culture
By Mariam Mahmoud The 2016 elections (the first to be held without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act of 1965) and victory of divisive businessman Donald Trump unleashed among the Left a kind of theatre, one obsessed with asking What Happened. The spectacle of the elections has lingered
Opinion
By Millie Rose Rudman, BA Study of Religions I have been fortunate enough to work with the incredible people who have facilitated and organised them over the last two years, and think it is fair to say that this is not enough The statistics surrounding rape and sexual violence towards
Opinion
By Dhruv Ramnath, MA Social Anthropology I have often wondered why people are fascinated by computer screens when they are in public spaces. When a stranger, or a neighbour in your hostel, stands behind you to peer over your computer screen it is as though he has never seen a
culture
By Dhruv Ramnath, MA Social Anthropology The thought of twisting one’s torso to the ‘extreme’ right or at an angle one is not familiar with at all suddenly conjures up emotions and thoughts lurking at the back of the mind. Yoga offers a momentary release as well as an
Opinion
By Dhruv Ramnath, MA Social Anthropology In colonial times, there were reports on Hindu gurus in Eastern and Western newspapers, but these were not what pulled devotees to visit—to use Max Weber’s term—”charismatic leaders” as such. Major Chadwick would not have known the great sage of Thiruvannamalai,
Opinion
By Dhruv Ramnath, MA Social AnthropologyIn terms of explicit humour, anthropologists do not go out into the field to tickle their informants’ bellies, or to say “Coochie, coochie coo!” to babies on the street, or to crack jokes with the biggies in the business. We are serious intellectuals, with little
culture
By Khadija Kothia, BA History Fairy-tales. The classic story of the helpless princess, locked up and waiting to be saved by her handsome, golden-haired Prince Charming. A story unavoidable in childhood, and in an increasingly gender-equal society, a tale somewhat unsatisfactorily anachronistic against the barrage of increasing feminist campaigns. Francesca
culture
Teens, sex, music, dance and… a dystopic society? Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening (1891) premiered in 1906 Berlin amidst a climate of rising feminist movements in Germany. Anarchist and political activist Emma Goldman praised the show for addressing pertinent social issues around youth and sexuality: More boldly than any other
Opinion
By Uswa Ahmed, BA World Philosophies Being a South Asian woman on the darker side of the spectrum, you tread on very dangerous waters. Our community appears to be plagued by a disease of self-hate hightentend by a strange fact. The sufferer is unaware of their sickness. For those unfamiliar
culture
By Khadija Kothia, BA History On the first floor of the Brunei Gallery, The Lady Dandies of the DRC have come to SOAS.Dressed in flamboyant and vibrant glory, the ladies stride confidently, overwhelming the canvassed frames they’re enclosed within. This is very much central to the story of
Featured Articles
By Ali Mitib, BA Law and Politics. On the 24th November, hundreds of students and staff walked out of SOAS en masse in protest of proposals to reshape administration departments. Representatives from the Students’ Union, UNISON, the University and College Union (UCU) addressed the protestors on why these proposed change
Featured Articles
By Arooj Sultan, BA Economics and Politics and Hannah Somerville, MA Arabic Literature There are currently five principles that form SOAS’ financial strategy and therefore mould the school’s corporate objectives, and the way in which those objectives are achieved. A reading of those principles makes it clear that the