BA History

This introductory module surveys the entire sweep of Africa's history, north and south of the Sahara, from the emergence of civilizations to the present day. Themes covered include Ancient Egypt and Nubia, Christianity and Islam in Africa, state and society in Sudanic and in Bantu-speaking Africa, slavery and the slave trades, colonisation and the postcolonial period.

This module introduces students to the history of the part of the world that was profoundly influenced by the Chinese cultural sphere through a gendered lens. Chronologically, it covers the periods of early state formation and the rise of the first unified empires, the centuries of political and religious plurality of the first centuries of the common era, and the heyday of Chinese civilization following the 'reunification' in the Sui/Tang and the social and economic transformations of the Song dynasty. We will look at this history through the experience of women from different walks of life and study how women were represented in different kinds of texts, from the Classics to biographies of exemplary women and tales of the strange. This perspective will provide a focused and engaging way to learn about the ideological foundations and hierarchical and patriarchal social structures that supported the expanding Chinese states.

This module is an introduction to the history of the late medieval, early modern and modern era Middle East. It begins roughly around the time when Islamic empires became the dominant powers in the region and explores thenceforth the political, social, and cultural developments up to the present. While the module is structured around events that are primarily of military and political nature, it gives ample importance to the broad social and cultural currents, as well as the circumstances of everyday life as shaped by the former. Throughout the semester, we will also (re)visit, question, and complicate some of the main concepts and debates, such as modernity and the decline thesis, that have informed the field in the past decades.

South Asia (comprising of present-day India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives) has a history stretching back millennia. This module introduces the historical processes that shaped the society, culture, economy and political landscapes of the subcontinent over this long period. We begin with the Harappan or Indus Valley civilization and conclude with the English East India Company’s conquest of Bengal, a moment that marks the beginning of the colonial period. Students will study the principal historical themes, debates and controversies that have concerned scholars over the decades and thus build a foundation for further study of the history of South Asia at more advanced levels.

This module explores the variety of approaches to history through the ages, from positivist histories of the nation state and the study of changing economies and societies, to postcolonial and subaltern histories, it introduces the wide range of sources through which we study the past, including both secondary accounts produced by historians and the primary sources on which they rely.

This module supports students with their transition to Higher Education. It delves into the study of Humanities, with a focus on questions concerning the colonial genealogy of Humanities and the ways of decolonising Humanities, and skills acquired in the various disciplines in the college. Students learn to identify and describe the skills they acquire in this module and during their studies in the Humanities. Students are introduced to research, reading, listening, writing, performance and communication skills through multiple disciplinary lenses, addressing the planetary questions of this age. They compare different disciplinary approaches and are encouraged to reflect on interdisciplinary approaches to studying the Humanities, grounded in different regions. This enables students to make more informed decisions in the designing of their individual educational journey. Students practice their skills and reflect on their skills through real-world projects, drawing on critical content from all disciplines in the College of Humanities at SOAS.

As it was a century ago, Southeast Asia as a region continues to be one of the hotspots of great power rivalries. Much of the world’s trade runs through the region, it is on the fringe of the Chinese economic power-house, and is a major focus of the US pivot back to Asia. As a result, longer term historical developments and shorter term regional developments have important implications for the balance of world power. Even so, these developments remain poorly understood by world policymakers. This module examines the region’s historical emergence from 1830 to the present, roughly two centuries, with a focus on explaining how its intersection with the prevailing global forces has shaped the region as it exists today.

What role do the internet and its associated tools and devices play in facilitating movements for social justice? This first-year module will use examples of prominent digital-driven campaigns and causes from all over the world, from geopolitical conflicts to environmental movements to indigenous and decolonial rights campaigns - to examine the role of digital communications tools and platforms in bottom up" democratic movements, and the challenges associated with these approaches. Do technologies such as AI have a role to play in assisting social justice, or do they merely constitute surveillance? The module may examine formats including social media text, images and video, and podcasting, and these skills will also be covered."

H102 History of the World explores the history of humankind from the Paleolithic period to the globalized twenty-first century. We proceed chronologically, to understand how the world as a whole got to be the way it is. But we also explore the process from different angles, allowing us to make comparisons between and connections among different parts of the world. We will look at empires and nations, trade and industry, and at social movements, religion, culture, and ideas. We will explore the impact of European colonialism on the way in which we understand the world and its history, and we will examine how the rise of Western dominance is a relatively recent development.

Based around the three broad themes of Religion, Trade and Empire, this module examines a series of individual objects in context from across Asia and Africa to explore the role of material and visual culture in understanding the history of global connectivity. Each case-study will demonstrate the transmission of ideas, motifs, materials, objects and people within Asia and Africa and in interaction with Europe, over around 1500 years from the 2nd-3rd to the 18th centuries CE.

This module introduces students to the methods and approaches to historical research. We survey the ways in which historians have approached the past -- from event-driven narratives, through the structural analysis of economy, society, and culture, to contemporary debates about postmodernism, postcolonialism, and presentism.

This module introduces students to the history and legacy of the Atlantic slave trade in West Africa from Senegambia down to Angola from ca. 1500 to the present. It gives a political and economic understanding of key developments and of social and cultural change and continuity. Students will explore the causes of the transatlantic slave trade, and the consequences of involvement in the trade for West African societies. The consequences of the abolition of slavery and local and global legacies of the slave trade will also be considered.

This module explores gender in historical perspective, combining a general introduction to gender history with a case-study based on the specialisation and research expertise of the tutor. The module provides a detailed introduction to the positioning of history as a discipline vis-à-vis gender studies.

This module therefore seeks to understand war and violence from a non - Western perspective - to understand how they emerge from particular historical circumstances and how they produce different consequences in different periods and geographical, cultural, ethnic, and even religious contexts.

This module explores an ongoing cultural encounter, which has historically been only rarely marked by conflict.’ Key themes to be covered include the origins and early development of Islam in China, from Tang China’s ‘Silk & Sea Routes’ to the Mongol empire.

This module asks how we came to approach politics as the measuring of success according to a certain set of goals, such as development, peace, and security.

The course is designed to equip students with a broad range of theoretical and practical approaches to the study of museums. It examines the strategies and practices by which museums interpret, organise and display objects – especially non-Western objects – within diverse cultural contexts.

This course offers a transdisciplinary look at contemporary cultural products and cultural modes of production in South and South East Asia. Combining the theoretical framework of British Cultural Studies (Hoggart, Hall, During) with the post-colonial discourses that have underpinned the study of culture in South and South East Asia, the course will explore how particular cultural practices in both regions relate to wider systems of power as embodied in belief systems, ethnicities, caste, national and transnational politics, language, and gender. Working from non-essentialist views of culture as constantly changing sets of practices and processes, the course will seek to introduce the students to reading/readings of cultural texts and use these exercises as engaged approaches to a critical understanding of the cultures of both regions, as well as the continuities and discontinuities between them.

This module will introduce students to the history of the Middle East between 1050 and 1250 CE. While there will be emphasis on the period of the Frankish invasions of the Levant (Crusades), it will also deal with wider issues within the period. Topics will include a comparison of ideas of holy war, crusades and jihad, the economic and political importance of Mediterranean trade during the period, the nature of Frankish settlement in the Levant, a comparison of Frankish and Muslim elites and the impact of the Mongol invasions from 1218 onwards. The course will finish with the discussion of two major questions: Should we see the Crusades as a colonialist enterprise paving the way for later European expansion in other parts of the world? And what was the long-term impact on relations between the peoples of the Middle East and western Europe? In this way the course will combine an in depth, scientific investigation of a crucial era in Middle Eastern history with wider concerns which are still important in contemporary political discourse.

This module discusses the formation, administration and culture of empires in the Near and Middle East and their interaction with each other from the earliest known civilisations to 651 CE. This period covers the empires of the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Elamites as well as the succession of Iranian empires. Topics that will be covered in greater detail include the culture of writing, oral traditions, royal propaganda, state structures and administration, and multiculturalism.

This module allows students to synthesise their learning in a single project that demonstrates their fulfilment of the programme’s learning outcomes. It integrates their academic knowledge with experiences beyond the classroom and combines their developing knowledge, skills, and personal interests. The project is conceived, designed, and carried out independently, with support and supervision.

This module explores the history of the suffragette movement in China and the wider context of women's emancipation and emerging feminist thought in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The syllabus is organised around a series of key events and protagonists, from the introduction of the first schools for girls (by Western missionaries) and the reforms of the late 1890s, to the suffragette movement and the revolution of 1911 and its aftermath. You will get to know some extraordinary women and read their writings, reflect about their significance within the Chinese and global context, and gain new insights into the struggle against exclusive patriarchal structures and for female emancipation and political participation in the final decade of Qing rule and beyond.

Partition and independence in 1947 are critical events underlying the modern history of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kashmir.  This module examines the histories of nationalist and imperial politics that are held to account for the partition of British India. Throughout the sessions there will be reflections on the continuing importance of the divisions caused by partition occupying the states in the present day. Students will become familiar with the historiography of colonialism and nationalism, and gain an understanding of cultural, political issues involved in the politics of governing different groups, the politics of identity, its various sources and dimensions as well as international geopolitics. The module assumes a basic knowledge of the history of South Asia, which can be acquired with additional reading.

This module examines the history of apartheid in twentieth-century South Africa, widely regarded as the historical experience that represents one of the world's most extreme forms of racial oppression. By using a combination of primary and secondary sources, the module traces the social, economic and intellectual origins of apartheid. The module further examines the nature of state policy and is especially concerned to investigate the lived experiences of black South Africans under apartheid rule. We conclude with an examination of the forces that led to the end of apartheid, the nature of post-apartheid society, and the legacy of apartheid in the world. 

The core objective of this course is to analyse primary sources which shed light on the role of Shanghai as a city representative of the decentralised and at times anarchic situation in China during the 1920s and 30s. The city’s origins as a byproduct of the Unequal Treaties after the Opium War of 1840 will be elucidated, as much as the wealth that was created by means of the opium trade and of an unparalled agglomeration of weath. This wealth was not infrequently created by means of illegal activities, leading to the collusion between criminal syndicates, the Chinese government and Western businesses and officials which altogether made Shanghai the hallmark of lawlessness in Republican China.

The Mughal Empire was one of the most formidable global powers in the early modern period. As a Muslim-ruled empire in an overwhelmingly Hindu environment, it attracted much interest by both domestic actors and external observers. The empire became a key to understanding the South Asian past by those who followed. Colonialists justified their conquest of India as liberating the land from oppressive tyrants; nationalists saw the empire as a model of coexistence and civilisation; Hindu right-wing depicted it as a symbol of subjugation and used it to flare communal violence; Islamicists emphasised the Islamic glory and religious dominance for pious and political ends. The module examines the empire in between the past and its interpretation, while placing it on solid historical and historiographical grounds. Special attention will be given to the structures and institutions of the empire, the way it constructed its own past, and its dynamic response to an environment which was hugely diverse in terms of culture, society, and religion. Studying these issues, students will understand the unique challenges of dealing with precolonial history and the ever-lasting problems of modern historiography.

Starting with the end of the eighteenth century, the Ottoman Empire, both in its Balkan and Middle Eastern territories, has been a hotbed for revolutionary activity. The Greek Revolution of the 1820s gave birth to the first ethno-religious nation state that the world saw, while the contemporaneous Wahhabi rebellion announced to the world the emergence of a new, puritanical brand of Islam. Manifold and roving resistance movements in the second half of the nineteenth century merged into a formidable revolutionary force both in Iran's and the Ottoman Empire's respective Constitutional Revolutions, whereas the Mahdist uprising in the 1880s Sudan gave way to subsequent anticolonial resistance movements and action in the region. This module takes these explosive moments as its point of entry to understand the complexities of revolutionary change in the region. Using primary sources, such as contemporary press coverage, consular correspondence, and other archival material, as well as visual and material sources, this module delves into the historical intricacies of a revolution (successful or otherwise) as way to look into and understand the world we live in today.

This course takes the recent and current cases of conflict and forced migration in the Middle East and the Balkans as its point of entry to explore the intersected histories of violence, displacement, state-building, and citizenship rights in the region. It contextualizes the stories of the refugees that we come across on daily basis, by reconsidering them in connection with the region’s history in the past two centuries. The course will focus on such cataclysmic moments in the Middle East as the Circassian Expulsion in 1860s, the Russo-Turkish War in 1877-78, the Balkan Wars in 1912-13 and the Armenian Genocide in 1915, and will combine historical studies on these events with theoretical works on coercion, consent, citizenship and human rights. Using primary sources, such as contemporary press coverage, consular correspondence, and other archival and printed material, as well as visual and material sources, this module delves into the historical intricacies and impact of migration and displacement as way to look into and understand the making of our world today.

Intimate spaces of social interaction put human faces to historical narratives and offer methodological tools for students' own topics of research. This module will explore the lives of ten people from different Western African societies that illustrate the potential of key types of sources for the examination of the history of Atlantic Africa. The focus will be the centuries from the seventeenth to the nineteenth, a period of profound local and global transformations in autonomous and colonial settings. A focus on the experiences of people on the ground allows for an examination of the ways institutions were shaped from the bottom-up, influencing and provoking tension to decisions made from above. Individuals with specific age, class, ethnicity, status, gender, place of origin, lineage made sense or questioned and transformed concepts otherwise more abstract to them like state, empire, freedom, autonomy or capitalism.

This module is about cultural and social change in Africa in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It covers the entire continent, north and south of the Sahara, as well as considering the cultures of the African diaspora. The aim to is explore African cultures and societies across the established divide in the continent's modern history between the era of colonial rule in the first half of the twentieth century and that of renewed African sovereignty from around the 1960s. A range of social changes are examined, but the focus will be on the history of popular and visual cultures, including artistic production in the fields of music, dance, theatre, film and plastic art. A central concern is to think about the historical processes that have shaped contemporary society and culture today.

This course is an introduction to urban history, exploring how cities have been shaped and in what ways urban dynamics have transformed human society. The idea is to examine urban history as a process in which economic, social, political, cultural, and morphological changes are interrelated, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of urban history.

This module embrace those frameworks but also challenge their limitations for understanding the history of the non-western world and the interconnectedness of global history. This module challenges students to explore new research methods, as they need to think creatively about source materials that can shed light upon the histories of regions about which there are often few historical records.

The course examines the historical context of Islam in Britain, beginning with early Muslim migrations and settlement in the 19th century, through to the institutionalisation of Islam in Britain in the early twentieth century and the emergence of community leaders. Within this framework it will cover the different ethnic, sectarian and doctrinal approaches to Islam belonging to and/or adopted by migrants and second generation Muslims. The course proceeds to look at the various issues that have arisen, uniquely, out of this context and in response to world events.

This module will explore the political, intellectual and social aspects of anticolonial nationalisms as the people in the territories once ruled by the government of India and the princely states moved towards making new independent nations. We will study the public spheres created through print journalism and political organisations and the identities they engendered.

This course is designed to develop students’ understanding of key moments in modern Japanese history from the collapse of the Tokugawa hegemony (the 1850s) to the end of World War II (1945) in regional and global context. It examines social and political epochs such as the rise of the Meiji government, the social and political contexts of modernisation, the process of nation-building, the establishment of an overseas empire and the rise of militarism, and the Sino-Japanese and Pacific Wars.

The module is intended to complement modules such as ‘History and Culture of Korea to the Late 19th Century’ and ‘Culture and Society in 20th Century Korea’ (which focuses on South Korea) to provide BA Korean students with a more comprehensive overview and understanding of the Korean peninsula and how it has developed, especially since the Pacific War.

This module provides a historical overview of the Israel-Palestine conflict, from late Ottoman Palestine, through the 1948 war and the establishment of Israel, to the Oslo accords. The module interrogates the historical dynamic in Palestine/Israel and its contestations through social and cultural history. It brings a variety of voices and perspectives, often contrasting and contradictory, on the conflict and its underlying causes.

This module integrates perspectives from our department’s three fields–history, religions, and philosophies–and beyond, to take an interdisciplinary critical approach to questions on ‘Political Islam.’ Grounded in historical chronology, and balancing geographical specificity with a transregional view, it begins by problematizing the categories of ‘religion’ and ‘politics’. At the same time it shows how these, and other, conceptual categories emerged across various sociopolitical settings from the early modern period to now.

The primary aim of this course is to reconstruct the origins of the Opium War, based on the development of the Indian Ocean trade from the West European and North African Atlantic to the eastern Mediterranean, from Egypt to Iran, from India to Indonesia and along the entire South-East Asian coastline. Opium was primarily used and tradeed for its medical properties and was generally exempt from legal prohibitions. However, the vast potential of financial gain which this trade entailed eventually led the late-comers in the Indian Ocean commerce – first the Dutch, then the British – to market narcotically charged opium for recreational use, thus starting off China’s “long opium century”.

The emergence of contemporary China is particularly marked by this intricate relationship between warfare and the sale of drugs, to the extent that China’s modern history officially begins with the “Opium War” of 1840. This course will take into account the holistic picture of the cultural and social history of opium, with diverse modes of consumption by a variety of social groups, from opium-smoking scholars to morphine-consuming housewives and heroin-injecting peddlers.