Please join us for our SOAS Alumni Holiday Mixer in NYC to connect with fellow alumni, celebrate the holiday season, and support the SOAS Scholarship Fund (https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/giving-soas/giving-scholarships). We look forward to seeing you there!
Sunday, December 8, 2024
2:00pm - 5:00pm
Freya Cafe at the National Nordic Museum (2655 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107)
Join your fellow SOAS alumni for a kaffe and rugbrod at the National Nordic Museum for a holiday meet & greet. Includes a museum tour. RSVP on the SOAS Alumni Seattle group chat (or send an email to afsoas1@gmail.com). We hope to see you there!
Featuring an engaging conversation on the 'Reform of global, political and economic architecture' with guest panellist SOAS Professor of International Relations, Stephen Chan OBE.
Date - Thursday 26 September 2024
Time - 18:00 to 20:00
Venue - To Be Confirmed
Featuring an engaging conversation on the 'Reform of global, political and economic architecture' with guest panellist former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mark Malloch-Brown and SOAS Professor of International Relations, Stephen Chan OBE.
Date Tuesday 24 September 2024
Time - 18:30 to 20:30
Venue - To Be Confirmed
Date - Monday 16 September 2024
Time - 18:00 to 20:00
Venue - To Be Confirmed
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Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Habib and Director of Advancement Shona Aitken, in collaboration with the newly launched alumni groups, are looking forward to hosting receptions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC and Toronto.
These events will provide an opportunity to network and connect with fellow alumni and find out more about how you can engage with SOAS both locally in each city and in London.
Be sure to save the date and RSVP for an event of your choosing below. More details to be announced soon.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch by emailing alumni@soas.ac.uk.
Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education Professor Joanna Newman and Ben Siddall-Jones look forward to hosting you for this Alumni Reception in Boston, USA, during the Provost's first visit to the country since her appointment in 2023.
Join Professor Newman on Monday 6 May 2024 from 18:00 - 20:00 for an evening of networking and exploring collaborative ventures with SOAS.
This event will be an opportunity to network, connect with fellow SOAS alumni and find out more about how you can engage with SOAS both locally in Boston and in London.
Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education Professor Joanna Newman and Ben Siddall-Jones look forward to hosting you for this Alumni Reception in New York, USA, during the Provost's first visit to the country since her appointment in 2023.
Join Professor Newman on Thursday 2 May 2024 from 18:00 - 20:00, along with the newly-formed New York Committee, for an evening of networking and exploring collaborative ventures with SOAS.
This event will be an opportunity to network, connect with fellow SOAS alumni and find out more about how you can engage with SOAS both locally in New York and in London.
SOAS Board of Trustees member Steven Pfeiffer and Philanthropy Manager, Ben Siddall-Jones are looking forward to hosting you for this Alumni Reception in Washington DC, USA.
Join Steven and Ben on Tuesday 30 April from 18:00 - 20:00 for an evening of networking and exploring collaborative ventures with SOAS. Reconnect with fellow alumni and discover exciting ways to engage with the university both locally in Washington DC and in London. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
Refreshments will be provided.
SOAS Philanthropy Manager Ben Siddall-Jones and the newly-formed LA Committee look forward to hosting you for this Alumni Reception in Los Angeles, USA.
Join Ben and the LA Committee on Thursday 25 April from 18:00 - 20:00 for an evening of networking and exploring collaborative ventures with SOAS. Reconnect with fellow alumni and discover exciting ways to engage with the university both locally in Los Angeles and in London. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
Refreshments will be provided.
SOAS Director Professor Adam Habib and Shona Aitken, Head of Advancement, look forward to hosting you on Monday 2 October 2023 for an Alumni Reception in Boston. Join Professor Habib as he reflects on the progress of SOAS’ strategic vision over the last year, with specific reference to the continued drive to establish equitable partnerships with universities in the Global South.
This event will be an opportunity to network and connect with fellow SOAS alumni and find out more about how you can engage with SOAS both locally in Boston and in London.
Date: Monday 2 October 2023
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Venue: InterContinental Boston, 510 Atlantic Avenue Boston, MA 02210
SOAS Director Professor Adam Habib and Shona Aitken, Head of Advancement, look forward to hosting you on Thursday 28 September for the annual Director’s Alumni Reception in New York City. Join Professor Habib as he reflects on the progress of SOAS’ strategic vision over the last year, with specific reference to the continued drive to promote equitable partnerships with universities in the Global South.
This event will be an opportunity to network and connect with fellow SOAS alumni and find out more about how you can engage with SOAS both locally in New York City and in London.
Date: Thursday 28 September 2023
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Venue: Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, New York, NY, 10011
SOAS Director Professor Adam Habib and Shona Aitken, Head of Advancement, look forward to hosting you on Thursday 21 September 2023 for the an Alumni Reception in Washington DC. Join Professor Habib as he reflects on the progress of SOAS’ strategic vision over the last year, with specific reference to the continued drive to promote equitable partnerships with universities in the Global South.
This event will be an opportunity to network and connect with fellow SOAS alumni and find out more about how you can engage with SOAS both locally in Washington DC and in London.
Date: Monday 25 September 2023
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Venue: InterContinental the Willard Washington D.C. - The Grant Suite, 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20004
SOAS Director Professor Adam Habib and Shona Aitken, Head of Advancement, look forward to hosting you on Thursday 21 September 2023 for the annual Director’s Alumni Reception in Los Angeles. Join Professor Habib as he reflects on the progress of SOAS’ strategic vision over the last year, with specific reference to the continued drive to promote equitable partnerships with universities in the Global South.
This event will be an opportunity to network and connect with fellow SOAS alumni and find out more about how you can engage with SOAS both locally in Los Angeles and in London.
Date: Thursday 21 September 2023
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Venue: The Retna Courtyard, Kimpton La Peer Hotel, 627 North La Peer Drive, West Hollywood, CA, 90069
SOAS Director Professor Adam Habib and Shona Aitken, Head of Advancement, look forward to hosting you on Monday 18 September 2023 for the annual Director’s Alumni Reception in San Francisco. Join Professor Habib as he reflects on the progress of SOAS’ strategic vision over the last year, with specific reference to the continued drive to promote equitable partnerships with universities in the Global South.
This event will be an opportunity to network and connect with fellow SOAS alumni and find out more about how you can engage with SOAS both locally in San Francisco and in London.
Date: Monday 18 September 2023
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Venue: The Peterson Room and Tea Garden, Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102
This webinar will discuss the main determinant of the trajectory of our world in the 21st century: US-China rivalry for world superpower in the light of pandemics, the first European land war since WWII over the territory of Ukraine, and the spectre of an imminent Chinese Takeover of Taiwan.
Clearly, the dominant paradigm for how the West should deal with China has shifted from strategic engagement to strategic competition, and perhaps even to concerted attempts to constrain China's further development and global influence. While there are areas where the West is correct to rebut China's practices and policies, there are two main reasons why disengagement is not in the interests of Western nations.
First, China is not going to disappear; it is a reality that the West has to find a way to coexist with. Foreign business is not going to disengage from the lucrative China market, no matter how much pressure home governments might place on it. In the financial sector, the US-China engagement amounts to some $5 trillion alone.
The second reason is that for Western nations to meet their own crucial policy objectives, they need to find ways to cooperate with China. The relationships are like a multi-dimensional chessboard where one nation may dominate in one field, but no nation can dominate in all. Competition may be suitable in some realms, but cooperation is essential to meet key global priorities. This is especially true as we come out of the post-pandemic world. Who will provide the necessary global public goods?
Professor Anthony Saich of Harvard University is Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Daewoo Professor of International Affairs there.
Currently he is guest Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, China. He was a trustee member of the National Committee on US-China Relations (2014-2020). He also advises a wide range of government, private and non-profit organizations on work in China and elsewhere in Asia. His most recent books include 'From Rebel to Ruler: One Hundred Years of the Chinese Communist Party' (2021). He holds a master's degree in politics with special reference to China from SOAS.
Professor Rozelle of Stanford University is a Senior Fellow in the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
He is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the new Stanford University Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and directs its main initiative - the Rural Education Action Project (REAP), which seeks to evaluate China's new education, health and early childhood development with a view to impact policy on this front. Fluent in Chinese, he has close working ties with Chinese collaborators and policy makers. Using primary data sources, he has conducted numerous survey-based field studies in China in collaboration with academics inside China. He is one of the top five published agricultural/development economists in the world and has received numerous awards in the US and China.
Professor Tsang is Director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies). He is also an Emeritus Fellow of St Anthony's College at Oxford University, and an Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).
Professor Tsang regularly contributes to public debates on different aspects of issues related to the politics, history, foreign policy, security and development of the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and East Asia more generally. He is known in particular for introducing the concept of 'consultative Leninism' as an analytical framework to understand the structure and nature of politics in contemporary China. One of his latest publications is an article 'Party-state Realism: A Framework for Understanding China's Approach to Foreign Policy' in the 'Journal of Contemporary China' (2020), and his current research project is on 'The Political Thought of Xi Jinping'.
Please join us for a special alumni get together in New York from 6:30 - 9:00pm with nibbles and drinks. In attendance will be Professor Adam Habib, in his first visit to the US as the SOAS Director, accompanied by Ms Kanina Foss, Chief of Staff and Ms Shona Aitken, Head of Advancement. The evening will be a fantastic chance to meet and network with fellow alumni as well as hear about SOAS's new strategy and plans for the future from Professor Habib.
Please note that proof of vaccination and a temperature check will be required for entry to the venue.
We hope to see you at this special alumni gathering.
RSVP: CLICK HERE
Please join us for a special alumni get together in Los Angeles from 5:15 - 7:15pm with nibbles and drinks. In attendance will be Professor Adam Habib, in his first visit to the US as the SOAS Director, accompanied by Ms Kanina Foss, Chief of Staff and Ms Shona Aitken, Head of Advancement. The evening will be a fantastic chance to meet and network with fellow alumni as well as hear about SOAS's new strategy and plans for the future from Professor Habib.
RSVP: CLICK HERE
Please join us for a special alumni get together in San Francisco from 6:30 - 9:00pm with nibbles and drinks. In attendance will be Professor Adam Habib, in his first visit to the US as the SOAS Director, accompanied by Ms Kanina Foss, Chief of Staff and Ms Shona Aitken, Head of Advancement. The evening will be a fantastic chance to meet and network with fellow alumni as well as hear about SOAS's new strategy and plans for the future from Professor Habib.
RSVP: CLICK HERE
Please join us for a unique conversation between our distinguished Chief Librarian and a young SOAS researcher as a prelude to next year’s celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the founding of our well-loved SOAS Research Library with its unique holdings related to Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its Special Collections include such rare finds as texts exploring Iraq’s Mesopotamian past as well as 16 botanical paintings by Richard Baron (c. 1880) from amongst the 7000 plant species he sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew from Madagascar. Explore with our presenters how best to provide the widest possible access to this unique trove of library treasures.
Oliver Urquhart Irvine
Director of the SOAS University of London Library
Oliver Urquhart Irvine took up the post of Director of the SOAS Library in January 2019. The library at SOAS is one of the UK’s five National Research Libraries. Previously he was The Librarian and Deputy Keeper of the Royal Archives, from 2014 to 2019, for which he was made MVO in December 2018 by The Queen. Prior to that he was Head of the British Library Qatar Foundation Partnership and of the British Library’s Department of Asian and African Studies. Oliver began his career in book and manuscripts at Christie’s and Maggs Bros Ltd. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Ashley Crawford
Image description: Headshot of Ashley smiling outdoors, wearing formal academic dress at a university event.
Ashley Crawford is originally from San Francisco, California and is currently completing her MA in History of Art at SOAS. Her primary areas of research include Buddhist art and disability studies, and for her upcoming dissertation she is researching curatorial universal design in museums. Previously, she has earned degrees in art history and musicology from SOAS, Christ Church (Oxford), and Scripps College.
VIRTUAL (ZOOM) EVENT
12:00 - 1:00pm PST
3:00 - 4:00pm EST
8:00 - 9:00pm GMT
Revolution, Propaganda and Art: Printmaking in Modern China: A talk on the revolutionary work of Lu Xun in the Chinese Modern Woodcut Movement (1930-1950).
The Brunei Gallery SOAS and AFSOAS (the American Friends of SOAS) are pleased to present a conversation between Mary Ginsberg (Curator, 'Lu Xun's Legacy') and Dr Malcolm McNeil (Director, SOAS Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art), moderated by Haiyao Zheng (Secretary, Muban Trust). The talk will be introduced by Dr Bharti Kansara(Vice-president, AFSOAS).
The talk accompanies the exhibition at the Brunei Gallery 'Lu Xun’s Legacy: Printmaking in Modern China' curated by Mary Ginsberg.
*After you RSVP, you will receive an email with the Zoom event link a few days prior to the actual event.
YOU MUST RSVP TO ATTEND THIS EVENT: CLICK HERE
VIRTUAL (ZOOM) EVENT
12:00 - 1:30PM PST
3:00 - 4:30PM EST
8:00-9:30PM GMT
A discussion on Black entrepreneurship in America as embodied by the story of Brandolon Barnett in his book "Dreams Deferred: Recession, Struggle, and the Quest for a Better World", where he shares his experiences as a Black man working in the social sector.
Please join Rachael Myrow in conversation with SOAS alumnus Brandolon Barnett, as they discuss Brandolon's book "Dreams Deferred: Recession, Struggle, and the Quest for a Better World", where he shares his experiences as a Black man working in the social sector.
SOAS alumnus Brandolon Barnett is an innovator, author, and entrepreneur. He helps build and lead products, initiatives, and partnerships that bring together tech and social impact to move resources to people who need them. He is currently the Chief Product Officer for Deed, a Y Combinator backed company building solutions for Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) efforts enabling employees at companies like Adidas, Stripe, and Airbnb to support causes through their giving, volunteering, and engagement. He is also the leader of the Democratize Ventures investing and advisory initiative supporting entrepreneurs of color in DC and New York. His previous work includes roles as the head of Corporate Social Responsibility Industry Solutions within Salesforce's Philanthropy Cloud and as the leader of the Gates funded Growfund initiative within Global Impact (mygrowfund.org). Brandolon lives in Washington, DC where he also serves as a local elected official.
Rachael Myrow is Senior Editor of KQED's Silicon Valley News Desk. You can hear her work on NPR, WBUR's Here & Now and the BBC. She also periodically guest hosts for KQED's Forum. Over the years, she's talked with Kamau Bell, Lyrics Born, David Byrne, Kamala Harris, Tony Kushner, Armistead Maupin, Van Dyke Parks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Tommie Smith, among others. Before all this, she hosted The California Report for 7+ years, reporting on topics like assisted living facilities, the robot takeover of Amazon, and chocolate persimmons. Awards? Sure: Peabody, Edward R. Murrow, Regional Edward R. Murrow, RTNDA, Northern California RTNDA, SPJ Northern California Chapter, LA Press Club, Golden Mic. Prior to joining KQED, Rachael worked in Los Angeles at KPCC and Marketplace. She holds degrees in English and journalism from UC Berkeley (where she got her start at public radio on the show "Film Close Ups" at KALX-FM). Outside of the studio, you'll find Rachael circling the Stanford Dish, and whipping up Instagram-ready meals in her kitchen.
Language documentation has contributed innovative methodologies and powerful tools for linguistic research on endangered languages. It shifted the mindset that working with just one or two consultants outside of their speech community using a single method (namely elicitation) is not adequate. Use of diverse and innovative methods and well-grounded methodologies; extensive community participation both in multi-modal recording/collecting of data and in processing it, are essential aspects of language documentation. This webinar will demonstrate the positive results of such collaboration with community and practical challenges this might bring.
SPEAKERS
DR. FELIX AMEKA
Felix is a linguist working on the intersection of grammar, meaning and culture, and the description and documentation of languages in their multilingual ecologies. His empirical specialisation is on West-African languages. He is currently professor of Ethnolinguistic Diversity and Vitality at Leiden University and teaches in the departments of Linguistics, African Languages and cultures, and African Studies. In recognition of his pioneering work on cross-cultural semantics and his long-standing research ties with Australian universities, he was elected as a Corresponding Fellow to the Australian Academy of Humanities in 2019. He is also an elected Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015), and of Academia Europaea (2021).
After undergraduate training at the University of Ghana, Legon, Felix received his PhD in 1991 from Australian National University for a dissertation on the semantic, functional, and discourse-pragmatic aspects of the grammar of Ewe. Felix has made seminal contributions to the cross-linguistic study of interjections, editing a highly influential special issue on 'the universal yet neglected part of speech'. Felix has pioneered research on the interaction of grammar, culture, and social structure, using the framework of Natural Semantic Metalanguage to elucidate cultural scripts and interactional resources. A long-term research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Felix has led a large-scale comparative project on the semantics of locative predicates and contributed to cross-linguistic work on the expression of motion and separation events. With Alan Dench and Nick Evans, he co-edited an influential collection on the art of grammar writing.
Felix is concerned with the training of young scholars interested in carrying out language documentation and description with a broad ethos of collaboration and reciprocal engagement with speaker communities. In 2008, he initiated and has (co-)organised several Summer Schools for training language documenters in Africa and elsewhere since then with support from the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP), Volkswagen Stiftung (VW Foundation) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
Felix is editor of the Journal of African Languages and Linguistics together with Azeb Amha. Since 2015, Felix is President of the World Congress of African Linguistics.
DR. MANDANA SEYFEDDINIPUR
Mandana grew up in Germany. She studied linguistics and Persian studies at the Free University of Berlin and graduated with a Master's degree. She received her doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics at Radboud University Nijmegen from 2000 to 2005. Her dissertation was entitled Disfluency: Interrupting speech and gesture. She then worked as a Marie Curie postdoctoral work Stanford University from 2006 to 2009
After another short stay at the Max Planck Institute, Mandana moved to SOAS University of London in 2010, where she became head of the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme. In 2014 she became head of the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR), which deals with the digital preservation of endangered languages and makes digital collections of endangered languages digitally accessible worldwide. In July 2021, the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP) moved to the Berlin Brandenburgische Academy of Sciences with Mandana as its Director.
DR. AZEB AMHA
Azeb is a researcher at the African Studies Center, Leiden University. Her research focuses on language-culture interface, descriptive linguistics and language documentation. She has extensive experience in language documentation and in working with speech community. Azeb wrote the first grammar of the Maale language (The Maale Language 2001). She led a collaborative documentation project on the Oyda language (2009-2013). Since 2016, Azeb is working on a multi-modaldocumentation of Zargula, an endangered language that is spoken in South-west Ethiopia. Through analysis of Wolaitta, one of her L1 languages, Azeb contributed to projects that aimed at developing methodological advances in language description and documentation, namely the CorpAfroas and CorTypoprojects linked to LLACAN (CNRS, Paris). Azeb wrote several articles on the grammar and typology of Omotic languages, and three co-edited books. Since 2004, Azeb is co-editor of the Journal of African Languages and Linguistics.
IDA SODOKE ASSEM
Ida is a PhD student of linguistics in the University of Ghana, Legon. She has an MPhil in Applied Linguistics and a BA in Akan from University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), respectively. Ida was a teaching and research assistant in KNUST from 2012-2013, and also in UEW in 2016. She also worked as a part-time field researcher for Associates for Change (AFC), an NGO in Accra, from 2017- 2019. She is presently a Lecturer in Communication Studies at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Accra. Ida has a research interest in the use of language in context, language and culture and language documentation; particularly, the documentation of endangered cultural practices. For her PhD research, Ida is currently working on the documentation of endangered indigenous cuisines and their associated linguistic expressions among the Akan and Ewe ethnolinguistic groups in Ghana. Ida is a 2019 AFSOAS Scholarship recipient for an intensive language documentation training program hosted by the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme at SOAS.
KENNETH BODUA-MANGO
Bodua-Mango Kenneth is a PhD candidate at the University of Ghana, Legon. He graduated from the University of Ghana, Legon in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics. He did a mandatory one-year national service as a teaching and research assistant at the Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon. In 2010, he won a scholarship from the Norwegian Government under the quota scheme to pursue an MPhil programme in Linguistics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim and graduated in 2012. As part of the requirements for the MPhil programme in Linguistics at NTNU, he wrote a corpus-based thesis on Coordinators in Safaliba; a Gur (Mabia) language spoken in the Savanah Region of Ghana. From September 2015 to October 2018, he worked as an Assistant lecturer at the Department of Gur-Gonja Education, University of Education Winneba, teaching General Linguistics and Gonja. Kenneth is currently a Tutor of linguistics at the Accra College of Education.
Kenneth is a 2019 AFSOAS Scholarship recipient for an intensive language documentation training program hosted by the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme at SOAS. He is also a recipient of the Volkswagen Foundation Travel Scholarship to attend the Lagos Summer School in Digital Humanities (LSSDH-2021) held from 9th - 15th May 2021.
MODERATOR
NACCIEM NIKKAH
Naciem holds an MA in the History of Art and Archaeology from SOAS and a BFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute. She recently finished her PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the dialogue between literary and visual language in Persian manuscripts, especially the single-page album-style paintings of post-fifteenth-century Persian and Persianate societies.
Naciem lives in San Francisco and works as an independent researcher. Previously, she was a research assistant at the British Museum, taught at San José State University, and worked as an independent curator in Northern California.
Our very own AFSOAS Vice President Dr. Bharti Kansara will be delivering a talk on "Eco-consciousness and the Dance of the Five Elements" on Sunday, September 26th at 11:00am via Zoom. Please join Dr. Kansara for this free event! http://culturalintegrationfellowship.org/programs/
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83144665291?pwd=RUJZUk9hLzlBSEFVZG1rQVhYU2xGUT09
Meeting ID: 831 4466 5291; Passcode: 296641; One tap mobile +16699009128, 83144665291#
ABOUT THE EVENT
We are made up of Mind and Matter, of Subtle and Gross Energies. The Material Universe which we inhabit arises from the five elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. When Mind rules Matter we win. When Matter triumphs over Mind, we lose. Peering through the looking-glass, when we turn things on their head and change Me to We, then we can change the equation of life on earth from a shrinking universe and a dystopian future to an ever more radiant cosmos. Vedic wisdom teaches us to cleanse our inner environment to reflect the purity of our outer environment. In this way, we can restore the balance of inner and outer nature, and achieve the Union of Shiva and Shakti, of Pure Consciousness and Material Energy.
Ramakrishna Paramahansa believed, ‘We are all One Consciousness.’ When we realize this, we can at last rein in the uncontrolled Mind and halt the despoilation of Nature to arrive at the summit of Being where the biosphere reflects our true Spirit. Then we will achieve the evolution of Humanity through the Cosmic Dance of Creation which will restore the Five Elements to their pristine state of beauty and joy.
Dr. Kansara is Author and Educator at FlashpointInteract.com, which seeks to empower High School students in the study of the Humanities, so they can rise to their full potential through the use of interactive content and methods. Her past experience includes being an editor in academic publishing at the Open University in England, one of the first educational institutions to pioneer long-distance teaching through interactive media; member of the BBC’s General Advisory Council; co-director of the Academy of Indian Dance, sponsored by the Greater London Council. Dr. Kansara is also Vice President of American Friends of SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London University). She holds a BA (Cantab) and PhD (SOAS, University of London).
“Uniformity of Ethnicity and Centralized Power versus Diverse Populations and Democratic Freedoms - which is the winning model?”
Clearly, the dominant paradigm for how the West should deal with China has shifted from strategic engagement to strategic competition, and perhaps even to concerted attempts to constrain China's further development and global influence. While there are areas where the West is correct to rebut China's practices and policies, there are two main reasons why disengagement is not in the interests of Western nations. First, China is not going to disappear; it is a reality that we have to find a way to coexist with. Foreign business is not going to disengage from the lucrative China market, no matter how much pressure home governments might place on it. In the financial sector, the US-China engagement amounts to some $5 trillion alone.
The second reason is that for Western nations to meet their own crucial policy objectives, they need to find ways to cooperate with China. The relationships are like a multi-dimensional chessboard where one nation may dominate in one field, but no nation can dominate in all. Competition may be suitable in some realms, but cooperation is essential to meet key global priorities. This is especially true as we come out of the post-pandemic world. Who will provide the necessary global public goods?
MODERATOR: Anthony Saich
Professor Anthony Saich of Harvard University is Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Daewoo Professor of International Affairs there. Currently he is guest Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, China. He was a trustee member of the National Committee on US-China Relations (2014-2020). He also advises a wide range of government, private and non-profit organizations on work in China and elsewhere in Asia. His most recent books include From Rebel to Ruler: One Hundred Years of the Chinese Communist Party (2021). He holds a master's degree in politics with special reference to China from SOAS.
PANELIST: Scott Rozelle
Professor Rozelle of Stanford University is a Senior Fellow in the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the new Stanford University Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and directs its main initiative - the Rural Education Action Project (REAP), which seeks to evaluate China's new education, health and early childhood development with a view to impact policy on this front. Fluent in Chinese, he has close working ties with Chinese collaborators and policy makers. Using primary data sources, he has conducted numerous survey-based field studies in China in collaboration with academics inside China. He is one of the top five published agricultural/development economists in the world and has received numerous awards in the US and China.
PANELIST: Steven Tsang
Professor Tsang is Director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies). He is also an Emeritus Fellow of St Anthony's College at Oxford University, and an Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). Professor Tsang regularly contributes to public debates on different aspects of issues related to the politics, history, foreign policy, security and development of the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and East Asia more generally. He is known in particular for introducing the concept of 'consultative Leninism' as an analytical framework to understand the structure and nature of politics in contemporary China. One of his latest publications is an article 'Party-state Realism: A Framework for Understanding China's Approach to Foreign Policy' in the Journal of Contemporary China (2020), and his current research project is on 'The Political Thought of Xi Jinping'.
**You must RSVP in order to obtain the event link for this event: REGISTER HERE
ABOUT
This will be a panel discussion on how recent months may have potentially led to a shift in western perception on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Our esteemed panelists will explore how the Black Lives Matter Movement, social media, the end of the Trump administration and additionally the political dynamics within both Israeli and other Middle Eastern Countries political systems, including foreign policy, impacted and led to this shift. We also hope to offer a space to discuss where we were, where we are (the recent political developments in Israel, for instance) and where we are going (or should go) regarding the conflict.
SPEAKERS
Professor Gilbert Achcar
Professor Gilbert Achcar grew up in Lebanon, researched and taught in Beirut, Paris and Berlin, and has been Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at SOAS, University of London, since 2007. He is the author of several books, published in over 15 languages, including: The Clash of Barbarisms: The Making of the New World Disorder; Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy, co-authored with Noam Chomsky; The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives; and The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising.
Dr Nadia Naser-Najjab
Dr Nadia Naser-Najjab has a PhD in Middle East Studies and is a lecturer in Palestine Studies at the European Centre of Palestine Studies-Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. She is the author of ‘Dialogue in Palestine, The People to People Diplomacy Programme and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict’. She formerly taught European civilization at Birzeit University.
Professor Peter Beinart
Peter Beinart is a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York. He is also Editor-at-Large of Jewish Currents, a CNN Political Commentator, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He writes the Beinart Notebook newsletter on Substack.Com.
Beinart graduated from Yale University, winning a Rhodes scholarship for graduate study at Oxford University. After graduation, Beinart became The New Republic's managing editor in 1995. He became senior editor in 1997, and from 1999 to 2006 served as the magazine’s Editor.
His has published The Good Fight (2006), The Icarus Syndrome (2010) and The Crisis of Zionism (2012).
MODERATOR
Rabea Eghbariah
Rabea Eghbariah is a doctoral candidate at Harvard Law School and a civil rights attorney at Adalah. He wrote several articles on the intersection of law, land, food, and nature in Palestine and led the legal case against the criminalization of za'atar and akkoub. Rabea's latest project Chasing Goats, Abducting Camels: Land, Landscape, Livestock, and the Law in Israel/Palestine explores the legal history of livestock in Israel/Palestine and received the Irving Oberman Prize in Legal History.
A discussion of current issues of museum accessibility in the US and the UK between alumna Ashley Crawford (Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art 2017) and SOAS's Dr. Maria Kostoglou.
This virtual event will be held via Zoom. You must register to attend this event: REGISTER HERE
12:00 - 1:00pm PST / 3:00 - 4:00pm EST
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Museum exhibitions serve as a bridge between specialized knowledge and the public. When curated well, they can deliver niche information to a diverse range of audiences. While museums are meant to cater to all attendees equally, far too often, they fall short in making their exhibitions accessible to disabled visitors.
In this webinar, Ashley and Maria will discuss current issues of museum accessibility in the US and the UK, examining common flaws in curatorial design and writing, explaining museum applications of disability rights legislation, as well as considering how to make museums more accessible through solutions such as universal design, a technique that seamlessly integrates wheelchair-accessible construction into the overall architectural structure of museums.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Ms Ashley Crawford is originally from San Francisco, California and is currently completing her MA in History of Art at SOAS. As an ambulatory wheelchair user, she has long navigated museums using mobility devices and witnessed first hand many much-needed areas for improvement. Previously, she has earned degrees in art history and musicology from SOAS, Christ Church (Oxford), and Scripps College.
Dr. Maria Kostoglou holds MPhil and PhD degrees in Archaeology (University of Glasgow) with expertise in ancient metalwork and she has been a consultant for museums and field work projects on issues related to the preservation, interpretation and display of metal artefacts. At SOAS, Maria lectures in Curating and Museology, co-directs the MA in Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies and teaches relevant undergraduate and postgraduate modules (often with the use of SOAS collections).
12:00pm PST / 3:00pm EST / 8:00pm GMT
Venue: Zoom (*you must register to get the event link)
“Creating connections for untold stories: video, films and festivals as spaces of memory, identity, meaning and transformation”
A selection of films by 3 talented SOAS alumni filmmakers:
Film festival transformations in viral times: lessons learnt at the 2020 edition of the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival (FCAT, Spain), by Federico Olivieri (MA Global Media and Post-National Communication, 2009).
When only blood will do: the rituals of belonging of a Nepali clan, by Saprina Panday (LLB, 2013)
Tune Your Ears, A film about colonial brainwashing, trauma, and lineage, by Rebecca Dharmapalan (MA Human Rights Law, 2020)
FILM 1:
When only blood will do: the rituals of belonging of a Nepali clan
Saprina Panday (LLB Law, 2013)
(WARNING: Graphic and Sensitive Content including Animal Sacrifice) Once every 12 years, in what looks like the very heart of Nepal, a proud clan reunites on a hill to dance, to sing, to remember its ancestors. Hundreds of people travel hundreds of kilometers in cramped minivans and cars, squished and sweating against their wives, their crying babies, their husbands, brothers, sisters, and tangled relatives while dohori [Nepali folk music] and lusty Bollywood songs blast on the radio, covering the sound of screeching tires on potholed roads. On the slippery rooftop, a frail goat struggles to stand, a noose at its throat, its legs trembling. It makes no sound. I feel its terror. And I weep. I'm terrified of what these strangers are about to do to it. These hundreds of strangers who greet me with open trust, seeing me as one of them. My clan, by birth. And yet, I have never felt more foreign, more certain that I don't belong here.
FILM 2:
Tune Your Ears (2017). A film about colonial brainwashing, trauma, and lineage.
Rebecca Dharmapalan (MA Human Rights Law, 2020)
Looking into the themes of migration, civil war, genocide and freedom, Dharmapalan explores the various tensions involved in the creation of identity. Through the tradition of oral histories, Dharmapalan believes that nuanced tone can be best articulated. From Tanzania, to Goa, to Ceylon, to the United States, Dharmapalan's grandparents explore their stories of struggle, of assimilation, and their attempt to define themselves. This film teaches us how to look beyond academic text, to instead value ancestral conversation and intergenerational listening
FILM 3
Film festival transformations in viral times: lessons learnt at the 2020 edition of the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival (FCAT, Spain)
Federico Olivieri (MA Global Media and Post-National Communication, 2009)
In 2020, film festivals all over the world have been forced to redefine their format into hybrid and virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This short documentary project explores some of these disruptions, as well as the experiences gathered by the author at the 2020 edition of the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival (Spain - Morocco).
FILMMAKER BIOS
Saprina Panday (LLB Law, 2013)
Growing up as the daughter of an international civil servant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Saprina Panday is a writer, multimedia storyteller and investigative journalist from Nepal who has lived in over 17 countries, from Somalia to Iran, Syria to Russia. This unique experience informs her thirty-year-long exploration of the concept of identity and home and what it means to belong. Her work has been published in Scroll India, Global Voices, the Kathmandu Post, the Record Nepal and France 24 while her first dramedy pilot completed in 2019 won nominations at film festivals in London, Seoul and Berlin, attracting the interest of Netflix India. Saprina has a law degree from SOAS, a BA in politics from the University of Virginia and an international diploma in political science from Sciences Po Paris.
Rebecca Dharmapalan (MA Human Rights Law, 2020)
Rebecca Dharmapalan is a filmmaker, legal scholar, and activist. Dharmapalan is based in NYC, Oakland, and London. Her passion lies in human rights and justice for underrepresented and marginalised groups. From her TEDxTalk discussing the epidemic of child sex trafficking in the United States, to speaking up when voices systemically silenced, Dharmapalan's dedication to uplifting those around her speaks truth to her dedication to her community. Dharmapalan is Glamour’s College Woman of the Year 2017, awarded Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21, and an OZY Genius Award winner 2018. She recently completed her MA of Human Rights Law at SOAS University of London, and her BA in Sociology at University of California Berkeley. Dharmapalan is currently producing her first feature length film on the Tamil Eelam diaspora that focuses on memory, trauma, & motherland.
Federico Olivieri (MA Global Media and Post-National Communication, 2009)
Federico Olivieri is a journalist, cultural manager and independent researcher whose work focuses on media, communications and the arts for social change. In 2007 he obtained a BA in Journalism from the University of Seville (Spain), followed by an MA in Global Media and Post-National Communication from SOAS University of London. After years of work for Spain’s development agency (AECID) and with different cultural non-profits in Kenya, Spain, Senegal, South Africa and the USA, in 2016 Olivieri completed a PhD in Communication and Cultural Studies at the University Pablo de Olavide (Spain). His thesis explored the history of Sub-Saharan African cinemas and the meaning of Interculturality at film festivals. He co-founded the Slum Film Festival (Kenya) and he is a member of the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival (FCAT, Spain - Morocco) since its founding in 2004.
9:00am PST / 12:00pm EST / 5:00pm GMT
SOAS Director Professor Adam Habib cordially invites you to this special event in which he will be in conversation with Dr. Peter Singer (World Health Organization), Dr. Segenet Kelemu (ICIPE) and Martin Wolf CBE (Financial Times).
It is increasingly clear that this pandemic cannot end in the developed world without addressing and ensuring that the citizens of the developing world are also vaccinated. This public debate seeks to provide some focus to the challenges confronting the developing world on vaccines and the nationalist overtones around it. But it will also touch on a broader challenge in our historical moment where all of our discontents are transnational in character and require to be addressed on a global rather than national scale.
As the world implements COVID-19 vaccinations, will countries in the global south have equal access? With a history of healthcare inequalities and enforced vaccine trials, how do we ensure global vaccination is carried out ethically and equally, and encourage governments and societies to act for the greater good? Should countries who have an oversupply of vaccines redistribute these to developing countries who cannot afford the costs of vaccines?
