MA in the Study of Contemporary Pakistan
Overview
Featured events
Minimum Entry Requirements: Minimum upper second class honours or equivalent.
Start of programme: September intake only
Mode of Attendance: Full Time or Part Time
This new programme is currently going through the approval process and, subject to final approval, will be available from September 2012.
This programme offers a more comprehensive and critical approach to Pakistan, its complex and vibrant cultural, political, economic and religious history, and its current trends. This programme is designed both as a freestanding qualification for students who want to enhance their understanding of the cultural, political and economic history and present condition of Pakistan, and also as an excellent introduction for those who want to go on to further research. It will introduce students to the latest research topics, methods and debates in the study of Pakistan at an advanced level and provide intensive research and (optional) language training for those who wish to go on to prepare for a research degree.
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.
The programme will consist of three course units (2 core + 1 option) and a dissertation.
One core course (Imagining Pakistan) will introduce the main topics, approaches and possible lines of enquiry for a cultural history of Pakistan from 1947 to the present. The other core course (Politics, Development and Law in Pakistan) will provide an analytical and chronological outline of the economic development and political patterns of Pakistan from independence to the current period through a broad mix of applied political theory, empirical and historical analysis, comparison with the other countries of South Asia, and a critical engagement with the debates in the theoretical and historical literature. Both core courses consist of lectures and seminars, and students will be required to give presentations and write essays on particular topics.
Students will choose a third course from a list of options that includes courses on modern Muslim thinkers and Contemporary Islamism in South Asia, Law and Society in South Asia, Urdu language, and Urdu literature in Pakistan.
Students will also write a 10,000 dissertation on the Study of Contemporary Pakistan, applying and developing the knowledge acquired in the core courses to an independent topic of research.
Core Course
- Imagining Pakistan: culture, politics, gender (MA) - 15PSAC313 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Core Course
Politics, Development and Law in Pakistan. This course is new and currently going through the approval process.
Optional Courses
- Modern Muslim Thinkers from South Asia - 15PSRC169 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
- Contemporary Islamism in South Asia: Readings in Sayyid Abu al-A'la Mawdudi - 15PSRC170 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2012/2013
- Law and society in South Asia (MA/LLM) - 15PLAC129 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Urdu Language 1 (Postgraduate) - 15PSAC300 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Urdu Language 2 (Postgraduate) - 15PSAC301 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Urdu Literacy (Postgraduate) - 15PSAC302 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Directed Readings in the Literature of a Modern South Asian Language - 15PSAC016 (1 Unit) - Full Year
10,000 word Dissertation
Dissertation in the Study of Contemporary Pakistan. This dissertation is new and currently going through the approval process.
Programme Specification
Teaching & Learning
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
D.G.E. Hall Scholarship
Application Deadline: 2013-03-22 00:00
Felix Scholarships
Application Deadline: 2013-01-31 00:00
A Student's Perspective
Mikaela ParrackI have had the chance to read the most up to date, often controversial and revealing perspectives on South Asia, presented by leading academics who will often actually be members of the South Asia Department Faculty itself. My choice to study at SOAS was the best decision I ever made; being a student here is an exciting and unique experience.
