BA Creative Arts and Cultural Industries
SOAS University of London
Key Information
Campus location
London, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
3 years
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
GBP 9,250 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Request info
* full-time fees per academic year: UK £9,250; Overseas £20,350
Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time
Both theoretical and practical in orientation, this interdisciplinary degree gives insight into the varied forms of artistic expressions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. With a contemporary focus, it enables both broad inter-regional understanding and specialisation in a specific area. Emphasis on analytical rigour combined with the development of practical skills equips students with transferable skills opening numerous career paths.
Gallery
Ideal Students
Who is this programme for?
This programme is designed for students wishing to develop a critical and theoretically informed approach to the arts and the cultural industries. Its approach is interdisciplinary and cross-cultural, bringing together art historical, musical, film, and literary perspectives to explore the expressive arts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and their diasporas. It deals with the creation, interpretation and consumption of various art forms, emphasising regional specifics.
Students will be introduced to a wide range of thematic and theoretical issues and will have the opportunity to develop practical skills in radio, curating, film festivals and musical performance both within taught modules and assignments. The programme will provide them with a strong theoretical foundation with which to pursue a career in the cultural industries or to pursue graduate study in these areas.
Admissions
Curriculum
Structure
Occasionally the availability of optional modules changes as a result of staffing and other circumstances. Students who had signed up for such modules will be notified as soon as possible and given the opportunity to choose from available alternatives.
Year 1
Core Modules
Students will take the following 2 core modules:
- Great Works: art, films, literature, music
- Writing Across the Arts
Compulsory Modules
Students will take the following 2 compulsory modules:
- Introduction to Film Language, History & Theory
- Studying Popular Music
and
Any module in list A for History of Art & Archaeology (below).
List A (History of Art & Archaeology)
- Theory and Method I
- Themes in the Art and Archaeology of Africa
- Themes in the Art and Archaeology of East Asia
- Themes in the Art and Archaeology of South and Southeast Asia
- Themes in the Art and Archaeology of the Near and Middle East
and
Any module in list B for the Department of Music (below).
List B (Music)
- Sounds and Cultures
- Performance 1b: ensembles
- Decolonising Pop: K-Pop and Beyond
and
Open Options
Students will also take modules to the value of 30 credits from lists A and/or B or a Language Open Option.
Year 2
Core Module
Students will take the following 2 core modules:
- Critical Readings in Arts and Cultures
- Curating Global Arts
Compulsory Module
Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from List C (below).
Regional Module
Students will take guided options to the value of 30 credits from list D (below).
Open Options
Students will also take modules to the value of 30 credits from Open Options or Language Open Option lists.
Year 3
Core Module
Students will take the following core module:
- Independent Study Project in the Creative Arts
School of Arts Guided Option
Students will take ONE of the following modules:
- Arts, Culture and Commodification: Themes in the Global Creative and Cultural Industries
- Directed Study in Creative Industries
- Film Festivals and Film Curating
English Guided Option
Students will take ONE of the following modules:
- Empire and the Postcolonial: Race Genders, Sexualities
- Fictions of History
History of Art and Archaeology Guided Option
Students will take ONE of the following modules:
- Collecting and Collections
- Museums and Museology
- Comparative Avant-Gardes: Global Perspectives in Modern Art
Music Guided Option
Students will take ONE of the following modules:
- The Music Business
- Presenting World Music On Radio
- Gender and Music
- Urban Soundscapes
- Performance 3
Open Options
Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from an open option, language module, or SoA module not previously taken from lists C-E (below)
or if 155901013 Fictions of History has been selected as the English guided option:
Students will take modules to the value of 15 credits from an open option, language module, or SoA module not previously taken from lists C-E (below)
List of modules (subject to availability)
List C
- English
- Film Studies
- Global Screen Industries
- History of Art and Archaeology
- Collecting and Collections
- Museums and Museology
- Comparative Avant-Gardes: Global Perspectives in Modern Art
- Theory and Method II
- Music
- Ethnomusicology: Themes and Variations
- Introduction to Sound Recording
- Performance 2
List D - Regional Modules
- English
- Writing South Asia
- Framing Pakistan
- Southern Spaces
- Film Studies
- African Filmmaking: From the 1960s to the Present
- Orientalism on Screen
- 1990's South Korean cinema: A critical Survey
- Cinema and Performance in China: Critical and Historical Approaches
- Cinema and Society in South Asia: History and Social Context
- Cinema and Society in South Asia: Key Issues
- Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa 1
- Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa 2
- Japanese New Wave Cinema: Youth, Sex and Protest
- Japanese Cinema: a Critical Survey
- Queer Cinema in Asia
- Modern Film from Taiwan and the Chinese Diaspora
- Thailand on Screen (post '97)
- Vietnam on Screen
- History of Art and Archaeology
- Approaches to Modern and Contemporary Arts in Africa
- Art and Archaeology of Ancient China
- Art and Archaeology of Medieval China
- Art and Culture in Imperial China
- Art and Culture in Modern China
- Art and Empire in Early Modern India
- Art, Performance and The Body in Africa
- Arts and Society in Africa
- Arts of the Buddha in Southeast Asia
- Chinese Contemporary Art
- Comparative Avant-Gardes: Global Perspectives in Modern Art
- Contemporary Korean Arts in East Asia
- Gender, Art and Visual Culture: Explorations in the Representation of Southeast Asia
- Global Cultures of Chinese Ceramics
- Imag(in)ing Buddhas in South Asia (1)
- Islamic Art and Architecture of Medieval Iran and Central Asia (10th-13th centuries)
- Japanese Art
- Mosque and Palace in the Muslim World
- Ottoman Art and Architecture (14th-17th centuries)
- Representing China in Museums
- The `Historical` Buddha: Explorations in Southeast Asian Arts
- Visual Culture of Early-Modern Japan
- Undoing Asia: Artistic Perspectives from the 20th and 21st Centuries
- Visual Arts of Africa and the Atlantic World: History, Creativity and Agency
- Music
- Atlantic Africa: (P)Layers of Mediation in African Popular Music (UG)
- Classical singing in India: Continuity and change
- Jaffa: Music and Urbanism in the Contested Middle East
- Klezmer Music: Roots and Revival
- Music and Religion in South East Asia
- Music, Religion and Society in South Asia
- Music, Religion and Society in the Middle East and North Africa
- Musical Traditions of East Asia
- Pop and Politics in East Asia
- The World of Cuban Music
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.
Program Outcome
The BA Creative Arts programme will allow you to achieve:
- Familiarity with the distinctive roles of art, music, film and literature within the cultural sector.
- Critical awareness of world art/world cultures/world heritage, with an emphasis on SOAS’s regional specialisms (Asia, Africa and the Middle East and their diasporas).
- Regional breadth and depth, with the opportunity for area specializations.
- Rigorous interdisciplinary training in theory and critical inquiry.
- Synthesis of theory and practice with a curriculum emphasising the professional application.
Career Opportunities
Employment
The programme is ideal for students wishing to pursue a career in the arts/ cultural industries sectors with a focus on the arts and cultures of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and their diasporas. With its interdisciplinary focus, it will suit students interested in broadening their expertise across art history, music, film and literature. It will also provide an excellent foundation for students interested in pursuing graduate study concerned with the expressive cultures of Asia, Africa or the Middle East and their diasporas.
English Language Requirements
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