MA in Historical Research Methods

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

Debating Pasts, Crafting Histories
Sources and Research Design in Historical Research (1.0 unit)
This course provides one-to-one training in research design and in the use of sources for a specific region under the guidance of the MA dissertation supervisor. It is assessed by 2 essays (10,000 words in total). The first is normally on source-based problems and the second on research design which is linked to the dissertation topic.

This degree programme consists of four elements to the value of 5.0 units, including a 10,000-word dissertation with a detailed 2,500 word dissertation plan worth 10% of this mark:

1. Sources and Research Design in Historical Research (Core course, 1.0 unit)This course provides one-to-one training in research design and in the use of sources for a specific region under the guidance of the MA dissertation supervisor. It is assessed by 2 essays (10,000 words in total). The first is normally on source-based problems and the second on research design which is linked to the dissertation topic. We ask all applicants to include a research proposal of around 1,500-2,000 words setting out their intended dissertation topic and areas of research interest so that we can direct the application towards a potential supervisor for this course
2. Debating Pasts, Crafting Histories (1.0 unit)
3. Dissertation (1.0 unit)
4. a minor course or courses (equivalent to 2.0 unit) chosen from the Minor Course Options list and/or a language course from the Faculty of Languages and Cultures

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

THE ON-LINE MODULE SIGN-UP SYSTEM GUIDES STUDENTS THROUGH THE AVAILABLE MODULES.
PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL OPTIONAL MODULES ARE AVAILABLE EVERY YEAR.

For any queries, please contact the convener of the History MA Programme, who will also be pleased to provide more detailed information on individual courses.

• Environmental History of Asia
• The Making of the Contemporary World

• Colonialism and Christian Missions in Africa: Readings from the Archives
• Colonial Conquest and Social Change in Southern Africa
• Culture and Society of East Africa
• Culture and Society of West Africa
• Government and politics in Africa
• Historical Perspectives on Gender in Africa
• International Politics of Africa
• State & society in Asia & Africa
• Slavery in West Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries
• Social and Cultural Transformations in Southern Africa Since 1945

• Culture and Society of Near and Middle East
• Encountering the Other: the Middle East during the Crusading Period
• Israel and the Palestinians
• Modern Trends in Islam
• Outsiders in Medieval Middle Eastern Societies: Minorities, Social Outcasts and Foreigners
• Reading Classical Arabic Historians: Themes and Trends in Islamic Historiography

• Culture and Society of South Asia
• Government and politics of modern South Asia
• Literature & Colonialism in North India (Masters)
• Pakistan: History, Culture, Islam
• The Body and the Making of Colonial Difference in British India
• The Indian Temple

• Japanese Modernity I
• Japanese Modernity II
• Knowledge and Power in Early Modern China
• Nationhood and Competing Identities in Modern China
• Culture and Society of China
• State and society in the Chinese political process
• Culture and Society of Japan

• Asian Wars: World War II and the End of Empire (1942-1960)
• Jawi and the Malay Manuscript Tradition (Masters)
• Histories of Ethnicity and Conflict in South East Asia 1 - Making States and Building Nations
• Histories of Ethnicity and Conflict in South East Asia 2 - Non-National Perspectives

If you are a current student you can find structure information on Moodle or through your Department.

• MA HISTORICAL RESEARCH SPECIFICATION FROM 2017-2018 (pdf; 140kb)
• MA HISTORICAL RESEARCH METHODS SPECIFICATION FROM 2017-2018 (pdf; 60kb)

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules