My teacher is on the reading list: Research highlights from School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

My teacher is on the reading list is a blog series that highlights some of the work of SOAS academics—this time, Lilly spotlights scholars from the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics.

Picture this. I’m sitting in front of the SOAS course catalogue, trying to make an impossible decision. As an MA student in the School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics, the options are outrageously interesting, anything from Modern Palestinian Literature to Queering Migrations and Diasporas. I make a list of my top twenty, my top ten, and finally, after a long conversation with my cat, I narrow down my selections.  

Part selection, part procrastination process, I end up scouring the internet for information about my professors. Between archived Zoom lectures and the occasional deep dive into Twitter feeds, I dig up an impressive range of faculty research. 

I’ll admit I may have saved over a hundred articles, chapters, and books to my ever-growing TBR list. But can you blame me? SOAS faculty are a rabbit hole of brilliance. For my fellow nerds and snoops, here’s a curated glimpse into the dazzling research in the School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics. 

Professor Rachel V Harrison - Professor of Thai Cultural Studies

Professor Harrison teaches my Cultural Studies course and has become an invaluable mentor as I prepare for PhD applications. Her article in Feminist Studies, considering visions of womanhood in contemporary Thailand, is my favourite among her many publications. But she also recently published a fantastic critique in The Guardian regarding the representation of Thailand in The White Lotus.

Dr Xiaoning Lu - Reader in Modern Chinese Culture and Language

I must confess, with great chagrin, that my schedule keeps me from taking a course with Dr Lu on Chinese culture and language. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed perusing her editorial work in the Oxford Handbook of Communist Visual Cultures. The handbook is a striking exploration of how communism engages the visual, from architecture to computer games. 

Dr Ida Hadjivayanis - Senior Lecturer in Swahili (Education)

A SOAS alum, Dr Hadjivayanis is both a Swahili lecturer and a renowned translator. After translating the Nobel Prize winning Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Paradise, she wrote a fascinating book chapter about the process as well as the broader history of translation in East Africa. 

As a part of my Cultural Studies module, Dr Hadjivayanis lectured on the history and present-day cultural identity of the Swahili coast, and translation was one of many subjects my peers and I enjoyed discussing with her! 

Dr Anandi Rao - Lecturer in South Asian Studies

One of my favourite aspects of SOAS’s curriculum is its focus on the complicated relationship between Western and postcolonial perspectives; Dr Anandi Rao’s investigation of the role Shakespeare plays in India is a perfect example of this crucial research. As Dr Rao concludes, "Romeo and Juliet, or the idea of Romeo and Juliet, is so reified that its construction as a stable, authentic source text propels these [Indian] masala iterations."

These are only a few examples of the spectacular SOAS faculty: the thoughtful, inspiring mentors who make this institution more than academia, but also a community. Their research has me procrastinating my own readings -  but honestly, who could resist the intricacies of Swahili translation or villain stardom in socialist China? 

Discover the next chapter in our series, spotlighting faculty from the School of History, Religions and Philosophies.