SOAS University of London

Department of History, School of History, Religions & Philosophies

History Department PhD Students

Eyad Hamid
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The Idea of the Refugee in the Discourse and Practices of NGOs in the Ottoman Empire (1915-1926): The Near East Relief

Kwok Fai Law
Kwok Fai LAW

Negotiating Colonialism: British enterprises and the making of working class culture in Shanghai, 1927-1949 [working title]

Daisy Livingston
Daisy Livingston

Archival practices in the medieval Arabic lands. Documents and archives at the centre and periphery in Egypt and Syria: institutional, communal, and private practices in a diverse literate society.

Nobuaki Takase
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Mutsu Munemitsu and British Influence on Japanese Modern Nation Building in the Nineteenth Century

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Yingzi Wang
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Working title: From “Ancestral Home” to “China’s North-East” The Transition of Manchuria into an integral part of “China” in early twentieth century

More information on the department’s PhD programme.

Recently Awarded PhDs

2018
  • David Bannister Public health and its contexts in northern Ghana, 1900-2000 (Dr John Parker)
  • Cihan Celik The Nature of Turkish Authoritarianism; 1930-1945 (Prof Benjamin Fortna)
  • Wasitthee Chaiyakan Pan-Tai ideas and the notion of "lost territories", as portrayed in Thai textbooks, late nineteenth century to 1994 (Prof William Clarence-Smith)
  • Shane Marotta Trade, Politics and Society in a Somali port town on the Gulf of Aden: Berbera, 1825-1884 (Prof Richard Reid)
  • Geoffrey Pakiam Smallholder Involvement in Tree Crops in Malaya, with Special Reference to Oil and Coconut Palms in Johor, 1862 - 1963 (Prof William Clarence-Smith)
2017
  • Talal Al-Rashoud Modern Education and Arab Nationalism in Kuwait, 1911-1961 (Dr Nelida Fuccaro)
  • David Thomas Beamish Intellectual Currents and the Practice of Engagement: Ottoman and Algerian Emigres in Paris, 1890-1914 (Dr Konrad Hirschler)
  • Cecile Feza Bushidi Dance, Socio-Cultural Change and Politics among the Gikuyu people of Kenya, 1880s-1963 (Dr John Parker)
  • Francesca Fuoli Colonialism and state-building in Afghanistan: Anglo-Afghan co-operation in the institutionalisation of ethnic difference, 1869-1900 (Dr Shabnum Tejani)
  • Shantel Anisha George Religion, Identity Formation and Memory among Liberated Africans and Their Descendants in Grenada, 1836 to the Present (Dr John Parker) 
  • Philip Gooding Lake Tanganyika: Commercial Frontier in the Era of Long-Distance Commerce, East and Central Africa, c.1830-1890 (Prof Richard Reid)
  • Lin Jiao Nation Fashion and Women's Everday Lives: Breast-binding in China, 1910s-1970s (Dr Andrea Janku)
  • Ki Yip Yee The Late Qing New Policies in Mongolia, 1901-1911 (Dr Lars Laamann)
  • Caner Yelbasi Civil War, Violence and Nationality from Empire to Nation State: The Circassians in Turkey (1918-1938) (Prof Ben Fortna)
2016
  • Thanyarat Apiwong Thai Borders and Burmese Migrants in Chiang Mai, 1880s-1980s (Dr Michael Charney)
  • Thomas Bruce The Sole of a Nation: The Emergence and Development of Thailand's Shoe Industry 1855-1997 (Dr Michael Charney)
  • Umit Eser All Loud on the Western Front: Ethnic Violence, Occupation, and the Ottoman Bureaucrats in Aydin Province (VILAYET), 1919-1922 (Prof Ben Fortna)
  • Jacques Rouyer Guillet Aspects of Architecture and Advertising in Jaffa/Tel Aviv, 1909-1969: Myth and Ideology (Dr Nelida Fuccaro)
  • Chia-Lin Huang Imperial Eyes Examined: The British Encounter with Formosa in the Nineteenth Century (Dr Lars Laamann)
  • Ilias Malevitis The Formation of Byzantine Views on Muslims During the 'Dark Century' (ca. 650-ca. 750) (Dr Konrad Hirschler)
  • Nada Saliba The Urban History of Tripoli (Lebanon) During the French Mandate 1920-1943 (Dr Nelida Fuccaro)
  • Antonio Santos Marizane Religious Change in the Trans-Frontier Nyungwe-Speaking Region of the Middle Zambezi, 1890-1960 (Dr John Parker)
  • Shin Yee Sarah Yee Between Worlds: Filipino Domestic Workers in Hong Kong, 1970-2005 (Dr Lars Laamann)
2015
  • Shazia Ahmad A New Dispensation in Islam: the Ahmadiyya and the Law in Colonial India, 1872 to 1939 (Dr Shabnum Tejani)
  • Niki Alsford The Spirit of 1895: Two Communities, One Petition, and the Cession of Formosa to Japan (Dr Lars Laamann)
  • Gillian Bateman The Huleguids 1258-1335 and the Challenge of Extended Lines of Communication (Prof Konrad Hirschler)
  • Marisa Candotti  Cotton Growing and Textile Production in Northern Nigeria: From Caliphate to Protectorate, c. 1804-1914 (Dr John Parker)
  • Niladri Chatterjee The Uprising in the 'Periphery': Bengal 1857-58 (Dr Shabnum Tejani)
  • Florence Hodous Toluid Dynamics of Asia: flexibilty, legality and identity within Toluid institutions (Dr Konrad Hirschler)
  • Jack Fraser Lord The History of Childhood in Colonial Ghana, c.1900-57 (Dr John Parker)
  • Jared Ross McDonald Subjects of the Crown: Khoesan Identity and assimilation in the Cape Colony, c. 1795- 1858 (Dr Wayne Dooling)
  • Ioannis Moutsis The Turkish Cypriots (1918-1931): From a Religious Community to an Ethnic Minority (Prof Ben Fortna)
2014
  • Sultonbek Aksakolov Islam in Soviet Tajikistan: State Policy, Religious Figures and the Practice of Religion (1950-1985) (Prof Ben Fortna) 
  • Lauren Banko The 'Invention' of Palestinian Citzenship: Discourses and Practices, 1918-1937, (Dr Nelida Fuccaro)
  • Carol Ann Boshier The Burma Research Society: A Market for Ideas in Late-Colonial Burma 1910-1935 (Dr Mandy Sadan)
  • Sotirios Dimitriadis The Making of an Ottoman Port-City: The State, Local Elites and Urban Space in Salonica, 1870-1912 (Prof Ben Fortna)
  • Raghav Kishore Colonial Governmentality and the City: Delhi in the Age of Empire, 1858-1910 (Dr Shabnum Tejani)
  • Marina Marks The Ottoman Greek Press (1830-1862) (Prof Ben Fortna)
  • Isaac Henry Saney From Soweto to Cuito Cuanavale: Cuba, the War in Angola and the End of Apartheid, (Dr Wayne Dooling)
  • Martyn David Smith Representing Nations in Post-War Japan: Cold War Consumption and the Mass Media 1952-1972, (Dr Christopher Gerteis)
  • Wai Ling So Navigating Protectionism: Diederichsen, Jebsen & Company in German Qingdao and the World, 1898-1908, (Dr Andrea Janku)
  • Pheroze Unwalla Re-Imagining Gallipoli: Imperial Pasts and Foreign Presence in a History of Turkish National Remembrance, 1923-2013 (Prof Ben Fortna)
 2013
  • Upal Chakrabarti Interconnections of the Political: British Political Economy, Agrarian Governance, and Early Nineteenth-century Cuttack (1803-1850), (Prof Peter Robb)
  • Lifeng Han Carnival Politics: Festival Spectacle and Ritual in Song China 960-1279 C.E, (Dr Andrea Janku)
  • Florence Hodous Toluid Dynamics of Asia: Flexibility, legality and Identity within Toluid Institutions, (Dr George Lane)
  • Anushay Malik Narrowing Politics: The Labour Movement in Lahore 1947-1974, (Prof Peter Robb)
  • Aparajita Mukhopadhyay Wheels of Change? Impact of Railways on Colonial North Indian Society, 1855-1920, (Prof Peter Robb)
  • Matthew George Phillips Oasis on a Troubled Continent: Culture and Identity in Cold War Thailand, (Prof Ian Brown)
  • Shahla Rahman Young Changing Women’s Lives: A Study of Government Schools for Girls in Late Colonial Bengal, (Dr Avril Powell)
  • Melania Savino Archaeology and its Representation in the Turkish Republic, 1923-1960, (Prof Ben Fortna)
  • Bianca Son-Dorschel The Making of the Zo: The Chin of Burma and the Lushai and Kuki of India through Colonial and Local Narratives, 1826-1917 and 1947-1988, (Dr Michael Charney)
  • Fabian Stremmel Changing Approaches and New Structures-German Cultural Diplomacy in Syria and Lebanon during the late Kaiserreich up to 1918', (Dr Konrad Hirschler)
  • Michael Hadley Talbot British Diplomacy in the Ottoman Empire during the Long Eighteenth Century, (Prof Ben Fortna)
  • Philipp Christian Wirtz Image of a Past World: "Deception of the late Ottoman Empire in Turkish Autobiographies, (Prof Ben Fortna)

2012
  • Valerie Ellen Rourke Anderson The Eurasian Problem in Nineteenth Century India, (Prof Peter Robb)
  • Saqib Nadim Baburi Beyond the Akbar Namah: Padshah Namahs and Official Regnal Chronography for Shah-Jahan Padshah I (r.1037/1628-1068/1658) (Dr Avril Powell)
  • Erich Trenton De Wald Vietnamese tourism in late-colonial central Vietnam, 1917-1945, (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
  • Jorg Matthias Determann Globalization, the Sate and Narrative Plurality: Historiography in Saudi Arabia, (Dr Konrad Hirschler)
  • António Eduardo Hawthorne Barrento On the Move: Tourist Culture in China, 1895-1949, (Dr Andrea Janku)
  • Alena Kulinich Representing "a blameworthy tafsir": Mu 'tazilite exegetical tradition in al-Jami' fi tafsir al-Qur'an of 'Ali ibn 'lsa al-Rummani (d.384/994), (Prof G Hawting)
  • Yi Li Local and Transnational Institutions in the Formation of Chinese Migrant Communities in Colonial Burma, (Dr Michael Charney)
  • Sina Machander Penang's Malays and the Shaping of Colonial Rule, 1800-1832, (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
  • Carla Tronu Montane Sacred Space in Ritual in Early Modern Japan: The Christian Community of Nagasaki (1569-1643), (Dr Angus Lockyer)
  • Maria Da Conceicao M Neto In Town and Out of Town: A Social History of Huambo (Angola) 1902-1961, (Dr John Parker)
  • Taka Oshikiri Gathering for Tea in Meiji Japan, (Dr Angus Lockyer)
  • Stefano Taglia The intellectual's dilemma: the Writings of Ahmet Riza and Mehmet Sabahettin on reform and the Future of the Ottoman Empire, (Prof Ben Fortna)
2011
  • Farah Al-Nakib Kuwait City: Urbanisation, the Built Environment and the Urban Experience Before and After Oil (1716-1986) (Dr N Fuccaro)
  • Jessica Dionne Malaria Workers in Southern Mozambique: State Employees in the Transition from Late Colonialism to Independence (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
  • Antonis Hadjikyriacou Society And Economy On An Ottoman Island: Cyprus In The Eighteenth Century (Dr B Fortna)
  • Hardip Singh Syan Peace, Love And War: The Development Of Sikh 'Militancy' In The Seventeenth Century (Dr S Kumar)
  • Hannah Alice Whittaker A Socio-Economic History of the Shifta Conflict in Kenya, c. 1963-8 (Dr R Reid)
  • Wan Faizah Bt Wan Yusoff Malay Responses To The Promotion Of Western Medicine, With Particular Reference To Women And Child Healthcare In The Federated Malay States, (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
2010
  • Aditya Sarkar Regulated Labour, Unruly Workers: The Making Of Industrial Relations In Late Nineteenth-Century Bombay 1917-1948 (Prof Robb)
  • Aparna Kapadia Text, Power And Kingship In Medieval Gujarat, C 1398-1511 CE (Dr D Ali)
  • Apisake Monthienvichienchai Thai Nationalism And The Catholic Experience, 1909-1947 (Prof I Brown)
  • Christopher  Keepfer Roberts British Extra-Territoriality In Japan 1859-1899 (Dr A Lockyer)
  • Francesca Di Marco Discourse On Suicide Patterns In Post-War Japan (Dr A Lockyer)
  • Jocelyn Mary Chatterton Protestant Missionary Experience During The War In China, 1937-1945: The Case Of Hubei Province (Dr A Janku)
  • Michael Gould The Biafran War 1966-70: A Reappraisal With Oral Perspectives (Prof T Mccaskie)
  • Prabhu Narain Bapu Constructing Nation And History: Hindu Mahasabha In Colonial North India 1915-1928 (Prof Robb)
  • Sanjukta Ghosh Colonial State, Agricultural Knowledge Transfers And Indigenous Response: Bengal Presidency 1870-1930 (Prof Robb)
  • Sohini Dasgupta Contending Authenticities: Representations of 'Hindu Custom' in Late Nineteenth Century Colonial Bengal (Prof Robb)
  • Tara Lynn Mayer Clothing And The Imperial Image: European Dress, Identitiy And Authority In Late Eighteenth And Early Nineteenth Century North India. (Prof Robb)
  • Jonathan Saha Madness and Colonialism in British Burma
  • Tharaphi Than Writers, Fighters And Prostitutes: Women And Burma's Modernity, (Prof I Brown)
  • Wilson Kwame Yayoh Local Government In Ewedome, British Trust Territory Of Togoland (Ghana), 1920s To 1970s (Dr J Parker)
2009
  • Abhishek Singh Amar Contextualising The Navel Of The Earth: Emergence, Sustenance And Religious Transformation Of Buddhism In The Bodhgaya Region (Circa. 300 Bce - 1200 (Dr D Ali)
  • Berhanu Tesfaye Aragaw Contested Land: Land And Tenancy Dispite In Gedeo, Southern Ethiopia (1941-1974) (Dr W Dooling)
  • Chiara Formichi Kartosuwiryo's Role In The Creation Of The Islamic State Of Indonesia (Negara Ismal Indonesia), 1927 - 1949 (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
  • Halil Ibrahim Erbay Teaching And Learning In The Madrasas Of Istanbul During The Late Ottoman (Dr B Fortna)
  • Johan Franzen The Power Of Ideas: Communism, Iraqism And Pan-Arabism In The Ideological Formation Of The Iraqi Communist Party, 1958-1979 (Dr N Fuccaro)
  • John William Harte Mackay Contesting The Past In Mandate Palestine: History Teaching For Palestinian Arabs Under The British Rule (Dr B Fortna)
  • Josiah Begole Brownell Rhodesia's War Of Numbers: Racial Populations, Political Power, And The Collapse Of The Settler State, 1960-1979 (Dr W Dooling)
  • Keiko Daidoji What A Household With The Sick Should Know? - Expressions Of Body And Illness In A Medical Text Of The Early Nineteenth Century Japan (Prof Dikotter)
  • Maureen De Silva Javanese Indentured Labour In British North Borneo, 1914 - 1932 (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
  • Natasha Pairaudeau Indians as French Citizens in Colonial Cochinchina, 1858-1940 (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
  • Shirley Louise Gonsalves Community And Identity: A Case Study Of Luso Indian Participation In The Medical Profession In Nineteenth Century Bombay (Prof Tomlinson)
  • Vivian Ibrahim Modernisation, Community And State: Coptic Mobilisation In Egypt, 1882-1954 (Dr N Fuccaro)
  • Vu Hong Lien Warder Mongol Invasions In Southeast Asia And Their Impact On Relations Between Dainiet And Champa (1226-1326) (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
2008
  • Arianna Lissoni The South African Liberation Movements In Exile, Ca. 1950-1970 (Dr W Dooling)
  • Daniel Andrzej Vazquez-Paluch The Establishment Of The Maliki School In Muslim Spain (Prof Hawting)
  • Elke Elisabeth Tying And Untying The Knot: Kadhi's Courts And The Negotiation Of Social Status In Zanzibar Town, 1900-1963 (Dr Miran)
  • Ezra Rashkow The Nature Of Endangerment: Histories Of Hunting, Wildlife, And Forest Socities In Western And Central India, 1857-1947 (Prof Robb)
  • Hung Bin Hsu From Smokers To Addicts: A History Of Opium And Its Users In Taiwan (Prof Dikotter)
  • Michael Dawson Leigh Methodist Missionaries, Society And Politics In Upper Burma 1887-1966 (Prof I Brown)
  • Roberto Mazza Jerusalem In The First World War: Transitions From Ottoman To British Rule (Dr N Fuccaro)
  • Sebastian Prange Raphael The Social And Economic Organization Of Muslim Tradingn Groups On The Malabar Coast, Twelfth To Sixteenth Century. (Dr D Ali)
  • Syed Muhd Aljunied Khairudin The Aftermath Of The Maria Hertora Riots In Colonial Singapore (1950-1953) (Prof W Clarence-Smith)
2007
  • Ama Barbara Biney The Intellectual Thought Of Kwame Nkrumah (Dr J Parker)
  • Enrique Sang Okenve-Martinez Equatorial Guinea 1927-1979: A New African Tradition (Dr J Parker)
  • Gurdofarid Miskinzoda On The Margins Of Sira: Mughuitai (689-762 / 1290-1361) And His Place In The Development Of Sira Litrature. (Prof Hawting)
  • James Alastair Warren Gambling, The State And Society In Siam, C. 1880-1945 (Prof I Brown)
  • Jonathan Mamu Ayuba Social And Economic Change In Colonial North-Central Nigeria: The History Of Akwanga Division, 1911-11960 (Dr J Parker)
  • Valentina Boretti Playing For Keeps: The Toy Culture In China, 1895-1949 (Prof Dikotter)
2006
  • Talat Ahmed Literature And Politics In The Age Of Nationalism: The Progressive Writers' Movement In South Asia, 1932-1956 (Dr J Powell)
  • Thet Thet Wintin The Prison In Pre-Colonial Burma (Prof I Brown)
  • Thomas Edward Cadogan Students And Schools In The Southern Highlands: Education In Tanzania, 1890s To The Present (Dr J Parker)
  • Zohar Shani Allouche "Between The Pure Milk And The Froth": Images Of The Devil In The Muslim Tradition (Hadith) (Prof Hawting)