1610, 2015

Julia Leslie: liberal feminist whose work influenced Hindu Studies, gender studies and the study of Hindu Law

By Katie Price|October 16, 2015|Uncategorized|0 comments

Dr Isobel Julia Leslie (1948 – 2004) was Lecturer in Hindu Studies at SOAS from 1990 until her death, serving as Pro-Director for Undergraduate Studies in 1997-98. ‘I do believe Julia’s work to be seminal. It won’t be forgotten. It will go on branching and flowering and fruiting in the work of other students, researchers and scholars, and may even influence social reform. A tree cut down, after all, can grow up

0510, 2015

The founding and development of the History of Art and Archaeology Department

By Katie Price|October 5, 2015|1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Exhibitions, SOAS in the world, The World at SOAS, Uncategorized|0 comments

by the first official member of the Department, Emeritus Professor Elizabeth H Moore, who retired in July 2015. My connections to SOAS began in 1981 as a doctoral student with the late Professor Anthony Christie. In 1986, after completing my PhD at the Institute of Archaeology under the wise supervision of Dr Ian Glover, I became a Research Associate with the Centre of South East Asian Studies (CSEAS). The late

1206, 2015

Chinese whispers and the art of translation: interview with Göran Malmqvist

By Katie Price|June 12, 2015|1950s, Chinese literature, Leading voices, SOAS in the world, The World at SOAS, Uncategorized|0 comments

Professor Göran Malmqvist recalls SOAS in the early ’50s with some of the world’s most influential European sinologists during this time. Professor Göran Malmqvist is a prominent scholar of Chinese language and literature and a highly prolific translator of Chinese literary works into Swedish. He is known worldwide for being the only Chinese speaker in the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize for Literature. He translated work by both

2705, 2015

The Philips Building by Denys Lasdun – home of SOAS Library

By Katie Price|May 27, 2015|1970s, Uncategorized, What SOAS means to you|18 comments

This week, Andy Davies talks about the distinctive home of the world-renowned SOAS Library and explains why the building should be given greater recognition. Denys Lasdun (1914-2001) was in the vanguard of modern British architecture. A product of the Architectural Association, his talents grew under Wells Coates and at Tecton in the 1930s. Perhaps most celebrated for his Royal College of Physicians (completed in 1964), his University of East Anglia

2603, 2015

The generation game: Interview with alum, Asad Zaidi

By |March 26, 2015|1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2010s, Leading voices, SOAS in the world, The World at SOAS, Uncategorized, What SOAS means to you|0 comments

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

1302, 2015

The role of SOAS in 178 Years of Chinese Studies in the UK

By |February 13, 2015|1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1970s, SOAS in the world, The World at SOAS, Uncategorized, Women at SOAS|0 comments

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

1601, 2015

Philip Jaggar (Emeritus Professor of West African Linguistics) – what SOAS means to me

By |January 16, 2015|1930s, 1940s, 1960s, Challenging the status quo, Leading voices, The World at SOAS, Uncategorized, What SOAS means to you|0 comments

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