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SOAS University of London

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The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
File:SOAS logo.jpg
MottoKnowledge is Power
TypePublic
Established1916
ChancellorHRH The Princess Royal (Chancellor of the University of London)
PresidentThe Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws QC
PrincipalProfessor Paul Webley
Pro-DirectorProfessor Peter Robb
Students4,525 [1]
Undergraduates2,430 [1]
Postgraduates2,095 [1]
Location
London
,
United Kingdom
UK University Ranking 20066th (Guardian)
11th (Daily Telegraph)
10th (2006 )THES)
AffiliationsUniversity of London
ACU
1994 Group
MascotsAsian Elephant and African Camel
Websitehttp://www.soas.ac.uk
SOAS Crest
SOAS Crest

The School of Oriental and African Studies (commonly abbreviated to SOAS, pronounced ['səuæs] or ['səuæz])is a highly ranked university and also a constituent college of the University of London.

Background

File:SOAS.jpg
Russell Square campus

SOAS was founded in 1916 as the School of Oriental Studies at 2, Finsbury Circus, London, England, the then premises of the London Institution. The School received its Royal Charter on June 5, 1916; admitted its first batch of students on January 18; and was formally inaugurated by the King Emperor George V in the presence of Lord Curzon among other cabinet officials just a month later on February 23, 1917. Africa was added to the school's name and remit in 1938 and the school permanently shifted to Thornhaugh Street, which runs between Malet Street and Russell Square. For sometime in the mid-1930s, the School was located at Vandon House, Vandon Street, London SW1. However, its move was held up by delays in construction and the half-completed bulding took a hit during the Blitz in September 1940. The School had, on Government's advice, evacuated to Cambridge and returned to London to resume work in July 1940. Most colleges of the University of London were evacuated from London in 1939 and billeted on universities all over the provinces. SOAS was transferred, but without its library, to Christ's College, Cambridge. When it became apparent that a return to London was possible, the School returned to the city and was temporarily housed for some months in 1940-41 in eleven rooms at Broadway Court, 8 Broadway, London SW1.

The institution's founding mission was primarily to train British administrators for overseas postings across the empire. Since then the school has grown into the world's foremost centre for the exclusive study of Asia and Africa.[citation needed] A college of the University of London, SOAS fields include Law, Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages with special reference to Asia and Africa. SOAS consistently ranks among the top ten universities in the UK league tables and in 2004 was ranked 44th in the world, 7th in the UK and 11th overall in Europe according to The Times Higher Education Supplement. The SOAS Library, housed in Philips Building (designed at the beginning of the 1970s by Sir Denys Lasdun), is the UK's national resource for materials relating to Asia and Africa and is the largest of its kind in Europe.[citation needed]

The school has grown considerably over the past thirty years, from under 1,000 students in the 1970s to nearly 4,000 students today, approximately half of them postgraduates.

SOAS is partnered with the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO) which is located in Paris. INALCO is often considered the French equivalent of SOAS.[citation needed]

Campuses

The entrance to the Brunei Gallery.

The school also houses two galleries: the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, one of the foremost collections of Chinese ceramics in Europe, and the Brunei Gallery, completed in 1995, which stages temporary exhibitions of both historical and contemporary materials which reflect subjects and regions studied at SOAS.

The main campus was moved to a new, purpose-built home, just off Russell Square in Bloomsbury in 1938, and has much expanded since then. The present library building was added in 1973, the Brunei Gallery in 1995, and an extension to the library building opened in 2004 (the second phase of this expansion is due to be completed in 2006).

A new campus at Vernon Square in Islington was opened in 2001.

Reputation

Library

In 2003, The Daily Telegraph produced a "table of tables" showing the average position attained by universities in the different newspaper and employer rankings. SOAS was placed at the top of the "1st League".[2]

In 2004 and 2005, SOAS was rated fourth in the United Kingdom in the Guardian universities league table.[3] In the 2006 table, SOAS was in sixth place with 76.47 percent.[4] In the Guardian 2006 subject tables, SOAS was placed 3rd for Anthropology, 4th for Economics, 3rd for History and History of Art, 6th for Law, 5th for Music, 3rd for Politics, and 3rd for Theology and Religious Studies. The History Department obtained a rare 6 research rating in the last government assessment, placing it as only one of three departments in the country to achieve such a status.[citation needed]

The latest Times Higher Education Supplement world rankings (2006) place SOAS joint 70th in the world, 20th in Europe and 10th in the UK just above the University of Warwick. In 2004 SOAS was ranked 44th in the world, placing it seventh in the United Kingdom, and 11th in Europe. SOAS is also highly regarded due to its focus on small group teaching with a student-staff ratio of only 11:1. According to a 2004 survey conducted by Endsleigh Insurance, SOAS graduates had one of the highest graduate starting salaries in the United Kingdom. Male graduates expected to earn an average of £23,024, whereas female graduates earned £21,212 on average.[5] Also, the destinations of leavers from Higher Education survey conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) found that only 3 per cent of SOAS graduates were unemployed 6 months after graduation.[citation needed]

After only five years as Director and Principal of SOAS (and three years as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of London), Colin Bundy has accepted appointment as Warden of Green College, Oxford.[6] Professor Bundy's immediate predecessor, Sir Tim Lankester KCB, was Director and Principal 1996-2000 and left the School to become President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.[7] His successor, Paul Webley, was Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor and Professor of Economic Psychology in the University of Exeter.

Department of Linguistics

The SOAS Department of Linguistics was the first ever linguistics department in United Kingdom, founded in 1932 as a centre for research and study in Oriental and African languages.[citation needed] J. R. Firth, known internationally for his original work in phonology and semantics, was Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor of General Linguistics at the school between 1938 and 1956.

Faculties at SOAS

Faculty of Law and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Law and Social Sciences consists of five academic departments

  • Department of Economics
  • Department of Development Studies
  • Department for Financial & Management Studies (Called CeFiMS also offers distance learning courses)
  • Department of Politics and International Studies
  • The School of Law

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities contains five Departments

  • Anthropology and Sociology
  • Art and Archaeology
  • History
  • Music
  • Study of Religions

The Faculty also administers the Centre for Media and Film Studies and MA in Gender Studies

Faculty of Languages and Cultures

The Faculty of Languages and Cultures consists of seven academic departments:

  • Department of Linguistics
  • Department of the Languages and Cultures of Africa
  • Department of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia
  • Department of the Languages and Cultures of Japan and Korea
  • Department of the Languages and Cultures of the Near and Middle East
  • Department of the Languages and Cultures of South Asia
  • Department of the Languages and Cultures of South East Asia and the Islands
  • The Language Centre

Note: At present, where The Language Centre employs its own staff and administers language only courses, the respective departments manage language acquisition in their courses. In the near future (the date is TBC), all language acquisition will be brought under the remit of the new School of Languages.

IFCELS

IFCELS (International Foundation Courses and English Language Studies), lies outside the university's faculty structure and runs a number of foundation courses for students wishing to enter higher education in the UK.(the building is falling apart (literally) it needs serious maintenance)

Located in the Faber building, this department is one of the largest departments in the school with currently over 250 students.

Students' accommodation

Many SOAS students are accommodated in the college's own halls of residence: Dinwiddy House (located on Pentonville Road in Kings Cross and Paul Robeson House, a block away from Dinwiddy House, on Penton Rise; SOAS students are also eligible to apply for places in the University of London intercollegiate halls of residence, such as Connaught Hall.

Most students in college or university accommodation are first-year undergraduates. The majority of second and third-year students and postgraduates find their own accommodation in the private sector.

Students' Union

Main article: SOAS Students' Union

SOAS has an active Students' Union, which is seen among the students' movement to be radically left-wing. In recent years the Students' Union has been incredibly vocal in anti-war protests, and has also hosted talks from the RESPECT party MP George Galloway. Recent campaigns by the union have involved campaigning for extended library opening hours, against closure of the Hindi and Tibetan courses, and for fairer pay for the SOAS cleaners. Adopted motions are decided upon by vote at a UGM, usually held at least twice a term.

The union elects 3 full-time co-presidents a year, who have separate responsibilities; and there are many part-time officers working underneath them who have specific briefs. In exceptional circumstances, an honorary president has been elected by a Union General Meeting. Recent honorary presidents have been Ken Livingstone and Aung San Suu Kyi.

OpenAir Radio

SOAS runs its own radio station, OpenAir Radio, based on the 5th floor of the Russell Square Building. The initial Restricted Service Licence ran from November until 16 December 2005, and broadcast on 101.4FM over a three mile radius in the Camden/Central London area. The remit of the station is world music, culture and current affairs, with programmes focusing on Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. OpenAir programmes include everything from local news to international media analysis, and cookery programmes to DJ sets.

OpenAir Radio is currently webcasting service and is applying for a Restricted Service Licence to broadcast on FM in the near future.[1]

Notable students and alumni

See also: Category:Alumni of the School of Oriental and African Studies

Notable academics

See also: Category:Academics of the School of Oriental and African Studies

References

  1. ^ a b c "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06". Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  2. ^ "University rankings: the table of tables". The Daily Telegraph. 2003. Retrieved 2006-08-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "SOAS Ranked 4th the Guardian University League Table". School of Oriental and African Studies. 2005. Retrieved 2006-08-10. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Institution-wide". The Guardian. 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  5. ^ "Graduate Debt and Salary Survey Shows Wide Disparity and Unrealistic Expectations for Repayment". Endsleigh News & Press Releases. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  6. ^ "Oxford Blueprint, Vol 6, Issue 11". University of Oxford. 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-10. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "About SOAS: Sir Tim Lankester KCB". School of Oriental and African Studies. Retrieved 2006-08-13. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
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