BA Languages and Cultures (Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia)

Program Overview

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The BA Languages and Cultures (Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia) degree introduces students to the cultures and societies of Africa, the Middle East, South and South East Asia through the study of languages, film, literature and cultural studies.

In the first year, you will be equipped with a broader understanding of these regions in order to gain a vital comparative perspective. You will have the opportunity to explore particular regional interests through your language study, selected optional modules and in course work throughout the degree, culminating in the final year Study Project where you will draw on skills gained over the course of the degree to produce your own original research.

Language is crucial to the understanding of culture and therefore all students will be required to choose from a range of languages in their first year of study. We encourage students to further develop their language skills as the degree progresses. You will have the option to spend a year abroad or a summer abroad to gain cultural and linguistic fluency in languages including Swahili, Turkish, Hebrew, Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Indonesian and Vietnamese.

Key critical thinking, project management and study skills are built into the programme to ensure that students graduate with a range of transferable skills ensuring they are prepared for a range of careers.

Why study Languages and Cultures (Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia) at SOAS?

SOAS is specialist in the studies of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia.

SOAS is ranked 1st in London in the Complete University Guide 2021 for Middle Eastern and African Studies, and 6th in the UK.

We are ranked 12th in the UK for Modern Languages (QS World University Rankings 2023)

Ranked 8th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2021 for South Asian Studies.

Modern Languages and Linguistics at SOAS has been ranked 10th in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

We've also been ranked 4th for research environment - with 100% of our research ranked as 'internationally excellent' and 85% as 'world-leading' - and 8th for research outputs in the REF 2021.

Gain in-depth understanding of one these key world regions, grounded in the study of one or more languages of the region.

Access SOAS’s comprehensive cross-regional expertise and gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of these regions in an increasingly globalised world.

Solid methodological and interdisciplinary foundation.

Students have an opportunity to develop a holistic and integrated approach to the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East through their languages and cultures.

Program Outline

Students must take 120 credits per year to complete the programme

Important notice

The information on the website reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. The modules are indicative options of the content students can expect and are/have been previously taught as part of these programmes.

However, this information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

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Year 1 - guided curriculum: foundations

All students will take

two 15 credit modules

from the list of languages below plus all of the following compulsory modules:

Module	Credits
The World in London	15
Languages of the World	15
Decolonising Otherness	15
Language, Learning and Writing	15
The Art of Storytelling	15
Screen Cultures	15

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Year 2 - guided curriculum: momentum

Compulsory modules

Module	Credits
Introduction to Research	15
Screen Cities	15

Students also take:

30 credits

of language modules from the list below or 30 credits from list A

15 credits

from Year 2 regional list

A further

15 credits

from Year 2 regional list or 15 credits from list A

30 Credits

of open options or further language modules.

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Year 3 - optional year abroad

Students taking the 4 year programme can participate in an optional year abroad at one of our overseas partner institutions.

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Final year 3/4 - guided curriculum: designing your own pathway

Compulsory modules

Students also take:

30 credits

from Year 3 regional list

30 credits

from regional list or list A or list of languages

30 Credits

of open options or from list of languages.

Module	Credits
Independent Study Project in Languages and Cultures of Africa, the Middle East, South and South East Asia	30

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List A

Module	Credits
Screen Cities	15
Literatures of Love, Loss and Desire	15
Understanding Texts	15
Beyond Regions: Cultures in the Diaspora	15
Cultural Approaches to Health, Climate Change and the Environment	15

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Year 2 - regional list

Module	Credits
Perspectives on African experience	15
Cultural Studies of South and South East Asia	15
Postcolonial Literature	15
Contemporary Middle East Fiction: Race, Gender and Resistance	15
Introduction to Arabic Culture	15
From Palestine to Israel (UG)	15

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Year 3 - regional list

Module	Credits
English Literatures of South East Asia	15
Queer Cinema in Asia	15
War, Revolution and Independence in South East Asian Literatures in Translation	15
Literatures of Resistance in South Asia (UG)	15
Contemporary African literature	15
Language, Identity and Society in Africa	15
Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa 1	15
Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa 2	15
Modern Palestinian Literature (UG)	15
Social and Political Dimensions of Modern Arabic Literature (UG)	15

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List of languages

Please note that not all languages will be offered every year, or at all levels.

30 credit languages are split into two 15 credit modules (A and B)

Module	Credits
Amharic 1 A	15
Amharic 1 B	15
Arabic 1 A (UG)	15
Arabic 1 B (UG)	15
Arabic 2 A (UG)	15
Arabic 2 B (UG)	15
Arabic 3 A (UG)	15
Arabic 3 B (UG)	15
Arabic 5 A (UG)	15
Arabic 5 B (UG)	15
Arabic 6 A (UG)	15
Arabic 6 B (UG)	15
Bengali Language 1 A	15
Bengali Language 1 B	15
Bengali Language 2	30
Burmese Language 1 A	15
Burmese Language 1 B	15
Hebrew 1 A	15
Hebrew 1 B	15
Hebrew 2 A (UG)	15
Hebrew 2 B (UG)	15
Hindi Language 1 A	15
Hindi Language 1 B	15
Hindi Language 2	30
Indonesian Language 1 A	15
Indonesian Language 1 B	15
Indonesian Language 2	30
Persian 1 A	15
Persian 1 B	15
Persian 2 A (UG)	15
Persian 2 B (UG)	15
Sanskrit Language 1 A	15
Sanskrit Language 1 B	15
Sanskrit Language 2 A	15
Sanskrit Language 2 B	15
Somali 1 A	15
Somali 1 B	15
Swahili 1 A	15
Swahili 1 B	15
Swahili 2a Intermediate	30
Turkish 1 A	15
Turkish 1 B	15
Turkish 2 A (UG)	15
Turkish 2 B (UG)	15
Urdu Language 1 A	15
Urdu Language 1 B	15
Urdu Language 2	30
Vietnamese Language 1 A	15
Vietnamese Language 1 B	15
Vietnamese Language 2	30
Zulu 1 A	15
Zulu 1 B	15
Directed Studies on an Asian or African Language A	15
Directed Studies on an Asian or African Language B	15

Languages not available in first year of study

Module	Credits
Directed Readings in an African, Asian or Middle Eastern Language	15
Avestan	30
Middle Persian	30
Introduction to Prakrit	15
Readings in Prakrit	15
Classical Ottoman Texts	15
Classical Persian Poetry	15
Upper Intermediate Swahili Summer Abroad (UG)	30

Teaching is normally provided by lecture or seminar and students are required to attend such classes. Most modules involve a 50-minute lecture as a key component with linked tutorial classes.

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Contact hours

All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, taught in modules of 30 credits (taught over 20 weeks) or 15 credits (taught over 10 weeks). The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others.

In the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, undergraduate modules take various forms. Modules may be taught through 1 or 2 hours of lectures a week, and some may have an additional 1-2 hours of weekly seminars. Languages classes may be 4-5 hours per week in the first and second year, typically less at higher levels.

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Year abroad

For those students who choose to take a year abroad, the resulting improvement in all-round language skills will allow students to work at a more advanced range of linguistics competence in their final year work back at SOAS. The culturally immersive experience of the year abroad equips students with key skills which are invaluable for those wishing to go on to work in the region.

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SOAS Library

SOAS Library

is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Graduates of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics leave SOAS not only with linguistic and cultural expertise, but also with skills in written and oral communication, analysis and problem solving.

Recent graduates have been hired by:

Africa Matters

Amnesty International

Arab British Chamber of Commerce

BBC World Service

British High Commission

Council for British Research in the Levant

Department for International Development

Edelman

Embassy of Jordan

Ernst & Young

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Google

Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies

Middle East Eye

Saïd Foundation

TalkAbout Speech Therapy

The Black Curriculum

The Telegraph

United Nations Development Programme

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

Wall Street Journal

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