“The Formosan Documents”: Archives of Taiwan Indigenous Peoples from SOAS Collections

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|17th February 2016|Collections & Research|0 comments

This month’s blog has been written by Dr. Niki Alsford, currently a Research Fellow at the Oriental Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, and Research Associate at the Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS.  He is also the author of a new edited volume, ‘Buried Treasures: Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Archives Held at the School of Oriental & African Studies, the University of London’, due for publication by the Council

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‘Colonial Christian Missions and their Legacies’: reflections on a conference

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|30th June 2015|Behind the scenes, Collections & Research|1 comments

This week’s blog reflects on a conference held at the University of Copenhagen, 27th-29th April this year, entitled ‘Colonial Christian Missions and their Legacies’. One of our archivists, Jo Ichimura, looks back at the themes and highlights of the conference, which has particular relevance for the many researchers who come in to use the extensive missionary collections held by SOAS Archives. “How are colonial Christian missions remembered or memorialized in

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“Indigenous Australia” & the Dawes Notebooks

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|1st May 2015|Behind the scenes|0 comments

[Note: This blog may contain the names and images of deceased Aboriginal people] “When the British ships arrived, there were about 270 different Aboriginal languages in Australia. Today, only about 60 or 70 are spoken on a daily basis. Of these, roughly half a dozen are considered to be strong and are being passed from adults to their children, according to John Hobson, a lecturer at Sydney University.” (Source: BBC news

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Why Archives Matter? The English Presbyterian Mission collection at SOAS

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|29th August 2014|Collections & Research|0 comments

This week’s guest blog has been written by Niki Alsford, Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of History, and Research Fellow at the SOAS Centre for Taiwan Studies. Niki discusses the significance of the archives of the English Presbyterian Mission, held here at SOAS, for the study of the history of Taiwan and its’ indigenous peoples. Ensuring that the records of today are preserved for the future generations of tomorrow

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World Indigenous Day: Survival International Papers on Resettlement in Ethiopia

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|12th August 2014|Collections & Research|0 comments

To mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – which took place on the 9th August – we are today highlighting the Survival International collection of research papers on resettlement and villagisation in Ethiopia which are available at SOAS Archives. Survival International & Resettlement and Villagisation in Ethiopia Survival International is a global human rights non-governmental organisation (NGO) which campaigns for the protection of the rights of tribal, indigenous,

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