BA History

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

From the Crusades to the modern Middle East; fourteenth-century indigenous warfare to twentieth-century Islam in South East Asia; the Mughal Empire to Gandhi; Atlantic slavery and Muslim societies in West Africa to modern China and Japan, History at SOAS offers its students a unique window on the world. Studying the BA History at SOAS will provide you with a sound foundation in the historical discipline, engaging in subject matters ranging from economics, religion, and culture to frontiers, cities, and gender from a global perspective rather than a euro-centric one. You will be able to develop your understanding of the fascinating, interlinked histories of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and their significance in our world today.

Why study History at SOAS?

• Our unrivalled focus on the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East will help you cultivate a more critical understanding of the diversity of cultures and societies in the world today, the historical processes that have produced this diversity, and the importance of historical context in understanding past and present.
• Our academic staff are specialists in the history of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
• The flexible structure of your programme allows you to use our Open Options modules to take advantage of the global expertise of one of our other departments, including the opportunity to learn a new language.
• We are specialists in the delivery of languages. Your command of a language from SOAS will set you apart from graduates of other universities.

Structure

Students take 120 credits per year composed of Core, Compulsory and Optional modules.

Core modules: A core module is required for the degree programme, so must always be taken and passed before you move on to the next year of your programme.

Compulsory modules: A compulsory module is required for the degree programme, so must always be taken, and if necessary can be passed by re-taking it alongside the next year of your programme.

Optional modules: These are designed to help students design their own intellectual journey while maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals.

In the first year, students take introductory modules only, moving on to intermediate level modules in the second year, and then to advanced modules in their final year.

When selecting modules, some students choose to focus mainly on one region (Africa, Near and the Middle East, South, Southeast or East Asia) or topic (e.g. Islam, violence and warfare, gender, modernity). Others choose to range more broadly, exploring various topics and regions. There are advantages to both approaches, though ideally students will develop an in-depth knowledge of regional histories but also be able to place these histories in a comparative context.

Year 1

Core Module

• H101 Approaching History

Compulsory Module

• H102 World histories: the view from Africa and Asia

plus

Compulsory Module

Choose from List H1 Regional Introduction module below to the value of 30 credits

and either

Choose from List H1 Regional Introduction module below to the value of 30 credits

or

an approved open option module(s) to the value of 30 credits:

• Language Open Options Modules
• Non-Language Open Option Modules

Year 2

Core Module

• H201 Historical Research: Approaches and Methods 154800300 15 Term 1
• H200 Historical Research Project 154800319 15 Term 2

plus

Compulsory Module

Choose from List H2 Thematic Modules below to the value of 30 credits

plus

Choose from List H2 Regional Module below to the value of 30 credits

and either

Choose from List H2 Regional Module below to the value of 30 credits

or

Open Options

Choose related Language or Non-Language open option modules to the value of 30 credits

• Language Open Option Modules
• Non-Language Open Option Modules

Year 3

• H400 Special Subject Dissertation
• H500 Independent Study Project in History

List of Modules (subject to availability)

H1 Regional Introductions Modules

• H110 Introduction to the History of Africa
• H120 The Confucian World
• H130 Introduction to the Early History of the Middle East
• H140 Introduction to the History of South Asia
• H150 Introduction to the History of Modern East and Southeast Asia

H2 Thematic Modules

• H211 Cities in History
• H212 Frontiers in History
• H213 Gender in History
• H214 Violence in History
• H215 Colonial curricula: empire and education at SOAS and beyond

H2 Regional Modules

• H234 Colonialism and Culture in Modern South Asia
• H235 Nationalism and Identity in South Asia
• H236 State and Society in Mughal India
• H241 Crusades, Conquest and Coexistence in the Middle East, 1050-1291
• H246 Cities of Paradise and Empire
• H247 Medieval Iran: Nomads, Settlers and Dynasts
• H248 Nationalism and Revolution in the Modern Middle East, 1914-1979
• H249 Empire and Reform in the Modern Middle East, 1789-1914
• H354 Indigenous Warfare & Society In Early Mod S.east Asia, 1300-1830
• H270 Culture and Society in African History, 1900 to the present
• H278 Muslim Societies in Africa
• H280 Atlantic Slavery and its Legacies in West Africa
• H293 - Empire and Globalisation in the early modern Muslim world
• H294 - Race, Segregation, and Apartheid in Twentieth-century South Africa
• H295 - Southern Africa to 1910: colonial rule and social change
• H296 From Courtesans to Suffragettes: Women in Chinese History, 1600s-1910s
• H297 Mao's China, 1890s-1970s
• R430 Political Islam

H3

• H334 The Mongols and the Islamic World (I)
• H335 Gandhi and Gandhism
• H337 Histories of Partition: India and Pakistan 1947 (I)
• H343 Reform, Resistance and Revolution: the Ottoman Empire 1876-1909 (I)
• H348 Rulers, Rebels and Scholars in Early Islam (I)
• H379 Asante, the Gold Coast and the British, 1807-1935 (I)
• H382 Opium and Empires: Eastern Asia's Narcotic Trade and Culture in Global Context
• H398 - The Vietnam War and Asia I
• Literatures of the Islamic Near and the Middle East

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.

Employment

An undergraduate degree in History from SOAS will give you specialist knowledge of the history and broad cultural sensibilities of a region.

Skills gained include:

• expertise in historical subject matter, interpretation and methodology from different topical perspectives.
• an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the history of Africa, Asia and the Near and Middle East.
• competence to manage large quantities of information and the ability to select and organise information.
• research methodologies.

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

• Blackstock PR
• Bonhams
• British Council
• Ernst and Young
• HSBC
• International Society for Water Solutions (ISWS)
• Middle East Consultancy Services
• Oxford Policy Management
• Shed Productions Ltd (Independent UK television production company)

Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:

• Account Executive
• Business Development Manager
• Conference Producer
• Copywriter
• Finance Researcher
• Freelance TV Researcher
• Public Relations and Policy Manager
• Production Editor
• Trainee Accountant