BA African Studies and ...

Learn a language as part of this programme

Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language which sets SOAS apart from other universities.

Students must take modules to the value of 120 credits each year. Over the three years they must take at least 150 credits from one subject and at least 120 credits from the other subject. The subject with the largest number of module credits will be named first in the degree.

Students must pass at least 90 credits in order to proceed to the following year, including any core modules.

Students may take open option modules to the value of 30 credits per year in a joint degree as long as the required number of credits for each of the named subjects is passed at the end of the degree.

Students who fail Language I are not required to continue with Language II in the second year. Students attaining 40-50% in Language I may be exempted, if they wish, from Language II after consultation with their Programme Convenor.

If a student passes Language in Africa and 120 credits in one language, then the language may optionally be named in the degree title, e.g. African Studies (Swahili) and Development Studies. This option is available for Swahili, Hausa and Somali only. 30 credits may be an Independent Study Project in which the language is used to a large extent. Please discuss with your Programme Convenor at the end of year 1 or the beginning of year 2 of your degree.

Choose one from the following modules. Students must pass Culture in Africa, the first year language module or Language in Africa in order to progress.

• Language in Africa
• Culture in Africa

30 credits at a suitable level in an African language.

Take 60 credits in the second subject

Choose ONE of the following modules:

• African language literatures (oral and written)
• Contemporary African literature

30 credits in an African language following on from Language I

Choose 60 credits from the second subject.

Choose module(s) to the value of 30 credits from the list of options.

Choose Language level 3 or module(s) to the value of 30 credits from the list of options.

Choose 60 credits from the second subject.

Before selecting a module, student's must first check that the course is at the correct level. They must also ensure that they meet any pre-requisites.

• Film Festivals and Film Curating
• Sci-fi and Afrofuturism in the African Novel
• Realism and Magical Realism in the African Novel
• African Filmmaking: From the 1960s to the Present
• Islamic Reform Movements in Modern Africa
• African Philosophy
• Afrophone Philosophies
• Contemporary African literature
• Fictions of History
• African language literatures (oral and written)
• R160 Introduction to the Religions of Africa
• Religion in Africa
• Directed study of an African language
• Black Urban Studies
• History of Slavery: Britain and Slavery
• Music in Africa
• The World of Cuban Music
• African Art III: the Art and Architecture of North Eastern Africa
• R210 Religion, Power, and Society in Modern Africa
• Africans in the Americas: Identities and Representation
• Amharic 1
• Amharic 2
• Hausa 1
• Hausa 2(a) intermediate
• Hausa 2(b) survey of hausa literature
• Hausa 3(a) advanced
• Hausa 3 (b) selected texts
• Somali 1
• Somali 2
• Advanced Somali: Language
• Advanced Somali: Literature
• Swahili 1
• Swahili 2a Intermediate
• Swahili 3
• Swahili 4
• Introduction to Swahili Literature
• Advanced Swahili Literature
• Yoruba 1
• Yoruba 2
• Zulu 1
• Zulu 2
• Theory and practice of Swahili translation

Students in Year 3 can also select from the modules below.

• Extended essay in African studies (a)
• Extended essay in African studies (b)
• Independent study project in African studies

• BA African Studies and ...Programme Specifications 2012/13 (pdf; 39kb)

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules