BA African Studies

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.

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

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 from Language II, if they wish, 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). 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. If this is important to you, please discuss it with your Programme Convenor at the end of year 1 or the beginning of year 2 of your degree.

Students must pass Culture in Africa and either the first year language module or Language in Africa in order to proceed.

• Culture in Africa

• Language in Africa

A module at a suitable level in an African language

Choose an open option module at an appropriate level.

Choose ONE of the following modules.

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

An African language unit following on from language taken in Year 1 or module(s) to the value of one unit from the list of options.

Choose modules to the value of 30 credits from the list of options.

Choose a module from the list of optional modules or from the list of open options to the value of 30 credits.

• Perspectives on African experience

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

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

Choose a module from the list of optional modules or from the list of open options to the value of 30 credits.

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

• Sci-fi and Afrofuturism in the African Novel
• Realism and Magical Realism in the African Novel
• African Filmmaking: From the 1960s to the Present
• Film Festivals and Film Curating
• Islamic Reform Movements in Modern Africa
• African Philosophy
• Afrophone Philosophies
• South African Film and Visual Culture: Before and During Apartheid
• South African Film and Visual Culture 1994-2014
• Fictions of History
• Southern Spaces
• The structure of Bantu languages
• Theory and practice of Swahili translation
• R160 Introduction to the Religions of Africa
• Religion in Africa
• Extended essay in African studies (a)
• Extended essay in African studies (b)
• 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
• Introduction to Swahili Literature
• Swahili 2a Intermediate
• Advanced Swahili Literature
• Swahili 3
• Swahili 4
• Yoruba 1
• Yoruba 2
• Zulu 1

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

• Independent study project in African studies
• Directed study of an African language

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

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules