MA Postcolonial Studies

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or part-time

The MA Postcolonial Studies Programme offers a focus on the historical relationships of power, domination and practices of imperialism and colonialism in the modern period (late nineteenth-century to the present) through the study of literature and culture.

The core module will introduce a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the literature, film and media of these areas. A range of literary, filmic and theoretical texts from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Near and Middle East will normally be included in the reading list. These will address representations of colonialism and decolonisation, neo-colonialism, nationalism in postcolonial societies and diasporic experiences, allowing us to explore the heterogeneous meanings, intersections and strategies of analysis that have emerged with reference to postcolonial studies.

Attention will be paid to colonial and postcolonial constructs such as the Oriental, the Global, the Cosmopolitan, the Third World and the multicultural. The core module of the programme introduces and analyses interdisciplinary theories and ideological practices around a set of historical and current issues from various regions of Asia and Africa. The range of minors offers students more opportunities to explore interdisciplinarity and regional specificities.

Why this programme is special at SOAS

Postcolonial MA Programmes offered in London and other UK institutions are located within the field of English Studies or the Social Sciences. The Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies (CCLPS) is uniquely positioned to offer an inter-disciplinary Postcolonial Studies MA programme which gives students an opportunity to understand and negotiate the field of postcolonial studies with recourse to interdisciplinarity and to theoretical explications from the regions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. SOAS offers a unique range of regional expertise available amongst the CCLPS’s faculty membership. The Programme also offers a timely intervention at a time when there is a national and international crisis in the understanding of multiculturalism, race relations and religious and national affiliations.

Structure

Students take 180 credits, 60 of which are a dissertation and 120 from taught modules. You may take a 30 credit language acquisition module at an appropriate level as one of your modules.

Please follow the structure below.

Dissertation

• Dissertation in Cultural, Literary, and Postcolonial Studies

Core Module

• Postcolonial Theory and Practice

and

Guided Options and Open Options

Students can select 60 credits from the list of Guided Options below and 30 credits from the list of Postgraduate Open Options.

Regional Literature and Cultures:

• Modern Palestinian Literature (PG)
• Translating Cultures 2
• Modern Japanese Literature (PG)
• Literature of South Asia
• War, Revolution and Independence in South East Asia Literatures in Translation (Masters)
• English Literatures of South East Asia
• Under Western Eyes: European Writings on South East Asia (PG)
• African Philosophy (PG)
• The Politics of Culture in Contemporary South Asia
• Philosophy and Decolonisation (PG)
• Sci-fi and Afrofuturism in the African Novel (PG)

Media and Film:

• Japanese Transnational Cinema: From Kurosawa to Asia Extreme and Studio Ghibli
• Japanese Post-War Film Genres and the Avant-Garde
• Indian Cinema: Its History and Social Context
• Indian Cinema: Key Issues
• Modern Chinese Film and Theatre (PG)
• Modern Film from Taiwan and the Chinese Diaspora (PG)
• The Story of African Film: Narrative Screen Media in Africa
• Post-crisis Thai Cinema (1997-2007)
• Indonesia on Screen(PG)
• (Post) Colonialism and Otherness in South East Asia on Screen
• Global Media and Postnational Communication: Theoretical and Contemporary Issues

Gender Studies:

• Genders and Sexualities in South East Asian Film
• Gender theory and the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East
• Queer Politics in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
• Queering Migrations and Diasporas

Diaspora Studies:

• African and Asian Diasporas in the Modern World
• African and Asian Cultures in Britain
• Transnational Communities and Diasporic Media: Networking, Connectivity, Identity

Law:

• Colonialism, Empire and International Law
• Law and Postcolonial Theory

Politics and History:

• Government and politics of modern South-East Asia
• The Making of the Contemporary World

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.

Employment

MA Postcolonial Studies graduates gain competency in intercultural awareness and understanding. Familiarity with the subject will be developed through the study of literature, film and media of these areas. Graduates leave SOAS with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers, both in business and in the public sector. These include: written and oral communication skills; attention to detail; analytical and problem-solving skills; and the ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources. A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.