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The roadmap to building a better world starts with a step into the past. It’s impossible to move forward weighed down by our baggage of mishaps, which is why the SOAS University of London uses history to inform future policy and activism.
In the School of History, Religions, and Philosophies, Dr Marie Rodet (Reader in the History of Africa), is raising awareness of the forgotten history of internal slavery in the Republic of Mali. Her research has involved creating new educational resources for anti-slavery activists, and even led to a positive outcome for a Malian claimant in a US asylum case. Another funded research project, one involving Dr Elvis Imafidon (Reader in African Philosophy) has congregated academics, healthcare workers, and disabled folk from three different African countries to amplify the philosophical and social conversation around disability in sub-Saharan Africa, and how it’s impacting the people’s accessibility to healthcare.
These real-world projects and experiences are unique to SOAS in that they bring to the surface those stories and voices usually unheard by eurocentric policies and vocabularies. It’s in SOAS’s remit to do so, since it’s the only higher education institution in Europe that specialises in the study of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. This is where research and education reflect the lives of underrepresented communities in the media. SOAS is the place where faculty and students begin change-making initiatives to disrupt the status quo and make the world a better place.
Master’s level studies at SOAS is as vigorous a challenge as it is intellectually stimulating. The Master of Arts (MA) in History, and in Religion, Politics and Society are both one-year academic programmes that take place on campus in the Bloomsbury area of London, itself one of the oldest areas in the capital and swirling in 350 years’ worth of events.
Research and learning at SOAS isn’t just about absorbing; it’s about contributing to a wider humanitarian cause. Source: SOAS University of London
The MA History programme brings forth historiographical and methodologically critical approaches to the discipline that aren’t found in other universities, providing students with a nuanced understanding of time periods. The MA Religion, Politics, and Society views topics such gender, human rights, violence, secularism, and faith perspectives from a decolonial perspective, and relates them to current issues in the socio-political sphere.
World-class specialists teach on these two MA programmes, providing personalised attention to every student that enriches their learning experiences. “What I appreciated most was the academic culture that fostered creative and critical thinking, as well as an atmosphere of respect for the views and opinions of students,” says Natalia Lanko, an MA History student. “Professors were always approachable, accessible, and committed to making sure that the material covered in seminars was diverse and of interest to students.”
Both MA programmes enable students to challenge dominant ideologies about the study of history itself and the role religion plays in contemporary public spheres.
For Lanko, the core course “Debating Pasts, Crafting Histories” exemplifies this. The seminar in historical research methods and historiography gave an excellent overview of the most recent and cutting-edge debates in the field of history from a critical perspective – one that “stands out from other universities in offering an interdisciplinary and self-reflective insight into the field of history that at many other universities is dominated by more traditional approaches.”
The programme’s learning outcomes encompass knowledge unique to SOAS and so much more. They ensure that students develop a highly advanced skill set that makes them particularly employable graduates. Students gain advanced research skills like fieldwork and archival techniques, honed with the SOAS Library’s extensive resources. As one of the UK’s national research libraries, it houses 1.3 million volumes, periodicals, and audio-visual materials, three kilometres of archival material, and 60,000 books about Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. There’s no limit to intellectual discovery here.
Students looking to pursue a PhD in these subjects can take on the MPhil/PhD routes in history, religion, or philosophy. Source: SOAS University of London
SOAS’s interdisciplinary pooling of the humanities and the social sciences means students also work with faculty and peers from other departments on research and pedagogical projects. This approach gave students “remarkable flexibility” to tailor their studies to their specific interests, according to graduate Omar Nasr, a British resident of Austro-Egyptian background.
He focused on the transformative periods of the Middle East with “Empire and Reform in the Modern Middle East, 1789-1914” and “Nationalism and Revolution in the Modern Middle East, 1914-1917.” To further explore Islamic intellectual currents, he engaged with “Modern Trends in Islam,” a module he said offered “profound insights” into contemporary Islamic thought.
Nasr nurtured his interest in the classical era through “Reading Classical Arabic Historians: Themes and Trends in Islamic Historiography,” a unique course that offered a deep dive into Islamic historiography under the tutelage of the esteemed scholar Hugh Kennedy. Complementing this historical exploration, he also pursued “Qualitative Research Methods” to enhance his methodological skills.
“The ability to select from a wide range of courses across different departments enriched my academic journey, making the SOAS history programme a truly distinctive and enriching experience,” he says.
Today, Nasr is a PhD candidate in International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His thesis aims to shed light on the role that Islam played in British wartime propaganda, in the building of political alliances with Muslim states and movements, and as a means to recruit, accommodate and moralise Muslim soldiers in the British army for the war against the Axis powers.
It’s a journey that wouldn’t have been possible had he not benefited from “the exceptional quality of education and the breadth of perspectives offered in SOAS programmes,” he says.
Like Nasr, over 75,000 SOAS alumni are making a difference in their own way around the world. They include authors and scholars who continue to dispel the colonial and imperial vision of the world, transforming societies for the better by ending social injustice.
Others make their mark in non-government organisations like the Afghan Aid and World Youth Service Society Japan, private companies like Edelman and the British Council, and publishing platforms like the Royal Institute of International Affairs. If you’re interested joining their ranks, learn more about the School of History, Religions, and Philosophies.
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