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BA Bengali and...

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Programme Code: See 'May be combined with:' Duration: 4 years

Overview

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William Radice

Convenor

Entry Requirements

  • A Levels: ABB
  • A Level language desirable but not essential
  • IB: 34 (5/5/5)
  • BTEC: DDM
  • Scottish Highers: AABBB
  • Scottish Advanced Highers: ABB
  • Irish LC: 320 points from 5 Higher level subjects at grade C1 or above
  • Advanced Placement: 4 4 4 (Two semesters - UCAS Group A) plus US HSGD with GPA 3.0
  • Euro Bacc: 80%
  • French Bacc: 14/20
  • German Abitur: 2.0
  • Italy DES: 80/100
  • Austria Mat: 2.0
  • Polish Mat: 75%

Minimum Entry Requirements: Languages at SOAS are taught ab initio, and no prior knowledge is required. A foreign language at A-level or equivalent is preferred but not essential.

Subjects Preferred: A foreign language at A-level, or equivalent, is preferred.

Interview Policy: Applicants with 'non-standard' qualifications may be invited for interview, but most applications are assessed on the basis of the information given in the UCAS form alone.

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full Time

Bengali is not only the official language of Bangladesh, but is also one of India's major languages, spoken chiefly in the state of Bengal, as well as being a significant minority language in the UK.

The general pattern in combined degrees is that students take two units on the language side and two units on the discipline side of their degree each year.  BA Bengali and... is unique in catering to students with varying degrees of knowledge of Bengali.  Its three pathways - Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced - allow students to enter the degree with no knowledge of Bengali at all, with GCSE-level knowledge, or with A-level knowledge.  By the end of the degree, however, all students will have had a similar training.

The degree is designed to give students a high level of competence in speaking, understanding, reading and writing Bengali, and a good knowledge of its cultural context. The Beginners pathway assumes no previous knowledge of Bengali or its script, though we do prefer candidates to have some record of successful language-learning, for example an A-level qualification in a European language. Most of the language teaching is done in small classes and is thoroughly interactive, with students being encouraged to use their growing knowledge of Bengali from the very outset; advanced courses are largely taught in Bengali medium. Language courses are assessed by a combination of written and oral examination. The Department's core course South Asian Culture is taken in the first year, and gives a solid introduction to the broader culture of the region.

BA Bengali and... is a four year degree, the third year (from September to March) being spent on a Year Abroad programme in a Bengali-speaking area.

The degree offers a progression of courses in the language itself, concentrating on communication skills and using a wide range of source materials including news broadcasts, recordings, video, the internet, and much else besides.

Final-year options include an Independent Study Project, which gives the student an opportunity to use Hindi sources to pursue a subject of personal interest (in language, literature, politics, culture, religion, the arts and media, or any other aspect of contemporary or historical India), leading to the writing of a 10,000-word dissertation under tutorial supervision; the ISP may form a bridge to link the two halves of this two-subject degree.

Combinations

May be combined with
  • Arabic    QT44 BA/ArBe
  • Development Studies TLH9 BA/SASDVS
  • Economics TLH1 BA/SASEC
  • Geography** TLHR BA/SASGE
  • History VT1J BA/SASH
  • History of Art/Archaeology VTH3 BA/HAASAS
  • Law TMH1 BA/SASLW
  • Linguistics TQH1 BA/LGSAS
  • Management*** TNH2 BA/SASMG
  • Music WTH3 BA/SASMS
  • Persian    T410 BA/BePer
  • Politics TLFH BA/SASPOL
  • Social Anthropology TL3Q BA/SASSA
  • Study of Religions VTQ3 BA/SASSR
    ** Taught at King's College, London
    *** Taught at Birkbeck College, London

Structure

Combined Honours
Year 1:
Year 2: 
Year 3: 

Students spend the year abroad for a period of language study in a Bengali-speaking area. Those studying BA Arabic and Bengali spend six months at the University of Alexandria or the University of Damascus, and the remainder in a Bengali-speaking area. BA Arabic and Bengali students whose mother tongue is Bengali spend the whole year in Damascus or Alexandria.

Year 4: 

Teaching & Learning

Year abroad

The first students on this new degree will go on their year abroad in 2011-12. It is hoped that they will be able to choose whether to go to Bangladesh or India (West Bengal). Suitable placements are currently being considered in both countries.

Teaching & Learning

Language teaching is mostly in small tutorial groups; CDs and language laboratory facilities are available for formal teaching and self-study. Non-language units are taught by lecture and seminar.

Language classes are examined by written and oral examination; non-language classes are examined by essays and written examination.

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.

Pre Entry Reading

  • Rabindranath Tagore, tr. W. Radice, Selected Poems, Penguin 2005.
  • Rabindranath Tagore, tr. W. Radice, Selected Short Stories, Penguin 2005.
  • W. van Schendel, A History of Bangladesh, Cambridge 2009.

Graduate Destinations

Many students make direct use of their South Asian undergraduate courses. As the UK is the home of a large number of people with South Asian cultural backgrounds there is a natural demand for people specialising in the languages and cultures of the subcontinent.

Some graduates opt for careers in:

  • International Development
  • Teaching
  • Journalism
  • Translation
  • Law
  • Local and National Government
  • Librarianship
  • Arts Administration

As the economies of South Asia continue to modernise, a knowledge of language and culture is likely to become an asset in the world of commerce and international trade.

SOAS Careers Services
The School has a careers service available to all SOAS students while they are at the school, free of charge.

The Careers Service will help with job listings, preparing for interviews, putting together CVs, and even organising postgraduate study.

How to apply

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