SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal

Issue editors

• Hilde Kitterød
• Ada Özenci
• George E. Smith

Editorial team

• Miriam Addada
• Tridib Bhattacharya
• Nahda Tahsin
• Leïla Martins Braga Monteiro
• Hisham Parchmant

Cover art

• Zhanhui Jiang  

Front and back cover (pdf)

Research articles

Construction of Identity and Dialogues of Race Among Latinas Studying at SOAS

Maria Belén Ruiz

Abstract: This paper discusses the interracial dynamics of those who define themselves as 'Latin American' while studying at SOAS, focusing on their process of identity after migration and how they conceptualise their own 'race' in a new setting. My research shows that students go through a process of racial identification due to their social dynamics at university, suggesting that there is liminal process that students go through while studying. Further, this research shows how race is a dialectical and contextual concept that is experienced differently depending on where the subject is situated. Besides, I discuss how elements of identity—cultural values; music, art, and dance; culinary practices; and language—are a symbolic part of identification within a community. Moreover, the role of memory is presented as important in the process of identification for those who were not born in the region but identify as Latin American. Hence, this paper presents an important note that the lack of representation of Latin Americans at SOAS and in the UCAS system triggers a search for belonging to an identity, intertwined with alterations of the self-perception of race during the process.

Citation: Ruiz, Maria Belen. 2021. Construction of Identity and Dialogues of Race Among Latinas Studying at SOAS. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 2(1): 5-13.

Construction of Identity and Dialogues of Race Among Latinas Studying at SOAS (pdf)

Israel, Palestine, and FIFA

Holly Christiana Sommers

Abstract: This paper argues that a 2015 case made to FIFA by the Palestinian Football Association to suspend Israeli football teams based in the occupied territories and settlements aptly illustrates key tenets of Palestinian and Israeli state identity: notably, the Palestinian need for international recognition and Israeli anxiety over both international stigma and its own domestic national identity. On the one hand, the FIFA case highlights the Palestinian desire for institution-led international recognition of the existence and legitimacy of Palestine both territorially and through the development and maintenance of a Palestinian national biography. Conversely, for Israel, the FIFA case incites a substantial degree of 'ontological anxiety' through two conditions: firstly, its fear of international stigma and delegitimation, and secondly, a domestic identity crisis, in which choosing between playing international football or territorially defending the settlements causes the sort of internal rupture that the Israeli state has meticulously attempted to avoid.

Citation: Sommers, Holly Christiana. 2021. Israel, Palestine, and FIFA. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 2(1): 14-21.

Israel, Palestine, and FIFA (pdf)

Death and Stuff: An Exploration of Inherited Material Culture, Legacy, Memory, Obligation, and the Sticky Bits

Lula Wattam

Abstract: This paper explores material culture inherited after death and raises questions about what these objects mean to people. This material culture can facilitate grieving processes, memorialisation and construction of legacy whilst also often creating an impasse for individuals to 'move on'. Using my immediate and extended family as my key interlocutors there is also an exploration of the issues surrounding carrying out a very personal and delicate ethnography and navigating these existing familial relationships as an anthropologist. The objects became entry points for stories and emotional expression highlighting our complex understandings of our connections to those who have passed away. These ethnographic examples also highlight our situation in a wider consumer-capitalist framework and explore how wider social pressure and norms impact our interaction with inherited objects.

Citation: Wattam, Lula. 2021. Death and Stuff: An Exploration of Inherited Material Culture, Legacy, Memory, Obligation, and the Sticky Bits. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 2(1): 22-33.

Death and Stuff: An Exploration of Inherited Material Culture, Legacy, Memory, Obligation, and the Sticky Bits (pdf)

Why Does the Political Economy of Race and Ethnicity Matter?

Onika June Winston

Abstract: The link between race, ethnicity and capitalism is not a recent phenomenon. Racism has been a key driving factor in the expansion of capital. The transatlantic slave trade created the economic development required to establish capitalism as a world system. Western racist ideologies have dehumanised African people both on the continent and within the diaspora throughout history, fostering an inseparable relationship between colonial conceptions of race and the historical development of capital. The increase of right-wing populism in today’s political climate demonstrates the ways contemporary capitalism has manifested new expressions of racial animosity which continue to affect the descendants of the Africans who were victims of the earlier stages of capitalism. The consequences of a white supremacist world order has meant that the link between race, ethnicity and capitalism in political economy has been ignored. This paper will corroborate the ways in which whiteness has created a domineering, racist global order that places capital over the lives of Black people. Though separated by time and space the South African Apartheid regime and the fire that destroyed Grenfell Tower in UK are key examples of the racist exploitations that make an extensive analysis of race and ethnicity vital within the discipline of political economy. 

Citation: Winston, Onika June. 2021. Why Does the Political Economy of Race and Ethnicity Matter? SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 2(1): 34-42.

Why Does the Political Economy of Race and Ethnicity Matter? (pdf)

Appropriating Rape: Sexual Violence in Cinematic Narratives of the Sino-Japanese War

Maria Magdalena Bastida Antich

Abstract: This paper examines representations of wartime sexual violence during the Second Sino-Japanese War in Chinese and Japanese contemporary cinema. It explores the ways in which these visualisations of rape can distort or testify to the experiences of victims while also contributing to the (re)production of narratives of the nation. In analysing and comparing images of sexual violence in Lu Chuan’s City of Life and Death and Wakamatsu Kōji’s Caterpillar, this paper argues that the representation of wartime rape in Chinese and Japanese war cinema is inescapably shaped by masculinist mythology of the nation, whose notions of sovereignty are articulated through the exertion of power over women’s sexualities and bodies. It is concluded that the gendered logics that inform post-war national discourses in China and Japan hence limit the space to honour the subjective pain of victims and survivors. 

Citation: Antich, Maria Magdalena Bastida. 2021. Appropriating Rape: Sexual Violence in Cinematic Narratives of the Sino-Japanese War. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 2(1): 43-52.

Appropriating Rape: Sexual Violence in Cinematic Narratives of the Sino-Japanese War (pdf)

From Vocal Game to Protest Song: The Complexities of Katajjaq

Freda D’Souza: 

Abstract: This paper discusses the Inuit vocal game Katajjaq in relation to its musical components and political importance. Katajjaq shows much musicality specifically through its use of interlocking. This complexity is deconstructed in this paper and compared to hocketting prominent in other cultures. In recent years, female Inuit artists (such as Tanya Tagaq) have reclaimed Katajjaq as a musical technique in its own right. In their music, it has been used both as a tool for creating intricate, engaging music and as a means to push back against past and present oppression faced by the Inuit.

Citation: D'Souza, Freda. 2021. From Vocal Game to Protest Song: The Complexities of Katajjaq. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 2(1): 53-61.

From Vocal Game to Protest Song: The Complexities of Katajjaq (pdf)

SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal Vol 2 full issue:

SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal Vol 2 (pdf)

Issue Editors:

• Hilde Kitterød
• Ada Özenci

Editorial Team:

• Timothy Lim
• Seren Thomas
• Tamara Harvey
• Marie Kwon
• Dita Said Hashi Warsame
• Madhur Wale

Front and back cover (pdf)

Research Articles

The Change and Continuities of British New Travellers

George E. Smith

Abstract: During Thatcher's Britain (1979-1990), the inner-city squatting movement and the hippy convoy movements of the 1970s formed a new lifestyle culture, termed 'New Age Travellers' by the contemporary media. It was a reaction to the injustices of early neoliberalism and a romantic desire to salvage what was left of the natural world before every facet of life became 'up for sale'. Over three decades since the birth of this movement, I explore the life-worlds of those who remain on the road today and those who retreated into more conventional forms of living. The piece asks what sustains a 'creationist culture' such as this, in contrast to other travelling cultures who are sustained through family heritage and tradition. I address some of the familiar misconceptions and stereotypes of a culture which has all too often been spoken for, concluding that the lifestyle is sustained by a commitment to craftsmanship and an integral appreciation (and tolerance) for nature. 

Citation: Smith, George E. 2020. The Change and Continuities of British New Travellers. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 1(1): 1-9.

The Change and Continuities of British New Travellers (pdf)

Towards an Anthropology Theory of Borders: The Case of Finnish-Russian Border Community, Värtsilä

Grace Elizabeth Richardson

Abstract: Borders are commonly considered by political agents to be physical entities determining states' territorial parameters. This positivist perspective differs significantly from the anthropology theory of borders, which maintains that borders are complex social processes. These constitute dynamic sites of interactions whereby local border practices create bodies of knowledge, producing localized forms of power. This paper adopts Foucault’s concept of power: Rather than power being perceived as a 'thing' which can be gained and lost through both national and international macro- political positioning, it is intricately woven through the tapestry of society and manifests through micro-social dynamics and daily social practices. The paper examines the Finnish-Russian border commune Värtsilä. This provides an excellent site of investigation because as the analysis demonstrates, local border practices significantly influenced Russia and Finland’s shifting national historical geo-political and ideological border processes. This reflects how borders are heterogeneous complex social realities and as such, need to be considered within their respective evolving geo-political contexts. 

Citation: Richardson, Grace Elizabeth. 2020. Towards an Anthropology Theory of Borders: The Case of Finnish-Russian Border Community, Värtsilä. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 1(1): 10-15.

Towards an Anthropology Theory of Borders: The Case of Finnish-Russian Border Community, Värtsislä (pdf)

Climate Change and National Security: Contradictions Challenging the Status Quo (pdf)

Agnes Schim van der Loeff

Abstract: Presenting climate change as a national security issue provides an appropriate sense of urgency needed for serious climate action. However, there are several contradictions between the national security framework and climate change, four of which are explored in this paper. First, a focus on national borders inadequately deals with the problem’s global nature and allows for climate injustice. Second, long-term impacts are not captured by the short-term focus of national security’s main agents such as policy makers. Third, seeing the military as the traditional provider of national security does not address the root causes of climate change but leads to its inappropriate militarisation. Finally, national security is primarily concerned with protecting the status quo, which is itself the cause of the threat. Climate change thus exposes the flaws of national security as the dominant framework of international politics, being inherently antithetical to properly understanding and addressing this major threat. 

Citation: van der Loeff, Agnes Schim. 2020. Climate Change and National Security: Contradictions Challenging the Status Quo. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 1(1): 16-22.

Climate Change and National Security: Contradictions Challenging the Status Quo (pdf)

Institutional Barriers to Labour Migration: Does China’s Economic Development Vindicate the Lewis Model?

Camilla Munkedal

Abstract: The Lewis Model is a seminal framework in development economics due to its analysis of the importance of migration for economic growth. This paper builds on the scholarship that has analysed the Lewis Model in relation to the Chinese development experience and focuses in particular on the institutional barriers to migration in the form of China’s hukou system. It is shown that the Chinese development experience of increasing wages in the face of persisting rural labour surplus does not adhere to the Lewis Model. Moreover, it is argued that wage and social discrimination in China’s urban labour market serve as significant barriers for rural-urban migration. This paper concludes that the Lewis Model provides a useful but inadequate framework for understanding China’s internal migration challenges, and that more research should focus on the welfare implications of migration patterns in China. 

Citation: Munkedal, Camilla. 2020. Institutional Barriers to Labour Migration: Does China’s Economic Development Vindicate the Lewis Model? SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 1(1): 23-29.

Institutional Barriers to Labour Migration: Does China’s Economic Development Vindicate the Lewis Model? (pdf)

The Productive Capacity of the Sri Lanka War (pdf)

Arzu Abbasova: 

Abstract: Traditional understandings of war overlook its productive capacity. To remedy this neglect this paper focuses on the case of the Sri Lanka war and critically engages with the war’s generative and transformative power. After theoretical explanation of how war has productive capacities, the article develops a historical, societal and global analysis of the Sri Lanka war in order to trace back the creation of ethnic tension, to show how war is embedded in the societies and to demonstrate the war’s global effects. It argues that the war in Sri Lanka produced both Sinhalese and Tamil identity as well as the latter’s gendered character and spatial distribution. This exploration of identity creation as a by-product of war, will contribute to the critical war studies literature. 

Citation: Abbasova, Arzu. 2020. The Productive Capacity of the Sri Lanka War. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 1(1): 30-35.

The Productive Capacity of the Sri Lanka War (pdf)

How Human Rights Law and Rhetoric Shielded the Military Junta in Myanmar (pdf)

Theint Theint Thu

Abstract: This paper argues how human rights norms, practices, and language have clouded the real solutions to injustices in Myanmar by protecting the military junta from pressure. It will explore how the international human rights discourse has set out to merely deal with the symptoms of the problems rather than the root cause itself, providing negligible change in the long run. The paper explains how the current solutions for Myanmar ignore the institutional roots of the injustices (such as the constitution) as well as structural and societal causes. In addition, it explores how in recent years, the military has been able to hide its rights violations behind superficial developments as well as the regime change. Overall, the human rights discourse has provided a naive narrative for despotism in Myanmar by undermining the entrenched authoritarian rule in both government and society, even in the post-trauma era. In doing so, the discourse has unknowingly shielded the military junta and has dangerously looked over the true causes of rampant rights violations. 

Citation: Thu, Theint Theint. 2020. How Human Rights Law and Rhetoric Shielded the Military Junta in Myanmar. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 1(1): 36-42.

How Human Rights Law and Rhetoric Shielded the Military Junta in Myanmar (pdf)

How Are Healing and Suffering Conceptualized within Christian Science?

Greta von Albertini

Abstract: This paper investigates and explores the understanding of suffering and healing within the new religious movement (NRM) of Christian Science (SC). Through a medical anthropological lens, concepts such as the mind/body dualism and the 'placebo effect' will be discussed, alongside analyses of qualitative research data gathered at my local CS church in central London through participant observation and semi-structured interviews. With a focus on the movement’s construction of healing, that perceives suffering as 'unreal', I argue that CS’s conceptualisation of healing and suffering is inherently contradictory and dichotomous. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the rather scarce literature on CS through a transdisciplinary approach incorporating religious studies, medical anthropology, and sociology.

Citation: von Albertini, Greta. 2020. How Are Healing and Suffering Conceptualized within Christian Science? SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 1(1): 43-50.

How Are Healing and Suffering Conceptualized within Christian Science?

Drivers of the London Housing Crisis: The Neoliberal Nexus of Ideology, Policy, and Capital

Julia Frances Alice Everett

Abstract: For the average Londoner, the subject of housing is a bleak one. House prices in the capital continue to rise while homelessness, displacement, and poor-qualit y accommodation become increasingly pervasive and damaging, with seemingly no end in sight. This paper is situated within a budding literature surrounding the international political economy of housing and property and seeks to trace the root drivers of the London housing crisis. It argues that although crises in housing are not necessarily new phenomena, this current period of crisis is intensified by neoliberal ideology which has justified and driven government policies which have in turn facilitated the financialization of the London housing market. These developments have occurred counter to the interests of ordinary Londoners through the reconceptualization housing as an asset, as opposed to a right. The paper will examine how ideology intersects with capital and UK government policy, in effect perpetuating the London housing crisis.

Citation: Everett, Julia Francis Alice. 2020. Drivers of the London Housing Crisis: The Neoliberal Nexus of Ideology, Policy, and Capital. SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal 1(1): 51-57.

Drivers of the London Housing Crisis: The Neoliberal Nexus of Ideology, Policy, and Capital

SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal Vol 1 full issue:

SOAS Undergraduate Research Journal Vol 1 (pdf)