chosen in A):

Islam and political ideologies - 15PPOH007 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
Political violence - 15PPOH009 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
Politics of resistance in the Middle East - 15PPOH010 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
Islam and politics - 15PPOH006 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2

OR: ONE of the following DISCIPLINARY politics courses:

State and development in Asia and Africa - 15PPOC017 (1 Unit) - Full Year
State & society in Asia & Africa - 15PPOC008 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Comparative International Political Thought - 15PPOH021 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
Queer Politics in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - 15PPOH020 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1

C. EITHER: ONE of the following DISCIPLINARY politics courses (if a DISCIPLINARY course not already chosen in B):

State and development in Asia and Africa - 15PPOC017 (1 Unit) - Full Year
State & society in Asia & Africa - 15PPOC008 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Comparative International Political Thought - 15PPOH021 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
Queer Politics in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - 15PPOH020 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1

OR: ONE of the following courses from another department:

Language Courses:

Elementary Hebrew (Postgraduate) - 15PNMC392 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Elementary Written Persian - 15PNMC387 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Elementary Written Turkish - 15PNMC386 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Introduction to Standard Modern Arabic - 15PNMC032 (1 Unit) - Full Year

Teaching & Learning

Courses are taught by a combination of methods, principally lectures, tutorial classes, seminars and supervised individual study projects.

The MSc programme consists of three taught courses (corresponding to three examination papers) and a dissertation.

Lectures

Most courses involve a 50-minute lecture as a key component with linked tutorial classes.

Seminars

At Masters level there is particular emphasis on seminar work. Students make full-scale presentations for each unit that they take, and are expected to write papers that often require significant independent work.

Dissertation

A quarter of the work for the degree is given over to the writing of an adequately researched 10,000-word dissertation. Students are encouraged to take up topics which relate the study of a particular region to a body of theory.

Learning Resources

SOAS Library

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.

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

Department of Politics and International Studies