Resources
On this page you will find Scholarship Information, Event Presentations, Alumni Trip details, Media information, and more...
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
A full directory of scholarship opportunities and financial aid information can be found on the SOAS website here: https://www.soas.ac.uk/registry/scholarships/. The following scholarships represent some of those that are more popular with American applicants:
AFSOAS John Loiello - FISHL Scholarship (*we apologize, but this scholarship opportunity is currently not available for the upcoming 2021-2022 academic cycle)
EVENT PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS:
Did you miss an AFSOAS event you were hoping to attend?
Were you inspired by what you learned from one of our speakers?
Are you passionate about learning new things?
If so, not to worry, we will post every presentation from every AFSOAS event here, so that you can access them at any time and learn from our amazing alumni, visiting faculty, and other guest speakers.
AFSOAS Virtual Event: "Treasures of the SOAS library"
Event Held: May 7, 2022
A conversation between our distinguished SOAS Chief Librarian and a SOAS alumna & 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.
AFSOAS Virtual Event: "Revolution, Propaganda and Art: Printmaking in Modern China"
Event Held: March 10, 2022
The Brunei Gallery SOAS and AFSOAS present this conversation between Mary Ginsberg (Curator, 'Lu Xun's Legacy'), Dr. Malcolm McNeil (Director, SOAS Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art), and Haiyao Zheng (Secretary, Muban Trust) with an introduction by Dr. Bharti Kansara (Vice President, AFSOAS): "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)"
VIRTUAL EVENT: “DREAMS DEFERRED: A DISCUSSION ON BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AMERICA”
Event Held: February 16, 2022
A discussion on Black entrepreneurship in America as embodied by the story of SOAS alumnus 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.
2020 - 2021 AFSOAS Annual Report
Publication Date: October 2021
Drafted by: SOAS Alumni Engagement & Philanthropy Teams
VIRTUAL EVENT: “Endangered Languages and Their Documentation”
Event Held: October 28, 2021
A conversation with Dr. Mandana Seyfeddinipur (ELDP - Berlin Brandenburgische Academy of Sciences), Dr. Felix Ameka (Leiden University), Dr. Azeb Amha (Leiden University), Ida Sodoke (University of Ghana) & Kenneth Bodua-Mango (University of Ghana).
VIRTUAL EVENT: “U.S. & China: Which is the Winning Model for World Superpower”
Event Held: September 15, 2021
A conversation with Prof. Steven Tsang (SOAS China Institute), Prof. Anthony Saich (Harvard University) and Prof. Scott Rozelle (Stanford University).
VIRTUAL EVENT: “Israel-Palestine: The Shift in Western Sentiment & The Way Forward”
Event Held: July 21, 2021
A panel discussion on how recent months may have potentially led to a shift in western perception on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with:
SOAS Professor Gilbert Achcar
Dr. Nadia Naser-Najjab
Prof. Peter Beinhart
Rabea Eghbariah (moderator)
VIRTUAL EVENT: “More than just ramps: Disability and Accessibility in Museums”
Event Held: June 15, 2021
In this webinar, Ashley and Maria 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.
VIRTUAL EVENT: “Creating Connections for Untold Stories”
Event Held: March 25, 2021
A selection of films by 3 talented SOAS alumni filmmakers:
1. "Tune Your Ears" - a film about colonial brainwashing, trauma, and lineage, by Rebecca Dharmapalan (MA Human Rights Law, 2020)
2. "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)
3. "When Only Blood Will Do: The rituals of belonging of a Nepali clan" by Saprina Panday (LLB, 2013)
VIRTUAL EVENT: “Film Festivals and the PUblic SPhere”
Event Held: November 6, 2020
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Board Chair Rob Buscher (SOAS MA Japanese Studies 2009-2010) in conversation with Dr. Griseldis Kirsch (SOAS Department Head of East Asian Languages and Cultures) about Rob's decade-long career as a film programmer that began during his time at SOAS.
“Online Lecture: Tales of Eccentrics and Exemplars: Text Image Relationships in Chan Figure Painting”
Presented: March 25, 2021
A lecture from the Programme Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art, Dr Malcolm McNeill, on a subject tied closely to his PhD research topic, followed by a conversation with Dr Monika Hinkel. This talk examines the relationship between image and text in paintings of figural subjects from thirteenth and fourteenth century Chinese Chan Buddhism (Chan is better known through its Japanese successor, Zen).
“Addressing vaccination inequality in an interconnected world (SOAS Director's Lecture Series)”
Presented: March 9, 2021
Adam Habib, Director, SOAS University of London Director
Peter Singer, Special Advisor to the Director General, World Health Organization
Segenet Kelemu, Director General and CEO, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times
“Reading a Painting: Safavid artists, their relationship with their patron, and their contribution to the early development of Mughal painting”
Dr. Heather Elgood
Presented: January 28, 2021 (as part of our Virtual Event “Cut, Paste, Patch: Text-Image Relationship in Safavid and Mughal Paintings”)
“Two Buddhist Wanderers and a Tame Tiger: Transformation in a Timurid Drawing”
Dr. Malcom McNeill, Director, SOAS Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art
Presented: January 28, 2021 (as part of our Virtual Event “Cut, Paste, Patch: Text-Image Relationship in Safavid and Mughal Paintings”)
VIRTUAL EVENT: “Impact & Legacy: John Loiello Scholarship Program”
Event Held: September 21, 2020
A conversation with our previous recipients of the John Loiello Scholarship — AFSOAS’s flagship program which provides a full scholarship with housing (thanks to our friends at the International Student House London) annually to a student enrolled full-time in one-year taught Master's programme at SOAS in the discipline of their choice. Three of our previous scholars (Montita Sowapark, Sherin Nassar & Cristina Leifson) share their insights into the impact that their time at SOAS had on their personal and professional trajectories. This discussion was moderated by American Friends of SOAS President Gregory Buie.
VIRTUAL EVENT: “Yatis: Semi-renunciant monks in the Jaina Tradition”
Event Held: August 25, 2020
SOAS Professor Dr. Peter Flügel (Chair of the Centre of Jaina Studies) and Eric Villalobos (recipient of the 2020-2021 John Loiello AFSOAS - FISHL Scholarship) discuss Eric’s upcoming MA project at SOAS, which focuses on the figure of the Yati – a nearly extinct class of semi-renunciant monks in Śvetāmbara Jainism. His project will analyze some of the first European colonial encounters with Jains in the 18th Century, when Yatis were more powerful and widespread.
VIRTUAL EVENT: “Demystifying Shariah”
Event Held: August 11, 2020
AFSOAS presents this book launch with author and SOAS Alumna Sumbul Ali-Karamali (LLM Islamic Law). Sumbul discusses her new book Demystifying Shariah: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It's Not Taking Over Our Country. This talk is moderated by SOAS Alumna and AFSOAS Vice-President Dr. Bharti Kansara.
VIRTUAL EVENT: “ATTENTION TO THE HOME FRONT”
Event Held: July 16, 2020
SOAS Alumna and USAID development practitioner Elisabeth Kvitashvili in conversation with SOAS Alumnus and Vice-Chair of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at University of California Berkeley, Dr. Laurence Michalak. During this virtual event, which took place on July 16, 2020, the discussion focused on the endemic problem of structural racism, the death of American exceptionalism and the dismantling of our institutional safeguards against excessive Presidential power which threatens the viability of US democracy.
The Dr. Hettie Elgood scholarship - donor report
Publication Date: April 2020
Drafted by: SOAS Development Team
“In Conversation with our Elders”
Presented by: Kirstie Kwarteng, SOAS Doctoral student
Presented at: TEDxEuston - October 2019
Kirstie Kwarteng's PhD explores the transnational experiences of second-generation Ghanaians in London and New York City. Prior to beginning her doctorate, she founded The Nana Project, a digital platform dedicated to preserving Ghana's history through the voices of Ghanaian elders.
2018 - 2019 AFSOAS Annual Report
Publication Date: October 2019
Drafted by: SOAS External Engagement and Public Affairs
2019 SOAS WORLD ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Publication Date: October 2019
"Fake News, Social Media, and Preserving Democracy in the Age of A.I."
panel discussion
Moderator: Rachael Myrow
Panelists: George Brock, Quentin Hardy & Richard Gingras
Event Held: September 12, 2019 in Palo Alto, CA
"Digital Storytelling and Development from the Urban Margins"
Dr. Federico Olivieri
M.A., Global Media and Postnational Communication (2009)
Presented: March 1st, 2018 in San Francisco, CA
"Allies in Development: Reflections on Running a Nonprofit in Ethiopia"
Greg Buie
M.A., International Studies and Diplomacy (2007)
Presented: March 1st, 2018 in San Francisco, CA