MA History

MA History

Duration: Full-time: 12 months; Part-time: 24 or 36 months

Minimum Entry Requirements: Normally, an Upper Second Class Honours degree of a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard obtained after a course of study extending over not less than three years in a university (or educational institution of university rank), in History, or a related discipline in the Humanities or Social Sciences.

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full Time or Part Time

The programme is designed for students with a keen interest in studying the remote as well as the more recent past of the countries, peoples, and cultures of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It is also ideal for students who seek to understand the historical conditions of the contemporary world from a global perspective. While the course is open to students with backgrounds in a diverse range of disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences, the ideal applicant would have an UG degree in History or a relevant area studies programme, some knowledge of foreign, in particular Asian or African languages, and preferably relevant background in the region of specialism.

This is one of the few Master-level programmes in History focusing on the study of Asia, the Middle East and Africa in the UK. With its high concentration of expertise of these regions, SOAS can offer an unrivalled breadth of courses on their histories. Apart from the possibility of acquiring regional expertise, the programme also provides a sound training in the historical sciences more generally. Students who wish to study manifestations of particular issues in a variety of regions may opt for the broader MA History. Others may prefer to focus on the study of a single region and choose one of the available regional pathways. These are

• MA History: Africa
• MA History: Near and the Middle East
• MA History: South Asia
• MA History: South East Asia
• MA History: East Asia

Students in this programme take four units of taught courses plus a 10,000-word dissertation with a detailed 2,500-word dissertation plan worth 10% of this mark. The proximity to the School of many archive depositories and records offices, including its own archival collection as well as the British Library, greatly enhances the potential for dissertation work. A broad range of courses is available in every single year (see 'Structure' tab for more details), though you may want to contact the programme convenor to ask about the availability of particular courses in a particular year. Those who wish to further develop their linguistic skills may choose from a range of African and Asian language courses.

In addition to their studies on the MA programme, students at SOAS have the opportunity to participate in the Regional History Seminars, as well as in a wide range of research seminars, lectures and conferences, which regularly take place in different departments and centres across the School and at other colleges of the University of London.

Structure

Students must take 180 credits comprised of 120 taught credits (including core and option modules) and a 60 credit dissertation

The programme consists of five units in total: four units of taught courses and a 10,000-word dissertation with a detailed 2,500-word dissertation plan worth 10% of this mark, worth one unit. One of the taught courses will be recognised as the student’s Major course and normally the dissertation will be on a topic linked to that course. Apart from the History courses, approved courses from other departments, language courses, and in some cases intercollegiate courses are available as additional options (see lists A to D below).

The syllabus of the MA History includes the following elements:

1. Debating Pasts, Crafting Histories (core course)
2. Courses totalling at least two units from List A, including a half or full unit designated as the Major course;
3. Minor courses totalling one unit from Lists A [Major and minor history courses], B [Courses from other departments], C [Language courses], D [PG School Open Options]
4. Dissertation in History (one unit) written in conjunction with the Major course.

There are five regional pathways within the MA History: Africa, East Asia, Near and the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia. To meet the pathway requirement, students must choose courses from the relevant regional section in List A to the minimum value of 1.5 units (including their Major). If you have questions about pathway requirements, please contact the programme convenor.

Students can take this programme part-time over 2 or 3 years. Students usually complete their core modules in Year 1, and their option modules and dissertation in subsequent years.’

Please note that not all the courses listed here will be available every year, and some new courses are likely to be added. For up-to-date information consult the Convener of the History MA programme, who will also be happy to provide more detailed information on individual courses.

Course Options

Core Modules

• Debating Pasts, Crafting Histories 15PHIC033 (30 credits) Full Year
• Dissertation in History 15PHIC999 (60 credits) Full Year
• Dissertation in History: Africa 15PHIC993 (60 credits) Full Year
• Dissertation in History: East Asia 15PHIC994 (60 credits) Full Year
• Dissertation in History: Near and Middle East 15PHIC995 (60 credits) Full Year
• Dissertation in History: South Asia 15PHIC996 (60 credits) Full Year
• Dissertation in History: South East Asia 15PHIC997 (60 credits) Full Year

LIST A: major and minor modules

Comparative/Global

• The Making of the Contemporary World 15PHIH035 (15credits) Term 1 Not Running 2017/2018
• Environmental History of Asia 15PHIH023 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018

Africa

• Slavery in West Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries 15PHIH028 (15credits) Term 2
• Historical Perspectives on Gender in Africa 15PHIH029 (15credits) Term 1
• Social and Cultural Transformations in Southern Africa Since 1945 15PHIH003 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018
• Colonial Conquest and Social Change in Southern Africa 15PHIH002 (15credits) Term 1
• Warfare and the Military in Precolonial Africa 15PHIH047 (15credits) Term 1 Not Running 2017/2018
• Warfare and the Military in Modern Africa 15PHIH046 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018

Near and the Middle East

• The Early Development of Islam: Emerging Identities and Contending View 15PHIH039 (15credits) Term 2
• Iran and the Persianate world, 1400 to 1800 15PHIH042 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018
• Iran and the Persianate world, 1800 to 1979 15PHIH043 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018
• Encountering the Other: the Middle East during the Crusading Period 15PHIH037 (15credits) Term 1 Not Running 2017/2018
• Modernity and the Transformation of the Middle East I 15PHIH031 (15credits) Term 1
• Modernity and the Transformation of the Middle East II 15PHIH032 (15credits) Term 2
• The Origin of Islam: Sources and Perspectives 15PHIH045 (15credits) Term 1
• Outsiders in Medieval Middle Eastern Societies: Minorities, Social Outcasts and Foreigners 15PHIH006 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018
• The End of Empire in the Middle East and the Balkans II 15PHIH049 (15credits) Term 2

South Asia

• Modern Muslim Thinkers of South Asia 15PSRC169 (30 credits) Full Year Not Running 2017/2018
• Islam in South Asia 15PHIH044 (15credits) Term 1
• Gender, law and the family in the history of modern South Asia 15PHIH030 (15credits) Term 2
• Colonialism and Nationalism in South Asia 15PHIH041 (15credits) Term 1
• The Body and the Making of Colonial Difference in British India 15PHIH033 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018

East Asia

• Japanese Modernity I 15PHIH013 (15credits) Term 1
• Japanese Modernity II 15PHIH014 (15credits) Term 2
• Knowledge and Power in Early Modern China 15PHIH024 (15credits) Term 1
• Nationhood and Competing Identities in Modern China 15PHIH022 (15credits) Term 2
• North Korea since 1945: the rise and decline of an East Asian developmental state 15PJKH012 (15credits) Term 2
• The Making of Modern Korea 15PEAC059 (30 credits) Full Year
• Topics in the History of Traditional Korea 15PEAC053 (30 credits) Full Year Not Running 2017/2018

South East Asia

• Asian Armies and National Development 15PHIH040 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018
• Asian Wars: World War II and the End of Empire (1942-1960) 15PHIH038 (15credits) Term 1 Not Running 2017/2018
• Histories of Ethnicity and Conflict in South East Asia 1 - Making States and Building Nations 15PHIH011 (15credits) Term 1 Not Running 2017/2018
• Histories of Ethnicity and Conflict in South East Asia 2 - Non-National Perspectives 15PHIH012 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018

LIST B: Modules in other departments

• Oriental religions in European academia and imagination, 1815-1945 15PSRC168 (30 credits) Full Year Not Running 2017/2018

Africa

• Colonialism and Christian Missions in Africa: Readings from the Archives 15PSRH043 (15credits) Term 2
• International Politics of Africa 15PPOC009 (30 credits) Full Year Not Running 2017/2018
• Government and politics in Africa 15PPOC205 (30 credits) Full Year
• State & society in Asia & Africa 15PPOC008 (30 credits) Full Year
• Culture and Society of East Africa 15PANH063 (15credits) Term 1
• Culture and Society of West Africa 15PANH068 (15credits) Term 2

Near and Middle East

• Comparative politics of the Middle East 15PPOC026 (30 credits) Full Year
• Culture and Society of Near and Middle East 15PANH067 (15credits) Term 2
• Modern Trends in Islam 15PNMC228 (30 credits) Full Year
• Reading Classical Arabic Historians: Themes and Trends in Islamic Historiography 15PNMC378 (30 credits) Full Year
• Israel and the Palestinians 15PNMC038 (30 credits) Full Year

Central Asia

South Asia

• Contemporary Islamism in South Asia: Readings in Sayyid Abu al-A'la Mawdudi 15PSRC170 (30 credits) Full Year Not Running 2017/2018
• History and Doctrines of Indian Buddhism 15PSRC059 (30 credits) Full Year Not Running 2017/2018
• The Indian Temple 15PARC034 (30 credits) Full Year
• Pakistan: History, Culture, Islam 15PSAC288 - Not Running 2017/18
• Government and politics of modern South Asia 15PPOC003 (30 credits) Full Year
• Culture and Society of South Asia 15PANH064 (15credits) Term 1
• Literature & Colonialism in North India (Masters) 15PSAH005 (15credits) Term 1 Not Running 2017/2018

East Asia

• State and society in the Chinese political process 15PPOC012 (30 credits) Full Year
• Culture and Society of China 15PANH062 (15credits) Term 2
• Culture and Society of Japan 15PANH065 (15credits) Term 1

South East Asia

• Jawi and the Malay Manuscript Tradition (Masters) 15PSEH006 (15credits) Term 2 Not Running 2017/2018
• Government and politics of modern South East Asia 15PPOC247 (30 credits) Full Year
• Culture and Society of South East Asia 15PANH066 (15credits) Term 2