History and World Philosophies

History and world philosophies is a combination that opens up perspectives on human thought and experience far beyond the familiar boundaries of the Western tradition. History examines how societies have changed, how events have been shaped by contingency, power and human agency, and how the past continues to influence the present. Philosophy of a global kind asks foundational questions about reality, knowledge, ethics, mind and meaning, and it does so by engaging seriously with traditions from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas as well as Europe.

Studying these two disciplines together at SOAS is distinctive because the institution's entire focus is on the cultures, languages and intellectual traditions of the non-Western world.

At the School of Oriental and African Studies, this three-year full-time programme is available with a foundation year, which gives you an additional year to build the intellectual and academic skills you need before entering the main degree. Across the full programme you will engage with historical scholarship on Africa, Asia, the Middle East and related regions, learning to work with sources, evaluate interpretations and construct well-argued historical accounts. The philosophy component introduces you to traditions of thought that are often absent from standard philosophy curricula, including Buddhist, Confucian, Islamic, African and South Asian philosophical traditions, examined with the same rigour as the Western canon.

Critical reading, careful argument and clear writing are developed throughout. You will be expected to engage seriously with complex texts, to understand different cultural frameworks of thought, and to bring historical and philosophical perspectives to bear on contemporary questions.

Graduates move into academia, international development, journalism, diplomacy, NGO and charity work, the civil service, law, education, and roles in organisations engaged with the non-Western world. The combination of historical knowledge and philosophical rigour from a genuinely global perspective is unusual and increasingly valued.