0805, 2015

Free Trial to the FO Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan- 1947-1980

By Farzana Whitfield|May 8, 2015|Anthropology and Sociology, Archival collections, Economics, History, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica, Politics and International Relations, South Asia|0 comments

We have an exciting offer of a free trial to the FO Files for India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan for the period 1947-1980! Many departments, students and researchers will find this digital archive relevant and resourceful for a number of subject disciplines, including History, Politics, Development Studies, Economics, Near Middle Eastern Studies (Afghanistan), South East Asian Studies (Burma) and South Asian Studies. Access is from this link: www.archivesdirect.amdigital.co.uk/FO_India. When off site please

1603, 2015

Balochistan Archives

By Dominique Akhoun-Schwarb|March 16, 2015|Archival collections, History, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica, South Asia|0 comments

Balochistan is the largest of the four provinces of Pakistan and possesses a rich variety of languages, resources, civilization and culture. The province is located at the geographical intersection and cultural crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. As a result, it is one of the richest areas in the country in terms of antiquities, archaeological sites, and historical archives. Balochistan Archives is the custodian of official

1401, 2015

Southern African port towns and the shaping of Indian Ocean cosmopolitanisms in the early 19th century. SCOLMA Seminar series 11/2/15, 1 – 2 pm. Senate House Library, London

By dsw|January 14, 2015|Africa, Archival collections|0 comments

A seminar by Dr Heloise Finch-Boyer, National Maritime Museum How did three Southern African port towns in the Indian Ocean (Cape Town, Delagoa and Sainte Marie) shape African mobility and cosmopolitanism? By drawing from evidence collected by a British Naval survey of Eastern Africa 1822 -1825, and using published accounts, unseen crew watercolours, remark books and logbooks from the voyage, this paper: uses ‘cosmopolitanism’ to analyse continental and maritime African

2111, 2014

Two new resources for Jewish studies

By Mary Fisk|November 21, 2014|Ancient Near East, Semitics and Judaica, Archival collections, History, Religions|0 comments

Ancient Jew Review (follow on Twitter at @ancientjew) is a web platform for the study of ancient Judaism containing “original pieces, surveys of the field, book reviews” and video content. It is edited by PhD students at Columbia and Yale Recent content includes Ayyssa Gray’s retrospective on her first book A Talmud in exile and a podcast interview with Dr Richard Kalmin of the Jewish Theological Seminary on his recently published

2310, 2014

Qatar Digital Library: a new resource for the study of the Gulf Region history

By Dominique Akhoun-Schwarb|October 23, 2014|Archival collections, History, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica|0 comments

The Qatar Digital Library (QDL) is making a vast archive featuring the cultural and historical heritage of the Gulf and wider region freely available online for the first time. It includes archives, maps, manuscripts, sound recordings, photographs and much more, complete with contextualised explanatory notes and links, in both English and Arabic. This archive is bound to transform the study of Gulf history, improving understanding of the Islamic world, Arabic

2309, 2014

Free Trial Access to Cambridge Archives Editions

By Dominique Akhoun-Schwarb|September 23, 2014|Ancient Near East, Semitics and Judaica, Archival collections, China and Inner Asia, History, Japan, Korea, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica, Politics and International Relations, South Asia, South East Asia|0 comments

For one month, SOAS students and staff can freely try one of the most desirable collection of historical reference materials. In cooperation with Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Archive Editions is now available online at East View, and is accessible on-campus and off-campus from 22nd September till 21st October 2014. For many years Cambridge Archives Editions has specialized in the history of the Middle East, Russia and the Balkans, the Caucasus,

1909, 2014

Exploring the World of Shan Manuscripts

By Jotika Khur-Yearn|September 19, 2014|Anthropology and Sociology, Archival collections, Art and Archaeology, South East Asia|0 comments

In my previous blog post, An Introduction to the World of Shan Manuscripts, I wrote “the Shans created manuscripts in their own unique styles, features and formats.” For this post, I would like to extend my writing on or along the line of the ‘features’ of Shan manuscripts. To start with, it is worth noting that many Shan manuscripts were ended up in the archives and special collections in the

1908, 2014

An Introduction to the World of Shan Manuscripts

By Jotika Khur-Yearn|August 19, 2014|Anthropology and Sociology, Archival collections, Linguistics, Literature, Religions, South East Asia, Unknown|0 comments

Sample of Shan Manuscript Covers The tradition of producing manuscripts has been an important custom among Shan communities for centuries. The production of manuscripts is in fact a way of publishing, as was also the case in other countries before the era of printing press, but the tradition still continues in Shan communities even in the age of eprint or online publication (although this tradition of making manuscript is now fast

0207, 2014

Gertrude Bell Archive at Newcastle University Library and on open-access

By Mary Fisk|July 2, 2014|Archival collections, History, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica|0 comments

Gertrude Bell (1868 – 1926) was a pioneering traveller whose deep interest in the language, culture, history and archaeology of the Near and Middle East led to her involvement in military intelligence in the area during the First World War and in its aftermath to play a leading role in the creation of the modern Iraqi state. She was also Honorary Director of Antiquities in Iraq and established the Iraq

0406, 2014

AUC Digitizes Historic Collection of 19th-Century Egypt

By Dominique Akhoun-Schwarb|June 4, 2014|Anthropology and Sociology, Archival collections, History, Middle East, Central Asia & Islamica|0 comments

The rare books library has digitized 101 photographs documenting 19th-century Egyptian culture and the history of travel in the Middle East. Commissioned by the Underwood & Underwood publishing company, the photographs offer a wide range of possibilities for online research and teaching in a diverse array of courses, from rhetoric to history and anthropology. More info on their website: http://www.aucegypt.edu/newsatauc/Pages/story.aspx?eid=992