📣SOAS Event 1 May

Join us as we discuss lessons from post-colonial Uganda, with @columbiauniversity.bsky.social Prof. Mahmood Mamdani.

Find out more: bit.ly/4tfvpzU

Keen to improve your understanding of Islamic Literary Heritage? This course will give you the opportunity to study manuscripts from a wide range of periods, locations and textual genres across the Islamic world.

Book now 👉️ ies.sas.ac.uk/study-traini...

#palaeography #paleography #LIPS26

Cover of the book Wellbeing.

Governments in liberal democracies pursue social welfare, but why not focus directly on increasing measured human happiness?

This #InternationalWellnessDay, we’re highlighting Wellbeing: Alternative Policy Perspectives, edited by Timothy Besley and Irene Bucelli.

🔗 https://bit.ly/4uyFxES

The Library is running Dissertation Workshops in April, May and June

The first one is on 28th April 2026, 10am - 11:30am
Hybrid, E17 (in-person) & online (MS Teams)

More info: soas.libguides.com/c.php?g=7045...

Join us for a special screening of EVOL, followed by an in-depth Q&A session with the film’s director and writer.

This is a unique opportunity to explore the creative journey behind a powerful and intimate story of ambition, resilience, and love.

17 Apr @ 6:30pm
www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

Book Talk: Depletion Join Professor Shirin Rai to discuss her book Depletion.

#BOOKTALK on Depletion with Professor Shirin Rai (SOAS): The Human Costs of #Caring: 9 April, 1 pm BST

Who bears the hidden costs of #care, and what would it take to reverse that #depletion? Webinar hosted by the DSA-EADI Working Group on Land, Labour & Food

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-talk-...

Photography, taken from one floor above, of SOAS Library's newly renovated Main Reading Room showing a range of seating types. Also depicted are the stacks of Level C, the Japanese and Chinese collection. You can also see some of the bare concrete emblematic of Denys Lasdun's design.

Photography of SOAS Library's newly renovated Main Reading Room showing a range of seating types. Also depicted are the stacks of Level C and B above. You can also see some of the bare concrete emblematic of Denys Lasdun's design.

🎊 SOAS Library's newly renovated Level D Main Reading Room opens at 10 this morning! 🎊

Illustration from a British Library manuscript (probably 13th century CE) of the Maqāmāt of al-Harīrī, Add. MS. 22114. f.94. The Maqāmāt were supposedly written to demonstrate mastery of grammar and vocabulary. The picture shows the character Abu Zayd (an eloquent rogue!) as an orator/preacher; so representing the power of recitation to persuade.

This is on Wednesday! Looking forward to returning to SOAS (where I did my MMus, rather too many years ago) to talk about Arabic poetry from the crusading period.
It's hybrid and free (but you need to register).
Warning: may include performance! 🎶🎵
www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...
#medievalsky #Arabic

New book catalogued just in time for the book launch!

Resisting erasure : capital, imperialism, and race in Palestine (Verso, 2025)📖 soas.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1534888...

Today at 6pm.
Organised by the Centre for Palestine Studies

Event details: www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

📖Library Opening hours over the Easter holiday🐣

Thursday 2nd & Friday 3rd April: 10am to 10pm
Saturday 4th April: 9:30am to 10pm
Sunday 5th & Monday 6th April: 10am to 10pm

⚠️No new memberships processed - Existing members only - You must have your card with you⚠️

Unfortunately, we’ll need to cancel Knit & Knatter on 25 March due to the Tube strike. We’re really sorry for any inconvenience, and hope to see you at the next one 💛🧶📚

This Weds 18 March SOAS Japan Society is holding a special collaborative session with Korea Society to discuss

📖Pachinko by Min Jin Lee soas.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1180772...

5pm Lecture by Dr Chris Deacon, SOAS
5.45-6.30 Casual book discussion

SOAS Room TBA, Updates: Instagram @soasjapansociety

Tension explores how rapid development in the Western Himalayas affects the minds and bodies of the Gaddi people through the multifaceted state of distress they call “tension.”

🗓️ 19th March 2026
🔗 buff.ly/EGRuIBP
📍SOAS University of London
@soasuni.bsky.social
@dukepress.bsky.social

📣📖Book discussion on Thursday, 19 March 5-7pm, led by the Walter Rodney Collective

The time beneath the concrete : Palestine between camp and colony (2025) by Nasser Abourahme

Read the book in the library: soas.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1484541...
Register: www.soas-walter-rodney-collective.com/events

Please be aware that the library will close at 9pm today due to a staff shortage.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

📣Today! Special Collections Women's History Month Open Day

Drop into the Reading Room (Level F) between 11am and 3pm to see a display of archives, manuscripts and rare books celebrating women's contributions through history. @soas-speccoll.bsky.social

Don’t miss this seminar series book talk on Capitalist value chains : labour exploitation, nature destruction, geopolitics (2025), organised by @soasdevelopment.bsky.social

📖Our library's ebook is available here:
soas.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1536345...

🗞️Shen Bao (China) is a newspaper archive that provides a rich insight into the making of China from the 19th century til Mao (1872- 1949). Published in Shanghai before the formation of the People’s Republic, it hosts the full issues with 2 million full text searchable articles, complete with images.

📰Jeune Afrique is a leading pan‑African news magazine. Published in French, it is widely regarded as one of the most influential media outlets covering African political, economic, and cultural affairs. Handy tip – you can also use the ‘translate’ function if your French is a bit rusty!

📰🌍Access World News features more than 1000 newspapers from around the world, with current and archived content. It allows you to search by trending topics, daily headlines, and by geographic locations, including a map search.

📰Foreign Affairs has led serious discussions on international politics, world affairs and U.S. foreign policy since 1922. Read the current issue, hundreds of past articles & book reviews, listen to weekly podcast interviews with experts, & receive editor-curated newsletters straight to your inbox

Dear SOAS students,
🗞️🗞️📰Did you know that SOAS Library subscribes to a wide range of high-quality news resources? From global newspapers to regional reporting, past and present, SOAS Library offers a rich collection of news resources for you to explore. 📰🗞️ 🗞️

For anyone who is UK-based and interested, SOAS has a PhD scholarship for ‘Queer Meaning-Making in South Asian Literature: New Comparative Perspectives’.

Scholarship application deadline: 27 March 2026.

www.soas.ac.uk/study/studen...

@saltatchicago.bsky.social @wasafirimag.bsky.social

SOAS Library has the e-book!

soas.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1499507...

For readers who love literature in translation 📖

The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize turns 20 and will be hosted at SOAS University of London from 2026 — celebrating outstanding Arabic-to-English translation.

More here: www.soas.ac.uk/about/news/s...

Book Launch hosted by @soastaiwanstudies.bsky.social

The Twilight Years of Taiwan's Sugar Railways (2025)
📖Read it here soas.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1568114...

Event details www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

a cartoon drawing of a faceless character knitting ALT: a cartoon drawing of a faceless character knitting

Knit & Knatter
📢Excited to announce that from next month, we'll be increasing our knitting sessions from monthly to weekly!

Wednesdays 1-2pm in Library room E17
Everyone welcome - bring your own project🧶

Postdoctoral Researcher at SOAS University of London An opportunity for an academic position as a Postdoctoral Researcher is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.

Postdoctoral Researcher at SOAS University of London

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQK701/p...

💘Help us to build a multilingual map of romantic books from around the world! Recommend your favourite romance novel —or a book about love, relationships, or heartbreak — written in any language 📚🌍

Submit your recommendations forms.office.com/pages/respon...

A black-and-white, fifteenth-century woodcut illustration of a gaunt, skeletal human figure standing upright, ribs and bones clearly visible. The figure is partially draped in loose cloth around the waist and legs, with one hand raised near the chest. The image is framed by a simple rectangular border on aged, textured paper.

Me, at the end of January.

Picture is from a Dutch edition of the ‘Cordiale quattuor novissimorum’ (1484) on death and the final journey of the soul, ascribed to Dionysius Carthusiensis & Gerardus de Vliederhoven (Inc.5.E.11.1[3124]).

📷 by @liamsims.bsky.social