Issue 18

SOAS SPIRIT

13 DECEMBER 2021

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YOUR INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

ISSUE 18

JOY CROOKES ALBUM

NOAM CHOMSKY JOINS

NIGHT OUT AT QUEER

REVIEW

SOAS OVER ZOOM

CLIMB

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Strikes demand SOAS to ‘sit up and take notice’

A UNISON banner foreshadows the picket lines stationed in front of the SOAS main building and Brunei Gallery. (Credit: Lara Holly Gibbs)

Lara Holly Gibbs, MA Gender Studies On 1 December, SOAS staff began three days of strike action. Striking staff and students gathered on campus to form picket lines and support the strike action. Students were also encouraged to support the strikes by boycotting online learning inorder to avoid crossing a virtual picket line.

Both University and College Union (UCU) and UNISON

were striking. According to UCU and UNISON, staff are striking for five reasons. Firstly, to stand against the ‘slashing’ of USS pension schemes of up to 35%. While the other reasons are referred to as the ‘four fights:’ striking against pay cuts; casualisation; race, gender and disability pay gaps; and unsafe workloads.

The UCU and UNISON strikes at SOAS were characterised by a series of teach-outs, rallies, and activities. These included a reading group, a Justice For Workers open meeting, and talks on climate change.

According to UNISON Branch Secretary, Sandy Nicoll, the reasons for the strikes are issues that UNISON has been trying to get SOAS to address for nearly two decades without success. Nicoll emphasises the pressure placed on casualised academics. He describes their positions as ‘incredibly precarious’ and expresses urgent action is needed to protect people in those situations.

Nicoll explains that a lot of his members are on long-term Continued on page 3

13 DECEMBER 2021

Letter from the Editor

Contents News

SOAS Announce Changes to Term 3 Guidance

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Export Ban Placed on Stolen Finial

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Years of Racial Abuse Suffered

by English Cricket Players

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Opinion The Media VS Labour Tech Won't Save Us, and Gig Workers Know It

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Features End the Violence. End Sexual Violence.

Artemis' Amman Now That It's Over: Reflections on COP26

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Beibei Wang: A Journey Full of Surprises

Frances Howe • Editor-in-Chief • Artemis Sianni-Wedderburn • Co-Deputy Editor • Naaz Hussein • Co-Deputy Editor • Lara Holly Gibbs • SOAS News Editor • Rishika Singh • National News Editor • Clayton Barrington-Rusell • International News Editor • Leehoo Pansky • Opinion Editor • Zaynab Mufti • Features Editor • Mat Hick • Culture Editor • Mahek Arora • Sport & Societies Editor •

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Anneka Shah • Senior Sub-Editor • Phoebe Parsons • Sub-Editor • Maryam Abdul-Mujib • Sub-Editor • Arthie Sivanantharajah • Sub-Editor • Millie Weighton Glaister • Sub-Editor •

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Yi-Chun Huang • Layout Editor • Aisha Fatima • Layout Editor • Frances Howe • Layout Editor •

Artemis Sianni-Wedderburn • Co-Deputy Editor

Jacynthe Roesch • Senior Online Editor • Anna Fenton-Jones • Online Editor • Millie Weighton Glaister • Online Editor • Clarissa Mondeh • Social Media Co-ordinator • Aisha Fatima • Social Media Co-ordinator •

Sports & Societies Can Sport Play a Role in Development?

SOAS Banglasoc Host Games Night

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Frances Howe Editor-in-Chief of the SOAS Spirit

Your SOAS Spirit Team

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Culture Lubaina Himid at the Tate Review

Dear Spirit readers, December is rolling in, the temperature has dropped and Issue 18 of the SOAS Spirit is here to ease it all. This issue we dive headfirst into last week’s strikes, speaking with those involved and highlighting exactly why they’re needed in the first place. Our SOAS News Editor, Lara Holly Gibbs, joined staff and students on the picket line in order to report firsthand on the experience, drawing on the competing perspectives from both organisers and the institution.

Our Opinion Section compliments this article nicely by featuring two articles on two very different topics, yet both fall under this topic of labour and industrial action.

Here we look at the media portrayal of striking and student

involvement, and at working conditions in the gig economy.

Our SOAS News Sections is rounded off with a breakdown of SOAS’ latest announcements regarding term three, amplifying the voices of students most affected by this latest decision.

Our National and International News Sections look into some of the biggest news stories today as well as some you may not have heard of just yet including the export ban on Tipu Sultan’s Finial and on the crackdown of non-vegetarian food in Ahmedabad.

Our Features section features a powerful piece by Zo Wu who attended a protest against the rise in sexual violence in the UK. The article is accompanied by Wu’s own photography from the event. We also reflect on the failures of COP26 and are welcomed back into Deputy Editor, Artemis’ year abroad in Jordan.

Our Culture Section is full once again with a variety of different reviews both of events at SOAS and beyond.

Reading them will give you FOMO, make you search up Joy Crookes’ album on Spotify and persuade you to visit Lubaina Himid’s exhibition at the Tate.

Sports and Societies looks back on Noam Chomsky’s discussion at SOAS, hosted by the Policy Forum Society at SOAS and on the inaccuracies and subsequent discrimination at the hands of testosterone testing in professional sports.

We hope this issue is both informative and entertaining and we can’t wait to see you all on campus as we convince you to pick up a copy and find out for yourselves.

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13 DECEMBER 2021 https://soasspirit.co.uk/category/news/ News Editors: Lara Holly Gibbs, Rishika Singh, Clayton Barrington-

SOAS News

News

Continued from page 1

sick leave due to being unable to cope with the stress they are under. He says he has people ‘desperately trying to hang on but are finding it incredibly difficult to provide a service.’

Nicoll goes on to describe that SOAS has lost incredibly good teachers who couldn’t remain in the profession due to ‘endless fixed casualised contracts.’

Nicoll says that industrial action is ‘our only hope to get them to sit up and take notice’ and argues that SOAS should be trying to challenge the issues put forward by strikers. He argues that it is down to a small group of people in the senior management team who have the power to ‘make SOAS live up to what we teach in our classrooms and the failure to do so is the real issue.’ Nicoll asks, ‘why are we fighting over the gender and race pay gap in the 21st century?’ describing it as ‘beyond disgraceful.’ According to UNISON and UCU, there is a 9% ethnicity pay gap as well as a 14.8% gender pay gap.

Furthermore, Nicoll criticises the ‘slashing’ of pension schemes and explains that it is the difference between ‘having some degree of comfort in your retirement to actually being in a position where essentially you’re looking at a pension of poverty.’

However, Nicoll describes being uplifted by the solidarity and support from SOAS students. He explains that students still understand that working conditions affect their learning conditions.

One instance of student solidarity was from the Gender Studies cohort who wrote a collective letter of solidarity now published on the Students’ Union (SU) website. The Gender Studies student representative, Rachel Piper, expressed

disappointment that SOAS is increasingly relying on insecure contracts. Piper says they are ‘forcing teaching staff into precarity that seems endless.’ Piper also went on to explain that the treatment of staff does not reflect the hard work and enthusiasm that they have shown their students.

Piper highlights that many who study at SOAS are here because they care about social justice and standing in solidarity with the strikes is a way of ‘practicing what we preach.’

They go on to call out SOAS for using its image as a progressive university ‘to pretend that everything is okay within its own walls.’ Piper calls on the university to use their influence and power to bring change.

Standing outside the Brunei Gallery on the picket was Dr Michael Reinsborough, a foundation year lecturer at SOAS. Reinsborough has described the management strategy as treating education like a business and called out the pension schemes as a ‘scam and a scandal.’ They explained that over the last 10 years, staff have experienced a 20% real-terms pay cut. Reinsborough also spoke on the effects of overworking and explained ‘we’re now seeing lots of problems with university lecturers in terms of depression.’ UNISON and UCU explain that university staff work an average of 2 unpaid days per week.

In their information booklet on the strikes, UCU, UNISON and the SU provided alternative study spaces and alternative faith spaces for students during the strikes.

Another leaflet explained how both staff and students can support the strike, encouraging students to write to SOAS management calling for change.

In a statement to the SOAS Spirit, SOAS has provided the following statement: ‘SOAS has made clear to the staff community that we are disappointed that strike action has been called. This is not because we don't sympathise with the objectives of the ballots. We do.

We are committed to the principle of fair remuneration and a decent pension for all of our staff, as we set out in our position on USS and to UUK. The SOAS executive team does not have the power to change the outcomes of these national discussions. Changing the outcome is beyond the power of any individual executive team in HE in the UK. In place of this industrial action, SOAS would wish to see continued national discussion and resolution to reach agreement in the interests of staff and students. We hope national discussions succeed and this action is averted or brought to an end as quickly as possible in the interests of everyone involved.

However, we do recognise the right of staff to take properly constituted action. At the same time, we seek to do all we can to support our students’ learning and progression.

We are concerned about the impact industrial action will have on our students, who have only just returned to face-toface learning and physical campus life.

Here at SOAS, we will seek to work with UCU/Unison and with their membership, and with the Students’ Union in protecting the learning and wider student experience throughout the course of this dispute.’

it means that we’re forced to come back to London.’ Boucher is currently studying remotely in France. Boucher has begun to contact their teachers asking if they can continue running online seminars and has also been in contact with other students in the same position.

Boucher also explained that she will only have three hours of seminars during term two. She highlighted the difficulties of moving from another country during the pandemic, including the financial and psychological aspect of moving to London for such a short period: ‘it’s really uprooting yourself and moving for three hours of teaching.’

In response to SOAS, Boucher suggests that an alternative to in person seminars should be offered.

In terms of recording seminars, SOAS’ email states: ‘Staff are welcome to continue to do so, but it will not be required as a reasonable adjustment for students accessing their lectures from abroad or different time zones.’

In the first Union General Meeting, which took place on

24 November, the extension of online tutorials was passed as a motion with 234 votes in favour.

According to their email, SOAS’ approach to exams is part of their ‘long-term blended learning strategy.’ Noha Amin, a first-year student, prefers exams being online as it allows for a more comfortable setting. Fellow first-year student, Mia Dyson, also prefers online examinations, however expressed concern saying online exams ‘don’t distinguish between open and closed book exams very clearly.’ Despite the preference for online exams, Amin finds in-person teaching to be more effective and that this way it’s easier to focus during lectures.

In terms of safety on campus, Dyson feels that the university should have ‘stricter monitoring of Covid-19 regulations in the university.’ However, both Dyson and Amin feel the transition back to campus is happening at the right pace.

Recording of Seminars No Longer Required per Term Two

SOAS student, Matt attends lectures online (Credit: Zo Wu)

Lara Holly Gibbs, MA Gender Studies On 17 November, SOAS announced their term two teaching guidelines in an email to all students. The announcement requires that all students on taught programmes must return to campus. However, all exams will continue online in term three as part of SOAS’ continued blended learning strategy.

This means exams will be online for a third year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The email also addressed timetabling, group study spaces, safety, and long-term planning.

While the email stated that SOAS ‘will not be making major changes to the mode of delivery for most modules,’ the recording of seminars will no longer be compulsory. Some students who are studying remotely are unhappy about this decision.

Lou Boucher, a final year student, expressed concern saying, ‘If they don’t provide any online teaching in term two,

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National News

13 DECEMBER 2021

National News

Temporary Export Ban Placed on Stolen 18th Century Tipu Sultan’s Tiger Head Finial

Head finial from Tipu Sultan’s throne, valued at £1.5 million (Credit: Clive Museum at Powis Castle)

Nayantara Lamba, BA History and World Philosophy On 12 November, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) imposed a temporary ban on the export of a jewelled tiger head valued at £1.5 million which once adorned the throne of Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan was an Indian ruler of a kingdom in Mysore and was a staunch rival of the British East India Company.

After his defeat in 1799, the East India Company looted his kingdom, and the ruler’s throne was broken into various pieces. This included the separation of the eight tiger head finials that adorned the balustrade of the throne.

The decision for the export ban is based on the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA). Christopher Rowell, a member of the Reviewing Committee, stated: ‘this tiger’s head, one of four throne finials to survive, including a head

in the Clive Museum at Powis Castle (NT), should remain in the country together with the other fragments of the throne, and I hope that every effort will be made to achieve this.’

The RCEWA has made their recommendation on the basis that the finial is an essential part of British imperial history. According to a DCMS press release published on 12 November, the Committee believes the finial’s departure from Britain ‘would be a misfortune because it is so closely connected with our history and national life and is of outstanding significance for the study of royal propaganda and 18th-century Anglo-Indian history.’

The temporary ban has deferred the export license application until 11 February 2022. A further extension until 11 June 2022 may be permitted if there is a ‘serious’ intention to raise funds to purchase the finial at the valued price of £1.5 million. If there is not, the license may go through, and a foreign party will be allowed to purchase the filial.

However, the temporary ban has come under heavy

scrutiny, primarily from historians. Many believe this finial to have been looted and question Britain's claim to it in the first place. According to DCMS, this is not the first time a temporary export ban has been placed on a tiger head finial from Tipu Sultan’s throne. On 16 June 2010, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey placed a similar temporary export ban, to allow money to be raised within the UK, before it be sold to a foreign entity.

Alice Procter, an art historian and museum enthusiast, tweeted about the use of temporary bans such as this one on 15 November: ‘Export bans are overwhelmingly nationalist and greedy, but to apply to an object that was taken forcibly through colonial violence because it’s importantly “our history” is another level of cognitive dissonance.’

Many have shared Procter’s sentiment, citing the irony of the Reviewing Committee’s statement that this artefact is so ‘closely’ connected to British history, arguing that it is in fact closer to Indian history.

National Threat Level Raised Following the Liverpool Explosion Anneka Shah, BA Chinese (Modern and Classical)

On 14 November an explosion near Liverpool Women’s Hospital killed one man and left one injured. The incident was declared a terrorist attack on the following day, though the suspected bomber’s motives remain unknown at the time of writing.

On the morning of Remembrance Sunday, Emad AlSwealmeen hired a taxi to visit Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

A bomb exploded in the taxi and Al-Swealmeen died at the scene, suffering injuries from the explosion and consequent fire. The taxi driver, David Perry, escaped moments before the car went up in flames and was subsequently treated in hospital for injuries.

Emergency services were immediately called to the scene and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service extinguished the

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flames. Following this, Army Ordinance Disposal officers examined the scene and secured the area.

It is believed that the explosive was brought into the taxi

by Al-Swealmeen, who had made it at home. The device was made with ball bearings, which would have acted like shrapnel to cause a great number of deaths. Police suggested that the explosion may have occurred due to the vehicle’s movement and perhaps before the passenger intended to detonate it.

The explosion was declared a terrorist attack; however, the motive is still unknown to the police. Investigations remain ongoing but so far it is believed that no-one else was involved.

Four men were initially arrested under the Terrorism Act but were subsequently released. Police are in touch with AlSwealmeen’s family, who are providing further information.

They are investigating his purchases since April, which were relevant in making the bomb, and are searching the address he lived at before the explosion. They also know that AlSwealmeen had suffered from mental illness, which will be considered during police investigations.

This is the second terrorist attack in the country within a month, following the death of Southend West’s MP David Amess, who was stabbed at a constituency surgery on 15 October. The UK’s terror threat level has now been raised from substantial to severe, which means an attack is highly likely. Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has urged that ‘the public [remain] alert to the threat from terrorism.’

In a statement released by the police, the cab driver, Perry, said ‘it’s a miracle I’m alive,’ thanking the public for their generosity following the incident and reminding everyone to ‘be kind, be vigilant and stay safe.’

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National News

13 DECEMBER 2021

Years of Racial Abuse Suffered at the Hands of English Cricket Clubs

Former Cricketer for the Yorkshire County Cricket Club Azeem Rafiq giving testimony parliamentary enquiry over the racial abuse he faced at the club. (Credit: UK Parliament via The Independent)

Madihah Najeeb, BA Global Liberal Arts Content warning: this article refers to racial abuse, derogatory language and racist behaviour.

English cricket has been embroiled in accusations of racism as allegations from former cricketers have revealed years of racial abuse at local cricket clubs throughout their playing careers.

Former England cricketer Azeem Rafiq has given testimony to a panel of UK Members of Parliament on the racial abuse he faced throughout his time playing for the Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Rafiq has played twice for the team in 2008 and in 2018 and was a former captain for the England Under-19s team.

On 16 November 2021, Rafiq, who is of Pakistani descent, described to the panel that he had felt ‘isolated, humiliated at times’ when dealing with consistent racism from his club.

He and other players from Asian backgrounds also dealt with comments such as: ‘you lot sit over there near the toilets,’ and being called ‘p*k*,’ and ‘elephant washers.’ Rafiq also narrated a traumatic event where he was pinned down and had red wine poured down his throat at his local cricket club at just 15 years old. At one point in the testimony Rafiq broke down when he described the inhuman treatment he faced when he

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was told his baby had no heartbeat.

The cricketer mentioned that the problem of racism in English cricket was ‘institutional’ and said, ‘when I spoke, I should have been listened to, but Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and the game as a whole, really has a problem in listening to the victim. There is no two sides to a story when it comes to racism.’ In September last year, the Yorkshire County Cricket Club launched a formal investigation and concluded that Rafiq was a victim of ‘racial harassment and bullying,’ but until now no disciplinary action has been taken.

In addition, the club had regarded their use of the term ‘p*k*’ as ‘friendly banter.’

“There is no two sides to a story when it comes to racism.”

New accusations of racism have also arisen following Azeem Rafiq’s testimony with images of former cricketer for Nottingham Cricket Club, Alex Hales, in blackface. Nottinghamshire have launched an investigation into Hales’ behaviour.

Mr Rafiq says he hopes that his revelations on racism in cricket culture will serve as a ‘watershed moment for the future.’ Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday 15 November, Rafiq commented: ‘It’s really important the game and

wider society listens to my experiences, and we don’t let this moment go and we try to use this as a watershed moment for the future.’ This event has enabled other victims of racial abuse in English cricket to come forward. Former Essex players Zoheb Sharif and Maurice Chambers have both alleged that they faced racial abuse at the Essex Cricket Club, with Sharif revealing that he was nicknamed a ‘bomber’ by his club members and Chambers dealing with a senior member of staff ‘reading out racist jokes in the dressing room.’ On 16 November, Sharif told BBC Sport that hearing Rafiq speak up had empowered him to talk about the racist abuse he had faced himself.

Disciplinary actions have been taken as a result of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s involvement in the allegations. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have suspended the club from hosting international cricket matches at the Headingley Stadium in Leeds. The club has also lost sponsors from brands such as Yorkshire Tea, Tetley’s Brewery and Nike. The Yorkshire County Cricket Club have also said: ‘the club is keen to work with the ECB on issues of diversity and have offered their help to the ECB on what is such an important issue for the game as a whole.’

By sharing his experience Rafiq hopes to initiate change in sport and society, saying ‘I’m very determined that this is going to be looked back as the moment that not only sport but society as a whole went in a different direction to the way it had been going.’

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International News

13 DECEMBER 2021

International News

Turmoil in Sudan - The Protests So Far

Confrontation between police and protestors, Khartoum, Sudan (Credit: Marwan Ali, AP)

Clayton Barrington - Russell, BA Arabic and International Relations

Content warning: This article discusses violence and references incidents of sexual assault On 21 November, Sudan’s prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, was reinstated back to his position after being removed by the country’s army chief roughly a month ago.

The attempted power-grab back in October this year came as a shock to many and the resulting protests across the country have resulted in at least 42 civilian deaths at the hands of Sudanese security forces.

According to the Deputy Head of Sudan’s temporary Government, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the Prime Minister was fully aware of October’s military takeover and was in support of it. It is unclear whether Hamdok really knew of this plan.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has been head of Sudan’s military

since 2019 and became the country’s official head of State following Abdalla Hamdok’s deposition.

Two years ago, following mass protests, Army Chief al-Burhan helped orchestrate a coup d’état in which the long-standing president Omar al-Bashir was overthrown. AlBashir was arrested while the military took over the country and established military rule. This appointed Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as the head of state.

These protests then turned against the military, which responded with brute force. The ‘Khartoum Massacre’ occurred on 3 June 2019, in which the military opened fire on thousands of protesters in Sudan’s capital resulting in the loss of over 120 lives.

Following this, the military agreed to share power for 39 months after which there would be elections. Al-Burhan’s October power grab changed that, dissolving the government. The prime minister was removed from office and a state of emergency declared. This made al-Burhan the head of state again.

According to al-Burhan, the prime minister was removed because of the government’s political stalemate. The

government could not function as its military-run ‘Security Council’ was always at odds with the ‘Civilian Cabinet’ led by the Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok. As a result, the two sides could not agree to implement policy.

Many academics and political analysts believe that alBashir’s coup was motivated by other reasons. Prime Minister Hamdok had promised to investigate the devastating ‘Khartoum Massacre,’ for which al-Burhan had given the go-ahead as the head of the army. By deposing him, it is unlikely for the investigation to go ahead.

Al-Burhan may also be investigated for his involvement in the long-standing conflict in Darfur, along with the arrested Omar al-Bashir. The ex-President was handed over to the International Criminal Court for trial after his arrest in 2019.

He was wanted for various war crimes in the western region of Darfur, such as systematic rape and torture. During this time, many army chiefs are suspected to have also been involved in this. Consequently, journalists and political analysts in Sudan believe that al-Burhan will go to great lengths to prevent the investigation from happening.

professing a Hindu-supremacist ideology known as Hindutva. The campaign received a boost from Revenue and Law Minister Rajendra Trivedi, who stated that such food joints or kiosks ‘should be removed.’

In Ahmedabad, the officials received only verbal orders from the town planning and estate committee chairperson Devang Dani without any official notification. The campaign began in Rajkot on 9 November with a non-written order followed by Junagadh, Vadodara and Bhavnagar.

It received media coverage when Ahmedabad, one of India’s biggest cities, followed suit. The officials have maintained a common stance that the campaign is aimed at reducing traffic jams and removing hurdles for pedestrians.

The socio-political undertones of this move are rooted in Gujarat’s contentious legacy with vegetarianism. The state’s political landscape is dominated by Jain and Vaishnava communities, who are known to be staunch vegetarians.

While the state is known to be a ‘’vegetarian’’ state, a large

percentage of the population (approximately 46%) consume non-vegetarian food.

These populations belong to religious minorities like Muslims and other groups. As journalist Mahesh Langa observed in his report for The Hindu, most of the roadside stalls are owned by lower class communities including migrants from other states who do not have any stake in the state’s politics.

Mr Bhupendra Patel, the Chief Minister of the state, clarified that the move is not about vegetarian or non-vegetarian food. News agency ANI quoted him: ‘People are free to eat whatever they want. But the food being sold at stalls should not be harmful and the stalls should not obstruct traffic flow.’

BJP state chief, C.R. Patil maintains a similar stance that the issue is about reducing traffic. However, the Opposition party, Indian National Congress, has accused the government of distracting the public from issues like the price rise of essential commodities and unemployment.

Veg Only: New Diktat in Gujarat’s cities Neeraj Shetye, MSc Politics of Conflict, Rights and Justice Ahmedabad is the new addition to the list of cities in Gujarat that has started a crackdown on the so-called ‘illegal stalls’ selling non-vegetarian food. Before this, the civic bodies in Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Junagadh had launched similar campaigns.

The reason behind these campaigns is that the open stalls of non-vegetarian dishes ‘hurt religious sentiments.’ The stall owners are expected to completely stop the sale of non-vegetarian items in the stalls or cover the items.

The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has been in power in the state government for more than two decades, and all major civic bodies in the state are controlled by them. The attempt behind this campaign hints toward communal polarisation as Gujarat is due for an election next year.

The BJP is known for its conservative expression,

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13 DECEMBER 2021 http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/opinion/ Opinion editor: Leehoo Pansky

The SOAS Spirit's Take on Strikes:

Opinion

Media VS Labour action

The Strikes extend into street marches as teachers and students demand better conditions for working and retiring. (Credit: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock)

Anisah Mahamoud, BA International Relations It is clear that the media has everlasting impacts on the manner in which society views itself. It acts as a mirror in the sense that it is usually the only outlet that provides daily information on the actions of society. This signifies the importance of giving an accurate depiction and highlights the responsibility of journalism to deliver this outcome.

Young people have always been diminished in the media, whether it is through a focus on their ‘addiction’ to social media or through patronising their influential role in political activism.

This is especially relevant in the students sphere today due to the University College Union strike from 1- 3 December.

Headlines surrounding this topic focus on the disruption that students may face, omitting the reasons as to why they are occurring in the first place. Many give the impression that students across the country are in disagreement with the strikes, which isn't the case, as there is immense support for strike action to eliminate pay discrimination for the academics at their institutions.

This sympathetic angle towards students that is taken in large newspapers is evidently superficial, as when Fridays for Future began the stance taken in the media was negative.

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Students were seen as being destructive towards their education, yet when UCU strikes happen the media paints them as victims of such a ‘harmful’ affair. Representing the upcoming strikes as something that is unfortunate undermines the objective of the strike as its purpose is to improve higher education. If demands are met this will have a ripple effect on the quality of education, thus highlighting the prevalence of the strikes.

Whenever strikes are covered in the media there is almost always a battle with a hero and villain in which one is victorious.

University workers are facing a 35% cut to their annual guaranteed pensions. The UCU’s demands are a £2.5k pay increase; an end to race, gender and disability pay discrimination; and meaningful action to tackle unmanageable workloads.

The General Secretary of the UCU, Jo Grady has said ‘It is now in the gift of employers to avoid strike action, which

is the outcome staff want as well.’ This calls attention to the necessity of the strike, or in fact the lack of any other option.

Academics, alongside other university workers are placed in such a dire situation in which strike action is their only choice. The desperation of these highly skilled workers commentate on how fragmented society is in 2021 and it is the media’s responsibility to display this.

Whenever strikes are covered in the media there is almost always a battle with a hero and villain, in which one is victorious. When a ‘fight’ is settled peacefully, the employer is congratulated, and the union is blamed when it does not.

In the eyes of the public, these types of tales might operate against unions. When it comes to serious problems, this makes it difficult for unions to gain public support as a result of media coverage.

Media coverage has historically been anti-union and this political stance negatively impacts the success of any labour action. If the public are absorbing headlines with cynical connotations, support for these campaigns will decrease and the status quo will be constantly upheld. The purpose of the media is not to sway public opinion but to simply inform its consumers on events. This aim must not be construed as a tool to dismiss the importance of labour action, as that is detrimental to the improvement of conditions for the marginalised in society today.

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Opinion

The SOAS Spirit's Take on Strikes:

13 DECEMBER 2021

Tech Won’t Save Us, And Gig Workers Know It

Uber drivers protest the use of facial recognition technology claimed to be racially biased. (Credit: Wiktor Szymanowicz / Barcroft Media)

Viandito Pasaribu, BA Politics and International Relations Ah, the gig economy. The great innovation of the 2010s. It’s got such a pleasant name, too. The word ‘gig’ conjures up images of the humble street performer making some money on the side by contributing to the atmosphere and liveliness of the public places we pass by every day.

We think of the gig as an avenue by which someone can eke out a dignified living on their own terms, while managing their own time. Something that even the ivory tower salaryman might wish for as they reflect on their long commute home. The promises of quintessential gig economy firms like Uber, Bolt, and Deliveroo certainly appeal to that desire with their claims of ‘innovation’ in providing service support.

(Relying on the publicly funded hardware breakthroughs used in smartphones!)

In fact, the mobilisation of labour in the gig economy in this year of 2021 has further demonstrated that the veneer of free enterprise lauded by these firms hides an exploitative system where full-time workers do not receive the same benefits and compensation as those in other service jobs, thanks to their classification as ‘independent contractors.’

The dearth of rights granted under this status can trap workers in cycles of poverty in a much more acute manner than those in other industries. Gig workers’ income is incredibly precarious, sometimes below minimum wage, owing to the fact that they are not paid at a fixed rate. It then

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exacerbates health and safety issues, a critical fault in countries like the US where the ‘contractors’ are not eligible for the insurance plans their employers sponsor.

And to think that all of this barely even contributes to the company’s bottom line! Uber has generated losses of over $29 billion since it came into existence.

"Technology on its own can not solve the problems that were born out of the structures that we created to govern social relations between human beings.”

The massive gain that organised labour has made against gig economy bigwigs recently offers a glint of rare optimism in our sullenly sceptred isle, though. The landmark Uber BV vs Aslam case settled in February has ensured that all 70’000 Uber drivers in the UK are now classified as workers, entitled to holiday pay and a guaranteed wage.

Typically, Uber is slow to implement the changes decreed by the ruling, but importantly, the precedent set may see more much-needed reforms to working conditions throughout the industry. It also triggered strike action in June by

drivers working for the taxi hire service Bolt, who are still subject to the contractor system.

The basic mechanisms by which workers are exploited in the gig economy so closely resemble those of other sectors that we ought to interpret the idea of free association by independent contractors (as it is seen in an area of the service industry that has become an integral part of our digitized lives of the 21st century) as simple repackaging of the labour relations that had existed at the advent of industrial capitalism some 150 years ago.

Technology on its own cannot solve the problems that were born out of the structures that we created to govern social relations between human beings. Nor should it be seen as a neutral arbiter that is completely removed from social relations either. The most prescient example of this is the September scandal where Uber drivers went on strike to protest against facial recognition technology used by the company which systematically failed to recognise faces of a darker skin tone, leading to numerous unwarranted dismissals.

If we want to make the changes that we need to in order to fulfill the lofty goal of achieving social justice for all, it is important to keep a critical eye on how technology can be used as a tool for the powerful to strengthen their already well-entrenched positions in our society. By learning from the experiences of gig workers, we can begin to understand why tech alone won’t save us.

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Features

13 DECEMBER 2021 http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/features/ FEATURES EDITOR: Zaynab Mufti

Features

End the Silence. End Sexual Violence.

Speaker at the Trafalgar Square protest. (Credit: Zo Wu)

Zo Wu, BA Global Development and Arabic Content warning: this article mentions sexual assault and related terms.

The atmosphere of the Trafalgar Square protest, which occurred on a busy Saturday afternoon, was one of bustling tourists and onlookers enjoying the Christmas market. However, not all came to spectate. A large sign reading ‘MINUTE OF SHOUTING AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE’ stood out and seemed to govern the scene. One by one, speakers came up to raise awareness on the topic, sharing astonishing statistics highlighting the grotesque increase of sexual violence in the UK. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), there was a reported overall fall in crime rates after the pandemic, yet an increase of eight percent in reported sexual offenses.

Many brave speakers expressed their frustration and shared their own experiences. The atmospheric emotion and warmth of support was almost palpable on this cold November day. The strength and rage in the speakers’ voices were neither polite nor orderly as they called upon everyone in the square, saying ‘I know you can hear me in your Christmas stalls.’

The commotion created by the organisers echoed the distress and frustration behind the long-overlooked issue of sexual violence. They could no longer be silenced or ignored.

The growing energy boiled over at four o’clock when the shouting began. Strangers, pedestrians, and friends all shouted in unison, expressing fury and resentment for the

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lack of justice and reform in our society: ‘End the silence, end sexual violence.’

As the new year marked an easing of Covid-19 restrictions, with the increasing social interaction there has been a surge in sexual offences. In nightclubs across the UK, many women have reported being ‘spiked.’ This term refers to the covert drugging of victims with sedative substances like benzodiazepine, commonly utilized to render unsuspecting targets immobilized and vulnerable for assault.

In the past six weeks alone, eleven official reports of spiking are currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service. Cases of spiking via injection have been reported in nightclubs across London, including licensed premises which boast strict searching and security standards.

This highlights an alarming failure to react to this recent surge in violence against women.

University students have recently taken matters into their own hands, organizing a broad call to action against spiking through a boycott campaign of nightlife. Titled Girls Night In, this mobilisation called upon university students across the UK to abstain from clubs, bars, and other nightlife activities in efforts to raise awareness about the surge in spiking.

They demanded public attention be drawn to the safety and wellbeing of those targeted by these acts of violence.

In addition to the call to action, a public petition calling for the reopening of the night tube has garnered over 125,000 signatures. Those in support of this have highlighted how increased transportation options for women greatly increases safety and mobility, which are currently limited due to pandemic-related closures. Accessibility is critical for the safety of women, and as taxi and ride sharing services surge in price, the impact on those most vulnerable, such as the

working class, is compounded. Though TfL have responded with the limited reopening of certain lines during weekends, critics argue this is not enough to create a climate of safety for night-goers.

Sexual violence remains an enduring yet consistently overlooked issue in society today. Efforts from those like the organisers of the Trafalgar Square rally and the Girls Night In boycott movement have commanded public attention and have effectively forced a reckoning in the nightlife industry and beyond. However, the rise in sexual offence reports has made it clear that continuous efforts are essential.

This article discusses content that some readers may find distressing. If this is you, please see the following recourses that may be of help: the Student’s Union offer ​​specialist support contact information on the SU website: https://soasunion.org/support/personal/ Outside of SOAS: Survivors Network telephone helpline (Open Mon 7-9 PM & Wed 12-2 PM) 01273 720 110; Rape Crisis UK telephone line (Open every day 12:00-2:30 PM and 7:00-9:30 PM including public holidays) 0808 802 9999, they also have a live chat function on their website (www. rapecrisis.org.uk); Survivors Network also have an online chat, text and call service (Open Mon – Sun, 12pm-8pm) accessible on their website (www.survivorsuk.org); Samaritans have a free telephone line open 24 hours every day of the year at 116 123.org) ; Samaritans have a free telephone line open 24 hours every day of the year at 116 123.

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Features

13 DECEMBER 2021

Artemis’ Amman

Marhaba and welcome to Artemis’ Amman. In this column, I aim to bring to light questions relating to heritage, legacy and history. Over this year, we will look at how they interconnect in Amman, Jordan where I am doing my Arabic year abroad. I hope to use the medium of storytelling to look at political and social issues through a personal and therefore, focused, lens.

An Evening in Amman: The Royal Film Commission, Jordan

On-set for ‘Dune’ in Wadi Rum. (Credit: The Royal Film Commission, Jordan)

Artemis Sianni-Wedderburn, BA Hons Politics and Arabic Ahlan wa Sahlan - welcome to the second instalment of Artemis’ Amman. In this column, I bring stories from Amman to London through the platform of The Spirit. I hope to share with you a sliver of the ‘City of Stairs’ and what I am doing here on my Year Abroad.

Amman seems to strain against itself, almost shy to succeed. With 63% of Jordan’s population under 30 and youth unemployment at 48%, it is understandable. Almost every Jordanian under 30 that I have spoken to wants to leave, many permanently.

I have understood that hope is what makes something magnetic. It is the final barrier between a person’s breaking point and themselves. Jordan's burgeoning film business attempts to spark this, in a movement spearheaded by the Royal Film Commission (RFC).

First established in 2003, they aim to develop a sustainable film industry and promote cinematic awareness while boosting tourism and the economy. Earlier this month, I was very fortunate to meet the RFC's spokesperson Marian Nakho to discuss the industry in Jordan.

Almost every Jordanian under 30 that I have spoken to wants to leave, many permanently.

Film is a unique medium when it comes to storytelling.

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Workshop run by the RFC for documentary production. (Credit: The Royal Film Commission, Jordan)

The viewer is transported visually, audibly and emotionally to a controlled situation. They relinquish command of their senses in a way that leaves them vulnerable to the filmmaker - malleable. Especially when told in first person, the viewer becomes the narrator. Unbelievable and unliveable situations begin to impact them personally, forcing critical thought.

The RFC often invites directors and critics to viewings as Marian emphasises that ‘film critique is part of the experience of watching a film’ to confront the content. It is through the challenging of ideas that empathy and cooperation are born, creating hope.

As a five-year-old illegal rickshaw operator in Egypt, the fate of the viewer's suppliers (young, unemployed and often unmarried women) depends on their deliveries. Shortly after, the story changes perspective and they experience domestic abuse in Lebanon.

These two stories are part of the RFC and UNESCO’s sponsored anthology film the ‘Chronicles of Her,’ compiling five short films from the Middle East. The goal is to empower female film makers so that they may give a voice to the oftenunheard plight of women in their countries. The blatant purpose is empowerment yet there is also an operational angle.

Jordan has the third lowest female participation in the labour force globally. Coupled with youth unemployment, this means that gender-based projects have the potential to be well received. It is not enough to have talent - it needs to be nurtured and applied.

The RFC runs several yearly regional and local workshops across a variety of different mediums relating to film such as costume design, acting, adapting for television, and scriptwriting. Trainers come from a variety of backgrounds and make use of seven film centres and their equipment across

Jordan. All are free.

A skilled local crew means involvement in regional and international productions. In exchange for filming in Jordan, productions have a set number of internships designed for locals to gain on-set experience. The RFC acts as a networker, facilitating the process of training and application.

Simply put, a sustainable film industry in Jordan creates jobs. It gives young people an opportunity to be part of something creative that is fundamentally theirs. Heritage is a universal right.

Jordan boasts a variety of environments including Petra, deserts, and the ‘fusion of modernity and authenticity’ that is Amman. Supported by a stable political environment, it has the possibility to be an attractive destination for filmmakers.

In the meantime, Jordan’s film community is ‘developing on its own.’ Two cinema buses - one in Petra and one in Wadi Rum - make independent cinema accessible, especially to school children. By accessing film, one opens the door to interactions and ideas removed from daily life.

“Heritage is a universal right" The effect of this is that it challenges you to dream, which often informs decision making. By promoting film culture, the RFC is providing the youth with the ability to question the way that they see a life in Jordan. Maybe even, inspire them to stay.

London Film Week starts on 6 December and goes until 12 December. Take a chance - who knows what you will end up dreaming.

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Features

13 DECEMBER 2021

Now That It's Over: Reflections on COP26

Txai Suruí, an indigenous activist from the Amazon Rainforest at Cop26. (Credit: Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse)

Tabea Leiss, BA International Relations and Development Studies

Just a few days after negotiations at COP26, lingering feelings of disappointment and frustration made their rounds among activists. As delegates were departing from Glasgow, it was undeniable - COP26 had failed.

Governments agreed to return to the negotiation table with more ambitious NDCs (Nationally Determined Targets) in the coming year, while the world was left hanging with yet more empty promises resting on COP27.

But why exactly has COP26 failed to deliver? For a long time, scientists have warned world leaders that global warming has to be kept under 1.5C, to avoid a major ecological breakdown. COP26 was meant to encourage governments to design and implement policies that could keep global temperatures below 1.5C. The Glasgow negotiations produced NDCs that, if implemented, would lead to a heating of 2.4C a death sentence for communities who are already exposed to climate vulnerabilities.

While delegates agreed to significantly reduce and even reverse deforestation, one of the most important agendas of the summit - the phasing out of coal - was left without a satisfactory conclusion.

As the host country of COP26, the UK had a big role to play in the negotiations. Presenting itself as a role model for climate change, Boris Johnson’s opening speech did not fall short of self-praise. Johnson remarked, 'we in the UK are leading’ and ‘it was the private sector that enabled the UK to

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end our dependence on coal,’ leaving questions of the truth behind those words.

With its net-zero climate strategy, the UK has pledged to reduce its economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 68% by 2030, compared to reference year levels. This year, the government has taken three main steps towards this goal: targeting domestic transport, electricity, and heating.

According to the New Climate Institute and Climate Analytics, the UK’s current domestic policy action on climate change is ‘almost sufficient’ - a strange phrase for a burning planet. Achieving those targets, however, means a huge strain on household budgets in the transition to cleaner energy and heating. This puts the attainability of those targets into question.

"It is time to listen and turn to Indigenous voices who are fighting the battle of keeping the planet under 1.5 C" Furthermore, rather than truly cutting down on the UK's emissions, most of the country’s greenhouse gases have been relocated abroad through processes of globalisation and have thus become ‘invisible’ in UK carbon footprint reports.

Instead, the task of cutting those emissions largely rests on the shoulders of developing economies, who face heavy and

often unmanageable expectations regarding their climate policy.

In order to make up for this, wealthier countries including the UK are expected to contribute their fair share - a monetary contribution of $500bn - to low-income and middleincome countries. Not only has the UK fallen short on past contributions but post-COP26, funding for climate action will be taken from the UK's existing aid budget. This therefore deprives other development efforts of vital resources.

The creation of a regulated global carbon market was of paramount concern to Indigenous leaders across the globe.

This deal will allow countries to meet their climate targets by buying credits representing emission reductions by others. A member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe of North-western California, Thomas Joseph, explained that ‘leaders who are pushing for market-based solutions and the commodification of our Mother Earth are signing a death sentence.’

Climate credits will allow rich countries like the UK and polluting corporations to offset emissions, rather than reduce them. Despite the necessary centrality of their messages, Indigenous voices were left unheard at COP26 next to a striking 500 fossil fuel lobbyists, who were also present at the summit.

With the world’s continued obsession with economic growth, the UK and most other governments have a very long way to go to finally undertake effective climate action.

To activists it is clear: putting hopes onto leaders who largely represent corporate interests is not going to save our planet.

Instead, it is time to listen and turn to Indigenous voices who are fighting the battle of keeping the planet under 1.5 C.

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13 DECEMEMBER 2021 http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/culture/ Culture Editor: Mat Hick

Culture

Culture

An Emotional Journey Into Her Identity and Heritage: Joy Crookes Album Review

Joy Crookes on the set of her music video for 'When You Were Mine.' (Credit: Chad Mclean via Trench)

Sanna Hamid, BA History and International Relations Joy Crookes’ debut album is a beautiful storytelling of her upbringing and the people in her life, be it parents, grandparents or ex-lovers. It is an emotional journey into her identity and heritage as a young British woman of Bangladeshi Irish descent. ‘Skin’ has 13 remarkable songs (some of which she’s written from the age of 15!), with musical influences from her South London upbringing scattered throughout the rich production, such as from Ghanaian guitarist Ebo Taylor.

With her angelic voice she touches on relationships, heartbreak, and self-love. She also makes the political personal whilst gracefully threading it all together on a touching journey about what life is like through her ‘skin.’

The first thing I have to say is thank you to Spotify for listening to Adele when she requested that they remove the default shuffle button on albums because the transition between the first song ‘I don’t mind’ and ‘19th Floor’ on this album is one of the smoothest transitions I’ve ever heard. I had to triple check it wasn’t all one song.

Similar to other artists, especially from South London, Joy Crookes uses voice notes from family members to share with the world what a normal mundane conversation in a day in the life looks like, adding some context to the art. As a British Asian myself, I resonated with the sweet voice note she added between these two songs of her visiting her grandmother at her flat. Coming from a culture that places such emphasis on taking care of and respecting elders, it evokes a warm familiar feeling. I feel it’s especially important for diaspora communities to connect with their elders who would’ve gone through so much to give us the lives we’re blessed with now.

On the track ‘Trouble’ she battles with rifts in parental relationships (supposedly with her father after watching the music video). But she takes a spin on the usual narrative, instead focusing on the misunderstanding they both face

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when arguing because their ‘trouble’s the same.’ It’s about her realisation that no matter how often their clashes were, ‘really we’re the same’ and ‘birds of feather fly together,’ which exposes how deep down they just wish the best for each other, even if in the heat of the moment it doesn’t feel like it.

But I think it definitely needs to be studied - why are parents expert nit pickers at whatever their children do? But actually, the answer is right in our faces, ironically as cliche as it is, they want the best for us! They’re rare souls on this planet who (mostly, if you’re lucky enough) want you to flourish more than them. Maybe they just need to move away from nagging as their plan of action for the beautiful, selfless mentality they innately possess. Anyways my mum is going to read this, so swiftly moving on...

‘Was it love or nicotine?’ she sings about her first heartbreak, a love story that unfolded in Brixton in the summer of ‘16, when the man she was with ended up being gay. Personally, I can't relate, but ‘When you were mine’ is a banger nonetheless! In the song she expresses her bittersweet happiness for him, because she still wishes ‘someone better love me like that someday.’ The instrumental is a messy brass section inspired by Ebo Taylor. She describes Brixton as her ‘stomping ground’ growing up, the lyric ‘smile with the Brixton shine’ celebrates the vibrant and diverse life that comes from the community there. Several other songs also touch on love such as ‘I don’t mind,’ ‘Unlearn you,’ ‘To Lose Someone’ and ‘Wild Jasmine.’

Her more political songs are ‘Kingdom’ and ‘Feet don’t fail me now,’ one of my favourite tracks on this album. She refers to the corruption and incompetence of the current conservative government in ‘Kingdom’ and how it’s all linked with colonialism and perhaps climate change too.

‘Feet don’t fail me now’ is a song written with an ironic perspective in relation to the BLM movement and protests last summer. The song is written as if it was an ignorant character for whom it’s the first time in their life, they are having

to tackle the subject of race head on, whilst for others their skin makes it a lived reality every single day. It draws out the performative activism but also has aspects that almost every non-Black person (including herself) would’ve struggled with - articulating themselves as being on the right side of history, or unfortunately not.

As someone who went to a sixth form that had a strong white middle-class presence, I remember comments from some people along the lines of ‘why can’t we just leave slavery in the past?’ which shocked me, but it plays to the lyrics of this song to a T, ‘the dark side of my privilege.’ The music video is also a vibrant and interesting piece. The first time I watched it I couldn’t help but think it was referencing the silent majority mindset of anti-Blackness which is sadly present in the Asian community, but it’s also about visually challenging stereotypes of Asian women as submissive and voiceless.

In ‘Power,’ she sings softly ‘If you really want to free me, tell my mummy that she’s pretty, melanin is not your enemy.’

This could allude to the colourism present in lots of ethnic backgrounds due to the negative effects of colonialism, where people from colonised countries start to view whiteness as the ultimate beauty standard and associate fair skin with being a compliment. Growing up I’ve experienced this firsthand, and I’m glad the idea is gradually fading away, because it’s a ridiculous notion.

Joy comforts a lover with their mental health, ‘The skin that you’re given was made to be lived in, you’ve got a life worth living.’ I hope no one is feeling this way, but it is a beautiful message for anyone feeling down. It’s only after you’ve heard the whole album, that you can really appreciate the way the theme ‘skin’ is beautifully embedded in so many different ways in almost all the songs.

There’s so much more I could’ve said because there’s so much to pick out from this album, so if you haven't already, go and listen for yourself!

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Culture

13 DECEMBER 2021

Activist Art Finally Takes the Big Stage: Lubaina Himid at The Tate

‘Six Tailors,' Tate Modern. (Credit: Lubaina Himid via The Guardian)

Toby Oliver- Clarke, BA History Tuesday 23 November marked the opening of Lubaina Himid's first solo exhibition at the Tate Modern. It also marked Himid's biggest show to date, a chance for the still relatively unknown artist, theatre designer, and self-styled ‘cultural activist’ to finally bring her message to the main stage.

Fittingly, the audience is invited to not only passively observe Himid's work, but to actively participate in bringing Himid’s paintings, sculptures, and sound pieces to life - an experience she describes as ‘being in the paintings.’ Himid hopes that the experience of engaging with the traumas and injustices of our past will prompt us to build a more just and equitable future. From the start Himid aims to provoke - tapestries made from East African fabrics hang at the entrance to the exhibition and pose the question: ‘How do I spell change?’

Unlike many retrospectives, Himid sees her work as not just a walk-through of her career to date, but a political opportunity. In the opening room, Himid starts as she means to go on. ‘Metal Handkerchiefs,’ a series of nine vibrantly painted metal sheets, speaks to the language and safety guides which shape the way our environment is constructed. Himid aims at getting us to question the normalcy of our political environment, a reminder that we hold the

agency needed to shape the spaces around us. Accordingly, the opening room ends with ‘Three Architects,’ a painting which shows three women looking out onto the sea from the windows of their Utopian prison, pondering the possibility of a better future.

The ocean is a motif used throughout the exhibition, particularly in the second room where Hamid aims to bring to life the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. The centre piece is ‘Old Boat/New money,’ a wooden ship made from metal beams that is accompanied by the sounds of the sea.

Himid tells a story of duality - whilst the ship represents the horrors of the slave trade, the presence of the sea speaks to the unabated tide of progress. However, whilst retrospectively ‘Old Boat’ serves as a powerful reminder that our future must not replicate our past, it seems to fall flat when compared to her more combative work. Himid argues that she wants to portray the slave trade ‘without depicting bleeding and dying Africans.’ Whilst the dignified manner in which she approaches the subject may seem fitting, when placed in the grandeur of the Tate it feels timid and subdued. In a career defined by combative activism and a desire to challenge orthodox narratives, it seems all too polite and leaves the audience wondering if only for a fleeting moment whether the usually theatrical Himid has forgotten her lines.

Himid soon recovers the uninhibited advocacy that has come to define a career spanning 40 years. The penultimate

room features a series of portraits depicting young Black men painted onto the inside of wooden drawers. Emerging from the walls of the gallery, they seem half opened, dusty, and neglected. The portraits are Himid at her uncompromising best - a clear message that we as a society have a duty to look into our past and give voice to those who were confined to history’s dusty attic.

‘Himid at the Tate’ will undoubtedly go down as the biggest event of a pioneering and long-lasting career. Himid manages to run the course of her career in a manner which avoids the lazy self-indulgence that is all too often the undoing of many retrospective exhibitions. More importantly, Himid provides the audience with more than just a show - she seeks and succeeds to provoke. Despite the uncharacteristic timidness which is evident at certain points of the show, Himid manages to provide a forum in which the audience is actively called to change the norm, whilst avoiding the aloofness and condescension which often taints activist art. Only time can tell whether Himid will ever truly receive her dues, but if The Tate is to mark the high point of an inimitable career, then surely the test of time will show that ‘Himid at the Tate’ was a fitting curtain call for an artist who transcends the boundaries of art and theatre.

Lubaina Himid is at The Tate Modern, London, From 25 November 2021 to 3rd July 2022.

50 years of Bangladesh: An Evening of Love Jaydee Cozzi, MA in Music This year marks 50 years since the birth of Bangladesh, a country born out of a struggle for independence. As part of the Annual Bloomsbury Festival and the SOAS Concert Series, we were able to celebrate these 50 years with wonderfully talented musicians.

The night opens with a warm and intimate video call with Sahara Bajpaie and some friends in India. Students at SOAS may recognise Sahana Bajpaie as the Bengali Language and Literature teacher, but she is also an award-winning musician, trained in Rabindrasangeet and Bengali Baul songs in Santinketan. Alongside her talented friends, Bajpaie beautifully performs 1971 Independence Movement songs from the Hindustani records archive. Through the songs Bajpaie retells the stories surrounding Bengali people’s independence, reminding us of the painful elements surrounding Bangladesh’s journey to independence. One song that struck me

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most was a recreation of Bangla folk lament, which speaks about one woman out of the thousands that suffered at the hands of the army during the war of Independence.

The evening then continued with the wonderful band Khiyo, an English fusion band of Bengali and British descent formed in London in 2007. The group has three main members: Sohini Alam on vocals, Ben Heartland on bass and Oliver Weeks on piano and guitar. Their name derived from a Bengali letter, the ‘Khiyo.' The Khiyo is a unique letter - it is a combination of two letters, however it has an identity of its own. The name reflects the dynamic of the band: a group of members drawing from different musical backgrounds, merging ideas into a single, distinguishable sound.

Khiyo’s repertoire featured recreations of Hindustani songs across Bengal, original songs, and a sneak preview to a few of their unreleased songs. The songs were rhythmically gripping and filled with groove, however each told very different stories and painted different moods. Throughout the evening, Khiyo, like Bajpie, were kind enough to summarise

the song lyrics for non-Bengali speakers through vivid descriptions and stories. (For those who are interested in the lyrics, their first album has an English translation available.)

Some songs celebrated the love for the Bengali language and the land, while some were dedicated to the sari and the lunghi. Other songs spoke of strong emotions such as envy and the desire to find something greater than yourself, and some songs took us down sad themes such as bloodshed and missing loved ones.

While the night shed light on the pain felt by Bangladesh through powerfully emotive songs, it was also filled with joy and smiles throughout. People stood beating on tables in encouragement, others swayed, and some quietly tapped along. What stood out the most throughout the evening was the pure love that filled the room.

(Keep an eye out for Kihyo and Sahana Bajipie’s next albums coming soon!)

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Culture

13 DECEMBER 2021

A Review from Behind the Mixing Desk: Eliane Correa & La Evolución Jake Reynolds, MA Music Eliane Correa has spent the last decade marching firmly toward veteran status in the London jazz scene, between collecting multiple LUKAS awards and performing at Ronnie Scott’s, she performs with the En El Aire Project and La Evolución. Despite this wealth of experience and competence, on Wednesday she confessed that concerts such as this still make her nervous. Concerts with Lucy Duran in the audience, that is.

It was with La Evolución that she performed for the SOAS Concert series’ November instalment and, despite her professed nervousness, Eliane Correa led the evening with exceptional confidence, energy, and musicianship to boot.

I was not only a spectator for the show but found myself fortunate enough to be involved in a sound engineering capacity, and what struck me from a professional perspective was Eliane’s attention to detail in the hours before the show began. From carefully dictating the dynamics of the percussion to informing us on the correct relationships between lead and supporting vocals, she showed real passion and

understanding for how her band should translate in a live performance. Then, in a matter of minutes, she disappeared into the dressing room and returned with her hair down, donning a mid-green dress. Eliane Correa & La Evolución were ready to perform.

Whilst perhaps odd to observe from outside, the two corridors of dancers that the audience had now become were the only permissible way to listen to and enjoy the music.

The Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre doesn’t lend itself to live music performance, and an artist might be forgiven for struggling to bring enough energy to a space primarily designed for lecturing. However, within 10 minutes La Evolución had convinced the audience to stand up from the pastel fabric chairs and move instead to channels between

seats. Whilst perhaps odd to observe from outside, the two corridors of dancers that the audience had now become were the only permissible way to listen to and enjoy the music.

So inescapably social in style and sound, to not be active, engaged, and among others, while Eliane performs feels like an affront. Throughout their show, the eleven strong La Evolución rotate instruments and share in a musical conversation that also engages with the crowd. Though it is worth noting that Eliane never left her piano, save for one moment when the whole band stood at the front of the stage to sing a refrain with the audience.

It’s clear that all of the musicians that evening had the attitude and talent necessary to be part of an Eliane Correa ensemble and, as a consequence, mixing the concert proved difficult as you always find yourself wanting to push each instrument further and harder in an effort to match their energy, while eventually leaving you nowhere else to turn.

I caught her briefly after the concert to congratulate her and learned that immediately she was leaving for Ronnie Scott’s to see another show. If that didn’t demonstrate her engagement with music, then I don’t know what does.

Bei Bei Wang: A Journey Full of Surprises

Beibei Wang on the poster for the SOAS Concert Series. (Credit: SOAS)

Jaydee Cozzi, MA in Music Next, the SOAS concert series took us on a very exciting journey across time with Bei Bei Wang as our tour guide. As the crowd flooded in and took their seats, excitement filled the air. An array of bold and beautiful red drums dominated the stage, beside them an assortment of stringed instruments from across the globe, whose names we later learn are the ruan, pipa, shamisen, oud and sanxian. Beside all the instruments a large quiet easel and canvas lay dormant.

Seconds after Wang walks on stage, she spontaneously erupts into an atmospheric solo piece ‘Rolling Nut.’ The song was played traditionally on a large drum with sticks. With great dexterity and fluidity Wang manages to draw out a fantastic range of sounds and textures personifying the nuts on the drum’s and rim.

Shortly after, the first guest Michael Skelton joins Wang

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on stage for the second song, ‘Bull fights Tiger.’ The duo each play one large drum, battling each other as bull and tiger. Their dynamics and strong movements are gripping.

The audience lean in as suspense lays heavy in the air. The bull and the tiger occasionally jab their sticks towards one another, demonstrating their fury and rage.

With two incredible opening acts, through a beautiful piece played by Skelton we are next introduced to the sanxian. We are also introduced to its history and its beginnings as a drum as well as its connection to the Shamisen. Later in the evening we are treated to a sanxian and shamisen duo, to hear their differences and similarities ourselves.

Next on stage arrives a third talented instrumentalist, Charlie Cawood. With Wang gliding across the gongs and drums and Carwood dancing on the strings of the pipa, we are treated to a beautiful piece entitled ‘Battle.’ For the duo's next song, the focus moves from China to Turkey. Wang picks up a beautiful piece of percussion called ‘ceramic

pot,’ and Carwood the oud. Together they play ‘Imminent journey,’ a piece from a Turkish film called ‘Jara.’ As the evening progresses, we are taken to our next destination, Japan.

Wang moves over to the Marimbula, and Skelton returns to play percussion for a piece entitled ‘Marimbula spiritual’ by Japanese composer Minoru Miki.

The whole evening is filled with movement and surprises.

The next surprise comes in the form of artist, Gwendolyn Kassenaar, while twirling, she bashes the gongs and makes her strident entrance on stage for the next performance, a music-plus-painting duet. While Wang dances above the drums at lighting speed, Kassenaar mirrors her movements and energy translating it onto the previously dormant canvas.

The result, come in the form of a striking piece, which seemed to perfectly captures the flow and energy of evening With standing ovations from the crowd, the night draws to a close. It truly was a journey full of surprises.

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713DECEMBER DECEMBER2020 2021

Sports & Societies

Sports & Societies

https://soasspirit.co.uk/category/societiesandsport/ Sport & Societies Editor: Mahek Arora

Noam Chomsky Discusses American Narcissism at SOAS

Noam Chomsky joining students at SOAS over Zoom. (Credit: SOAS Policy Forum Society)

Eesa Japel, BA History and Politics Before the US entered the war, high-level planners and analysts concluded that in the post-war world the United States would seek to hold unquestioned power, to ensure the ‘limitation of any exercise of sovereignty by states that might interfere with its global designs.’ Chomsky describes this in his discussion about ‘Imperial Grand Strategy’ from his book ‘Hegemony or Survival.’ One may be confused about what a ‘post-war’ world means - for U.S. foreign policy has continuously enacted wars since World War II. Chomsky is a revolutionary linguist, astute dissident political commentator and according to the Observer, ‘the world’s greatest public intellectual.’ Since WWII, US hegemony has imposed itself across the world, overthrowing Iran in 1953 and the DRC in 1961, conducting the Vietnam War and invading Iraq and Afghanistan at the dawn of the 21st century. This has led to political tyranny, death and misery in favour of US ‘global designs.’ However, internal social decay, the Vietnam-rooftop reminiscent withdrawal from Afghanistan, and China's rise, raise questions of America’s place in the world.

On 19 November 2021, Chomsky virtually conversed with participants of the Policy Forum Society at SOAS regarding American hegemonic narcissism. The event was greatly anticipated. He is 92 years old and has been a major political voice since the 1960s. In the hour he mentioned the history of US and Israeli relations, Vietnam, the 1983 invasion of Grenada, Iraq, and much more.

Responding to one audience question: ‘How has US foreign policy become insulated from (domestic) politics?’

Chomsky answered that the ‘US has been long described as a one-party state, the business party, which has two factions,

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Democrats and Republicans.’ While domestic politics seem to diverge, there is constant continuity in US foreign policy between either faction, suggesting foreign policy politics holds differently.

On 19 November 2021, Chomsky virtually conversed with participants of the Policy Forum Society at SOAS regarding American hegemonic narcissism.

He eloquently provides an accurate framework for understanding America’s place in world affairs, a prerequisite for hypothesising America’s future global role. He likens geopolitics to the ‘mafia.’ He enunciated this previously. Interviewed

by Former Labour Party’s strategy & communications director Seumas Milne, Chomsky explains the ‘Godfather principle,’ straight out of the mafia: that defiance cannot be tolerated. He explains that ‘It's a major feature of state policy.’ This means ‘successful defiance has to be punished, even where it damages business interests, as in the economic blockade of Cuba - in case “the contagion spreads'' further.’ Incidentally, the Church Committee report: Covert Action in Chile, 19631973 states ‘Castro’s presence spurred a new United States hemispheric policy’ (The Alliance for Progress) aimed to deal with ‘the alarming threat that Castro was seen to represent.’

America is the Godfather; nations only act within the scope of US interests. The Godfather can explicitly share ambitions - what will anyone do about it? Others must ‘workaround, undermine, contain and retaliate against US

power’ if they dare procure their own interests. Chomsky quotes internationalist affairs specialist John Ikenberry in Hegemony or Survival: ‘a fundamental commitment to maintaining a unipolar world in which the United States has no peer competitor.’ However, this ‘unipolar’ world is teased by a new competitor to be mentioned shortly…

19 years prior, the US endeavoured to implement ‘preventive war;’ ‘the use of military force to eliminate an imagined or invented threat,’ which does not ‘fall under a reasonable interpretation of the UN charter.’ Of course, the Godfather does not adhere to international law, whether dismissing ‘the (World) court order to terminate its crimes’ in Nicaragua or openly announcing ‘it would ignore the UN Security Council’ regarding Iraq. Here the Godfather’s rule of force supersedes the rule of law.

Now we understand the operations of the Godfather, what is the next move?

One recent development is the AUKUS pact. The UK, US and Australia agreed to supply the latter with nuclearpowered submarines so that the ‘anti-hegemonic coalition’ maintains Indo-Pacific maritime security. Incidentally, ‘Chinese national oil company CNOOC has started producing oil from Lufeng offshore oil fields in the South China Sea, as the Offshore Engineer magazine reports. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, states have ‘the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles from baselines.’ Such platforms work around international law superficially, technically oil drilling is confined to territorial waters, but not of the natural borders of competing nations. The Godfather cannot have China work its trade; this teasing runs roughshod of America’s ‘global designs’ which should be ‘worked around.’

Although it is perhaps too early to accurately predict US intentions, it is evident the seeds have been sowed but the fruits to bear are unclear. Is this another chapter to become or has the Godfather’s time come?

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Sports & Societies

13 DECEMBER 2021

Testosterone Ban Inaccuracies Open Debate on the Necessity for Sex Testing in Sports

(Left to Right) Niyonsaba, Semenya, and Wambui smiling together on the podium in Rio after winning the gold, silver and bronze medals. (Credit: alammy)

Chiara Broglia, MA Linguistics Ever since women started competing in their own sport category, the sex of female athletes, particularly those capable of exceptional athletic performance, has been questioned. However, only recent developments pointed out the issue with sex testing, highlighting its discriminatory nature and opening a much deeper conversation on the notion of assigned sex.

In 1966, female sex testing was introduced at the European Championships of Athletics in Budapest, consisting of genital inspection - conducted by a panel of doctors to verify the athlete's sex. This test was soon replaced by chromosomal testing. Intersex athletes that qualified as female in 1966, such as Polish sprinter, Ewa Klobukowska, were no longer allowed to compete if they had a different combination of chromosomes. (Which occurs naturally in roughly 1.7% of the population.)

Testosterone levels as a qualifying criterion was introduced in 2011 - with a limit of 10 nanomoles per litre of blood considered to be the lower end of male testosterone levels by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). Indian sprinter Dutee Chand, who exceeds this limit, appealed the decision of banning her for her naturally high testosterone levels. The ban was subsequently lifted after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the IAAF could not demonstrate evidence linking high testosterone levels and increased athletic capabilities.

A new testosterone regulation was again introduced in 2018, with a new limit of 5 nanomoles per litre, but only applied to three track distances: 400m, 800m and 1500m.

Following these new guidelines several 2016 Rio Olympic Games’ medal winners were banned from competing, including South African sprinter Caster Semenya. Semenya argued that there was no possibility of taking drugs to modify her natural biological features, fearing that the drugs might

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interfere with and compromise other biological functions.

After Semenya’s appeal was rejected, many in the scientific community spoke in her favour, claiming that it is unethical to administer drugs to a healthy athlete to modify their genetic makeup.

"It is clear that it is rare even among top male swimmers to be targeted, despite having physical advantages, the possibility of banning these athletes from swimming to ensure fair competition was never considered."

It is also observed that IAAF’s restrictions unfairly target mostly Black female athletes. This new regulation not only directly impacted the South African gold medallist Caster Semenya, but also Burundian silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba, Kenyan bronze medallist Margaret Wambui, Nigerian sprinter Aminatou Senyi, and more recently Namibia’s Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi.

This racial discrimination is further aggravated by the fact that the IAAF’s testing isn't mandatory for all athletes but that it is only contemplated if an athlete is identified as ‘suspicious.’ This has raised the concern that an athlete might be picked on for testing solely based on a Eurocentric vision of what a woman should look and perform like.

The concerns on ‘suspicious drug testing’ were reiterated by the statement from IAAF official Matthieu Reeb, who described the current testosterone regulation as ‘discrimination that is necessary and reasonable and a proportionate means of achieving the IAAF's objective as preserving the integrity of female athletics.’

This draws the question of whether the policing of testosterone is really necessary to ensure a fair competition?

According to Dr. Richard Holt, professor in diabetes and endocrinology at the University of Southampton: ‘There are a number of genetic polymorphisms, slight changes in the genes, that will actually determine whether somebody has that innate ability to be able to compete at the elite level,’ he explained to the BBC on 7 July 2021. Moreover, there are many factors that contribute to athletic performance, like heart size, bone density and body proportions. The same is claimed by Katrina Karzakis, a bioethicist with Yale University’s Global Health Justice Partnership who argues that singling out testosterone as the defining factor of an athletic performance is inaccurate, unreliable and discriminatory.

We should also question why top male athletes known for their exceptional physical features, aren’t dehumanised

by IAAF’s drug testing policy. It is clear that it is rare even among top male swimmers to be targeted, despite having physical advantages, the possibility of banning these athletes from swimming to ensure fair competition was never considered. On the other hand, successful female athletes are constantly asked to prove their biology and are penalised for their natural advantages.

The ground-breaking decision of the IOC that published a set of 10 principles that sports competition should follow and ultimately drop these unfair policy restrictions on testosterone levels seems to confirm that this discrimination isn’t necessary at all. Nevertheless, World Athletics stated that they will maintain their regulations on athletes with differences on sex development. Caster Semenya saw her appeal rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court and is now awaiting a hearing at the European Court of Human Rights, hoping that she and other banned athletes will be allowed to compete again.

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Sports & Societies

13 DECEMBER 2021

An Unconventional Queer Night Out

The turnout of ‘Queer Climb.' (Credit: Lulu Goad)

Lulu Goad, BA Arabic With the first ‘Queer Climb’ having been organised towards the end of 2019, the team at Yonder Climb, in North East London, felt it was about time they brought back this monthly event. The event was truly an evening allowing for the intersection of the climbing and Queer communities. As someone who is a self-proclaimed part of both, the opportunity to attend and better explore this space seemed like an experience I couldn't pass up.

Flyers said 18.00 until 23.00, so naturally most attendees rocked up around the 8 PM mark most likely, to avoid social fatigue from the anticipated Queer speed-friending. Upon entry, slightly windswept, your photo is taken in a ‘don’t ask to see it’ way. Preceded by being handed a red palm sized ‘Hello, my name is..’ sticker to add to your Uniqlo climbing look.

Having had a stretch in the Yonder ‘gym,’ strapped on your climbing shoes and chalked up your hands, it was time to head towards all those avoiding the ‘comp wall.’ In between climbs, groups of people milled about on the mats, everyone introducing themselves to one another, pointing at their sticker in case you didn’t quite catch their name the first time - or for some to indicate their preferred pronouns.

"...an evening allowing for the intersection of the climbing and Queer communities."

Some were avid climbers and some very much beginners. However, most had found the event via social media, intrigued by an evening of topping out and being able to

return to the mats on a slide. Despite initial nerves, especially for those - me - going alone in the hope to find ‘their people,’ it was an inviting atmosphere. The event was easy for those less keen to chat (they could climb) and for those less willing to indulge in bouldering acrobatics, allowing them to keep their feet firmly on the ground. Nevertheless, you weren’t there only to get sweaty and to flash a few of your projects (if that had been your wish). For climbers that like a good session but almost certainly find themselves in the pub later in the day, Yonder was the place! Kitted out with a cafe and bar, pool table and workspace, there’s not a lot you couldn’t get done. So, with access to unparalleled facilities and a crisp Indian pale ale, a ‘Queer Climb’ evening, including a set from the team at ‘Queer House Party,’ was a worthwhile trip up to Walthamstow after all.

Poster for Queer Climb. (credit: Yonder Climbing via Eventbrite)

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Sports & Societies

13 DECEMBER 2021

Can Sport Play a Role in Development?

One of YFC´s youth football teams cheering at their teammates. (Credit: Baljit Kumar, Youth Football Club Rurka Kalan)

Chris Hoellriegl, MSc Development Studies Sports have many faces. Apart from diversion or pleasure, sports can for instance be a ‘big business’ when considering an annual revenue of 715.1 M Euro of Barcelona FC alone in 2019/20. What many may not be directly aware of, is that sport plays an increasingly important role in versatile forms of development. Many big football clubs, for example, take up social responsibility and give back to communities by tackling gender inequality or social inclusion, amongst other issues.

For instance, Barcelona FC or British clubs like Arsenal support vulnerable children and young people within communities in need through versatile sports initiatives all around the world. Hence, in what ways does sports contribute to development or, more generally, society?

Sports has indeed proven to have, according to Nelson Mandela, ´the power to unite people in a way that little else does.´ The contributions of sports range much further, as focusing on the small grassroots organisation Youth Football Club Rurka Kalan (YFC) in the North of India indicates. This organisation clearly shows the impact of sports at a community level.

Founded in 2001 by a group of committed volunteers, the progressive community development initiative delivers football, kabaddi and wrestling sessions for boys and girls all over Punjab. The development initiative delivers something that is unprecedented within that area, along with something that empowers especially young people. Referring to Mandela's words once again, ´It speaks to youth in a language they understand.´ Especially, the contribution to personal development bears repeating. Besides helping Punjabi children get active and healthy, participating in sports is associated with other major benefits including mental well-being and increased self-esteem. Team sport especially proves to be linked to better health outcomes based on the social nature of the participation, for instance. It allows the youth in Punjab to learn crucial life skills like resilience, team spirit or communication in a safe space and playful manner.

An example of how this may affect wider social contexts can be found when looking at the effects of sports on gender equality. Studies show that creating opportunities for young women to develop self-esteem, master new skills, and establish a sense of bodily integrity through sports programmes alters the general perception of women within society. Girls participation in the case of YFC has proven to be a successful medium to slowly crack old traditional role models that

are especially prevalent in rural India. Empowered through sport, many girls now tend to speak up and even take on leadership roles within their communities.

However, the project not only focuses on promoting physical activity or personal development alone. It additionally integrates other broader objectives like intercultural exchange. YFC’s cross-border sports project in cooperation with Kick for Tolerance at the frontier between Pakistan and India exemplifies how sports involving children from both countries can ´provide a fertile ground for sowing the seeds of development and peace´ in a context where politics may have erected merely unsurmountable walls, as stated by Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace.

To sum up, sport highly contributes to development, especially within communities as in the case of YFC. When Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, urged governments to integrate sport in development programmes and national development strategies, he outlined that ´the real question is how to make [sport] contribute in more impactful, tangible ways.´ When we find those impactful, tangible ways, sport may even hold the potential, as Nelson Mandela famously stated, ‘to change the world.’

final-year students, it is aimed at giving first-year students the opportunity to improve their degree-specific academic skills in a low-stress environment.

You may ask, how does it work? Well, CSL sessions are subject-specific and run on a weekly basis alongside lectures and tutorials. Second, third and fourth years from your degree programme will facilitate these learning sessions through fun, collaborative and creative ways. CSL is centrally coordinated, department-owned, student-led AND pretty awesome. While mainly focusing on the academic side of university life, the sessions can also connect you with other students of your degree and create a more inclusive learning

environment for all. At the moment, most of the CSL sessions are running online but we are looking forward to seeing you on campus from term two We encourage all first-years to participate in the project, regardless of your current academic success as there will be something to take from the sessions for everybody. Give it a try and sign up to Collaborative Student Learning.

Not yet convinced? You can find out more about the scheme on the SOAS website or simply by emailing csl@soas. ac.uk. Hope to see you there!

Managing Academic Expectations as a First-Year Student: CSL Can Make it Work!

Tabea Leiss, BA International Relations and Development Studies

Are you struggling with the academic expectations and demands in your first year at university? You are not alone!

The SOAS Collaborative Student Learning (CSL) project can help you manage the work.

Piloted in 2019, CSL is a relatively new addition to our SOAS campus. The concept of this peer-to-peer learning initiative, however, has been a success story at universities around the world for much longer. Facilitated by second and

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Sports & Societies

13 DECEMBER 2021

Ever wondered where to start? Blog Writing 101 and the SOAS History Blog Haritha Balasubramaniyan, BA Global Liberal Arts What do menopausal matriarchs in West Africa, clay tablets in nineteenth century Baghdad and Sudanese music have in common? Of course, they have all been topics of articles in the SOAS History Blog!

With the hustle and bustle of student activity returning to campus this year, academic outreach has resumed its rightful place in the SOAS mind. In line with this, the SOAS History Blog has been creating new ways for resident history enthusiasts to channel their interests by producing creative articles and podcast episodes on various topics. Launched in May 2021, the blog has been generating articles from undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students, as well as members of staff and alumni.

Their latest event, ‘Blog Writing 101,’ held on 18 November, established their key objectives - to facilitate a platform for members within the SOAS community to publish their history-related writings. Having run entirely online last year, this year’s event was hosted in a hybrid format - perhaps a new normal. Ellan Lincoln-Hyde, Editor and Administrator for the Blog, hosted the event and led the participants through a discussion of a series of topics related to blogging.

Starting with the primary question of what a blog looks like and what one could gain from creating a sustained habit of blogging. Lincoln-Hyde provided interesting insights and anecdotes from their own extensive experience with the medium.

Tariq Mir, a doctoral researcher at SOAS, joined LincolnHyde and Dr. Andrea Janku in discussing their experience with contributing to the Blog and the editing experience.

Indeed, Janku was able to provide her insights as both a core member of the Blog Team who has spearheaded the project, as well as a contributor to the blog. Tariq Mir’s piece titled ‘The Tigris Still Runs Black with Ink: Untangling the Myths Surrounding the Development of Islamic Thought’ was published last May. He has also been an enthusiastic supporter of other events run by the SOAS History Blog team. His article

“... the SOAS History Blog has been creating new ways for resident history enthusiasts to channel their interests into producing creative articles and podcast episodes on various topics.” and community profile are both available on the blog website.

Lincoln-Hyde’s presentation also included a technical insight into various Blogging platforms and a call for writers who would be interested in contributing. Currently, the SOAS History Blog is accepting contributions from all SOAS students, staff members, and alumni. To get in touch, simply email them at soashistoryblog@soas.ac.uk. The Blog can also be reached on Instagram (@soashistoryblog), Twitter and Soundcloud.

If you’re interested in writing for the Blog and meeting like-minded history enthusiasts, come join the Blog team and writers at their next event, ‘What’s Up Doc?’ on 16 of December. Inspired by previous SOAS Union events of similar names, the event is structured to help our undergraduate

and master’s students connect with ‘history work’ being done at SOAS by their fellow students. This one hour, panel-style discussion will feature three current PhD students. They will briefly introduce their topics, their motivations and their personal journeys before and during the PhD process. Come see real, live (and very friendly) PhD students and ask all those burning questions you have always wanted to know!

This is a popular event, so remember to keep an eye out for zoom details and registration via the SOAS History Blog website and social media channels!

SOAS History Blog Writing 101 poster. (Credit: SOAS History Blog)

SOAS Banglasoc Host a Charity Games

able to share their love and appreciation for Bengali culture.

One of our most recent events was the Charity Games Night held on 19 November. The Games Night was held to raise money for the Rohingya crisis, in collaboration with the charity Restless Beings. Restless Beings is a UK based nonprofit, non-political, international human rights charity supporting some of the world’s most marginalised communities.

The Rohingya are one of the most oppressed communities in the world, having been prosecuted by the Burmese government and military for 60 years. In 2017, one million people fled from Burma to Bangladesh for safety.

Rohingya refugees are currently living in the world’s largest and congested refugee camps. The Charity Games

SOAS Banglasoc logo. (Credit: SOAS Bangla Soc)

Night fundraising will help provide better living conditions for Rohingya refugees who emigrated to the camps.

During the charity games night, we played a range of games including cup pong, skittles and chopstick challenge, Mr Naga Forfeit, mafia, musical chairs, red light green light, limbo and khanamasi. Khanamasi is a popular Bengali children’s game and it is played with someone being blindfolded and catching the people surrounding them, similar to Blind Man’s Bluff. The event had an amazing turnout, and we are grateful for all those who attended and helped fundraise for such a good cause!

Poster for the Banglasoc charity games night. (Credit: SOAS Bangla Soc)

Arifah Chowdhury, BA Politics and International Relations SOAS Bangla Society’s objective is to embrace, empower and educate the Bengali culture within the larger SOAS community. This is a space for both Bengalis and non-Bengalis to be able to explore and interact with the rich culture that Bangladesh and its people have to offer. Whether it’s regional politics, poetry, art or food, we aim to allow students to be

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A snapshot of the Banglasoc charity games night. (Credit: SOAS Bangla Soc)

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Sports & Societies

13 DECEMBER 2021

Join your student-run newspaper!

Interested in journalism, writing, design, or photography? Want to gain valuable experience to pursue a career in the media or publishing?

Want to express your opinions?

Email spirit@soas.ac.uk to find out about your student-run newspaper!

The SOAS Spirit is your independent student-run newspaper; an on campus presence since 1936.

We publish monthly throughout the term.

We have opportunities to join our team as a writer, photographer, and much more

: @soasspirit

SOAS SPIRIT