World Philosophies and Africa and Black Diaspora
World philosophies as an academic field challenges the assumption that philosophy is primarily a Western tradition rooted in ancient Greece. Philosophical traditions in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Islamic world have developed rich and sophisticated frameworks for understanding knowledge, ethics, identity, and the nature of reality, often in dialogue with questions of colonialism, liberation, and cultural survival. Africa and Black diaspora studies brings together history, cultural analysis, and political theory to examine the experiences, intellectual traditions, and creative contributions of African peoples and their descendants across the globe.
At the School of Oriental and African Studies, these two disciplines come together in a programme that is unique in its focus and scope. You will engage with philosophical traditions from across the African continent and the Black diaspora, reading thinkers whose work has often been marginalised in mainstream academic philosophy while engaging directly with some of the most urgent intellectual and political debates of the present. The degree includes a foundation year, providing an entry route for those who need to build their academic foundations before entering the main programme.
The three-year main degree runs full-time and draws on SOAS's exceptional concentration of specialists in African history, languages, cultures, and politics.
This combination equips you with a distinctive intellectual toolkit, one that brings decolonial and global perspectives to philosophical analysis, and that situates ideas in their social and historical contexts. Graduates move into careers in research, teaching, policy, journalism, advocacy, international development, and cultural organisations. Many work in non-governmental organisations, think tanks, or government bodies where expertise in African history and politics is directly relevant.
Postgraduate study in philosophy, African studies, cultural theory, or related fields is a natural next step. The typical entry tariff is 136 points.