This week, Asad Zaidi shares his thoughts on what SOAS means to him. Asad has followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Dr Zawar Zaidi, who studied and lectured at the School before becoming a world authority on South Asia. How did you discover SOAS? I first arrived to study at SOAS in 2012 for my masters, but I had already heard of the School from my grandfather. He
This week, Dr Peter Flugel, Reader in the Study of Religions, talks about the journey of the study of Jainism, and how SOAS has played a key role in the development of this field of study. Research in Jainism has a long tradition at SOAS. It is associated with eminent Indologists such as A.L. Basham, D. Derrett, P.S. Jaini, R. Williams and J.C. Wright, who during their spells at
In this post, Dr Cui Yan of the Department of China and Inner Asia, shares her thoughts on Lao She, one of the first teachers of Chinese outside of China, and his legacy at SOAS… Lao She, a Beijing native and a Chinese language master, came to SOS (SOAS) to teach Mandarin in 1924 and worked here for five years. During his life, Lao She made great contributions to the
Exactly 178 years ago, in 1837, the University of London established the UK’s first-ever professorship for Chinese, heralding the founding of Chinese Studies in this country. The Chair of Chinese is linked to a collection of Chinese books donated to the University in 1834 by the missionary Robert Morrison. The “Morrison collection” lay at the basis of what is now one of Europe’s largest collections of Chinese books, held at the
I graduated in African studies (Hausa and social anthropology) in 1968. When interviewed, I was told that there was a place on the Hausa programme, a language I knew next to nothing about – pure chance! I subsequently travelled to northern Nigeria to conduct my anthropology research, and this also enabled me to learn more about the rich history of the Hausa people and the complexities of their language. Whilst
In June 2016, SOAS begins a year (actually, 13 months!) of celebrations to mark 100 years of excellence in research and teaching. An exhibition in the Brunei Gallery called ‘100 years of SOAS’ will play a major part in these celebrations by showcasing the School’s achievements. On Tuesday 9 December, a 4-metre Timeline will be put up in the SCR. The Timeline was created in 2009 to engage our Honorary