SOAS History and the SOAS History Blog

Mattin Biglari, Nationalising Oil and Knowledge in Iran: Labour, Decolonisation and Colonial Modernity, 1933–51 (2025) — Walter Rodney Collective for Historical Research Join us for an in-depth conversation with Mattin Biglari about his book, Nationalising Oil and Knowledge in Iran: Labour, Decolonisation and Colonial Modernity, 1933–51 (2025). Iran’s nationalisati...

Join the author in discussion with Adam Hanieh (SOAS), Katayoun Shafiee (Warwick) and Asma Abda (Warwick) this Thursday, 5 March 2026, 5-7pm at SOAS (R201).

The book launch is part of the Histories of Capitalism and Race Seminar Series.
www.soas-walter-rodney-collective.com/events/fle84...

Nationalising Oil and Knowledge in Iran Nationalising Oil and Knowledge in Iran

Congrats to @mattinbiglari.bsky.social on the publication of Nationalising Oil and Knowledge in Iran: Labour, Decolonisation and Colonial Modernity, 1933–51!

edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-nationa...

We will meet in person in room C426 in the main SOAS building and online - please register here to receive online joining information:
forms.office.com/pages/respon...

Seminar announcement: 'The “Geographical Mission”: Europe, the Mediterranean, Islam and the World'. A SOAS History Seminar with Alexis Norman Wick (Koç University), Wed 4 March 2026, 5pm, C426. Background image: Map of the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and the Black Sea, The Walters Art Museum. https://art.thewalters.org/object/W.658.63B/ Map of the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and the Black Sea

Please join us at 5pm this Wednesday, 4 March 2026, for the next SOAS History Seminar when Dr. Alexis Norman Wick (Koç University) will speak on The “Geographical Mission”: Europe, the Mediterranean, Islam and the World.

For more info see:
www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

Hosted and co-sponsored by @fcrj.bsky.social, SOAS Centre for African Studies, SOAS Centre for Pan-African Studies, SOAS History Seminar and SOAS Centre for Global and Comparative Philosophies.

The SOAS History seminar series continues next Wed, 18 Feb, 4pm: @proftjcurry.bsky.social will speak on Under-MAN: A Genre Analysis of the Ethnological and Psycho-analytic Demonization of the Black Male.

Hosted & co-sponsored by (see next skeet):

Register here:
www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

The programme is eligible for the SOAS New Programme Scholarships which awards a fee waiver of £10,000 for international students. For more info see: www.soas.ac.uk/study/studen...

#scholarships

We're excited to announce the launch of the MA Race and Empire at @soasuni.bsky.social convened by our very own
Samia Khatun & Henny Ziai. The MA is enriched by the Histories of Capitalism and Race seminar series, running since 2022. For more info see:
www.soas.ac.uk/study/find-c...

Delighted to inform you I will be back at my alma mater @soasuni.bsky.social next month talking about medieval Arabic poetry related to the Crusades, and possible musical /sonic approaches to it.
Hybrid event. More details nearer the time!
www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

@soashistory.bsky.social

For an online link please register here: forms.office.com/pages/respon...

The SOAS History Seminar continues this week on Wed 4 Feb 5pm in C426 (SOAS Main Building). Uditi Sen (Nottingham) will speak on 'From Extermination to Containment: Mapping the history of Ang/Jarawa Survival in the Andaman Islands (1925-1956).'

All welcome! In person or online.

For more info see

2022 💥 ''Language matters. Terminology matters. Language matters because it shapes our understanding of the world and because it constitutes an integral part of (neo-)colonisation and the products of (neo-)colonialism, including racism..'' blogs.soas.ac.uk/soashistoryb... @soashistory.bsky.social

From model collapse to citation collapse: risks of over-reliance on AI in the academy The way GenAI surfaces sources for literature reviews risks exacerbating the citation Matthew effect, writes David Joyner. Here, he offers ways to prevent AI-driven search from blunting the impact of ...

'There is a phenomenon in artificial intelligence and deep learning called model collapse. Model collapse is the slow erosion of a generative AI system grounded in reality as it learns more and more from machine-generated data rather than from human-generated content.' 1/3

Alongside the exhibition, there will be a series of events, starting with a talk by Malavika Kasturi titled Contextualising Jahandar Shah and the 'Later' Mughals of Banaras.

Wed 21 Jan, 6.15pm, KLT. Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/contextual...

📣SOAS Event 15 Jan 2026

Mughal Banaras - a new gallery exhibition exploring the diversity and forgotten history of the community in North India.

Find out more: bit.ly/4pvRfg1

Thrilled to unveil our first-ever digital exhibition on our brand‑new digital library — celebrating 50 years of the Swire Archive at SOAS. A milestone worth exploring! https://soas.quartexcollections.com/john-swire-sons-exhibition

Just published: OA piece about #inclusion and #attainment in HE based on concrete practice at #SOAS by my fabulous colleagues @e-newbigin.bsky.social and Sarah Tucker:

Two stacks of books and three open books in the centre. The books are not identifiable.

It's that time of year again... the History Workshop team present our "Radical Reads" for 2025!

www.historyworkshop....

Image source: Openverse.

I really enjoyed this article, both for the interesting discussion of course creation and especially the methodological focus on evaluative frameworks and building that into design. I've already shared it with 2 sets of colleagues this morning!

Front cover of 'Transactions of the Royal Historical Society', Seventh Series, Volume 3 (December 2025)

Eleanor and Sarah's new article is available free Open Access, as is all 'Transactions' content bit.ly/486BF5d

The journal's editors welcome submission of research articles and comment pieces, on historical practice and debate, from historians working within and outside education 2/2 #Skystorians

Front page to the Transactions article: 'Teaching History Inclusively: A Pedagogical Case Study from an Institution Shaped by Empire'. Abstract in full: 'The Royal Historical Society’s June 2024 Update to the ‘Race Ethnicity & Equality in UK History: A Report and Resource for Change’ notes some important progress in terms of increased ethnic and racial diversity amongst history students and staff but acknowledges that more work is needed to both sustain and further advance these changes. In this Comment we argue that colleagues and the RHS should prioritise the development of critical pedagogies in history university education and evidence their impact on student outcomes. We share reflections on and data from our collaborative work between September 2021 and August 2024 developing an innovative module with the highly diverse history student cohort at SOAS, University of London, to help colleagues consider how they might undertake related projects in their own institutions.'

New today in Transactions: 'Teaching History Inclusively: A Pedagogical Case Study from an Institution Shaped by Empire' bit.ly/4pHzECD

Eleanor Newbigin and Sarah Tucker on the value of developing critical pedagogies in history for HE education @soashistory.bsky.social #Skystorians 1/2

Where history can take you: Professor Phil Clark’s journey from the classroom to international media Where can a history degree take you? Can studying the past really prepare you for shaping public debate or navigating complex global issues? In this SOAS History Blog Podcast, Dr Ellan A. Lincoln-Hyde...

Can studying the past really prepare you for shaping public debate or navigating complex global issues? In this @soashistory.bsky.social podcast, Prof Phil Clark shares what history students can bring to the table. media.leverhulme.ac.uk/podcast/pcla...

Excited to end the year with the publication of this article about the critical pedagogies for history teaching at an institution like SOAS. I’m keen to know how this resonates with work on these issues in other contexts
@soashistory.bsky.social @soasuni.bsky.social

Antislavery and the Original ‘Scramble for Africa’, 1807-1879 Keynote Lecture for 140 Years Beyond the Berlin Conference, Africa Centre and SOAS Friday 12 December and Saturday 13 December 2025   Alan Lester Most British imperial historians have tended t…

In 1865 the undersecretary for the colonies admitted that British colonial governments were “obstructing rather than promoting commerce” as the solution to slave-trading in Africa. Why? Because they were intent on backing a white men’s monopoly.

alanlester.co.uk/blog/antisla...

140 Years Beyond the Berlin Conference, SOAS Friday 12 December and Saturday 13 December 2025 Join AFFORD, SOAS, the Fatherland Group, and The Africa Centre for “140 Years Beyond the Berlin Conference,” a two-day symposium examining the lasting political, economic, and cultural impacts of the ...

140 Years Beyond the Berlin Conference, starting today, 12 Dec, 5pm at #SOAS with a fantastic line-up of speakers.

Open to everyone interested in Africa's past, present, and future.

For more information and registration visit www.africacentre.org.uk/news/140-yea...

Flyer for the SOAS History Seminar on Wed 10 December 2025, 5pm, in C426, with Desmond Cheung. Background image: woodblock print showing a page from Buhuang tushuo 捕蝗圖説 - Illustrated explanations of methods for catching locusts, showing a scene of a small group of people trapping locusts between two huge screens.

If you're in London, join us for the final SOAS History Seminar of the semester. Desmond Cheung (SOAS) will speak on Locust Control and State Activism in Ming China.

Wed 10 Dec 2025, 5pm, C426

All welcome!

More info:
www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

Sorcery and Jurisdiction in Angola João Figueiredo focuses on the intense cross-cultural translation of normative knowledge in West Central Africa following the encounter of the Portuguese and African societies in the late fifteenth ce...

João Figueiredo's Sorcery and Jurisdiction in Angola: Law and Multinormativity in Early Modern West Central Africa is available open access here:

www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/themen-entde...

At our seminar today (Wed 26 Nov, 5pm), jointly organised with the IHR's African History Seminar, Dr. João Figueiredo (Hannover) will present his new book Sorcery and Jurisdiction in Angola: Law and Multinormativity in Early Modern West Central Africa.

All welcome!

www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

The SOAS History Seminar will be today, Wed 12 Nov, at 5pm, with Stephanie Mawson (University of York), who will speak about Malay Magic in Colonial Manila. For more info see www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

Join us in a bit for the SOAS History Seminar today, Wed 12 Mov, at 5pm: Stephanie Mawson (University of York) will speak about Malay Magic in Colonial Manila. For more info see:

www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...