Social Anthropology and History

Social anthropology and history are both disciplines concerned with understanding human experience across time and culture, but they approach that task in complementary ways. Social anthropology examines how societies are organised, how people live, how meaning is made and how cultural practices and social structures vary across different communities, drawing on long-term fieldwork and comparative analysis to build understanding from the ground up. History investigates the past through documents, archives and material evidence, tracing how events, institutions, ideas and social forces have developed and changed over time.

Together, they give you the tools to understand human diversity both in its contemporary forms and in its historical depth.

At the School of Oriental and African Studies, this three-year full-time programme, which includes a foundation year, draws on SOAS's unique concentration of expertise in the societies, cultures and histories of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. You will engage with anthropological and historical scholarship across a much wider range of societies than a conventional programme, developing a genuinely comparative and non-Eurocentric perspective. The foundation year provides a thorough grounding in both disciplines, building your analytical, research and writing skills and your familiarity with the key debates in each field before you move into the main programme.

Graduates go on to careers in international development, diplomacy, humanitarian organisations, journalism, policy research, teaching, the civil service, museums and heritage bodies, and the charitable sector. The combination of comparative analysis, cultural awareness and historical understanding is particularly valued in international and cross-cultural contexts. Further study at postgraduate level in social anthropology, history, area studies, international development or human rights is a common next step.