FEH > SOH


School of Humanities

Preparing you well for the world of practical-lived experiences  

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Overview

The School of Humanities is currently offering diverse academic subject content for the Teacher Training Programme of the School of Education. Foreseeing the future and the challenges of the contemporary socio-economic scape, the School with its competent and qualified lecturers, is in a process of developing its programme structure that will eventually have its separate Programmes delivered at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.  The school envisioned comprehensive and need-based study Programmes that will rigorously respond to the contemporary critical social-economic, political and religious environment, both at the local and regional levels.

The School is also witnessing an increasing number of local academics who are showing interest and aspiring to undertake research work with the School at the Master’s level in the fields of History, Development Studies, Anthropology, and Solomon Islands Studies. In essence, the School is prepared to meet this demand with a team of qualified and highly experienced research academics.

Although the School of Humanities does not have separate programmes of its own, its academic staff contributes equally to teaching toward the school of Education Programmes such as Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor of Teaching programmes in FEH. The structure is excellent as it means students will graduate with a well-rounded interdisciplinary education firmly anchored in Education and the Humanities which prepares them for competent leadership in academic and professional areas of specialization.

The Faculty of Education and Humanities is located at the Panatina Campus, high on a ridge that provides not only a panoramic beautiful view of the Point Cruz Harbour but also a peaceful atmosphere conducive for learning. Within the peaceful atmosphere students and staff can intermingle, learning from each other not only about school subjects but, equally important, their respective cultures as well.

The Faculty of Education and Humanities (FEH), the largest faculty at Solomon Islands National University in terms of student and staff numbers, comprises two schools: The School of Education (SOE) and the School of Humanities (SOH).

The School of Humanities comprises six departments at the Panatina campus, east Honiara.

Departments

  1. Department of Geography
  2. Department of History
  3. Department of Language & Communications
  4. Department of Library & Information Systems
  5. Department of Media & Journalism
  6. Department of Social Sciences
  7. Department of Sports & Creative Arts

The school has a total of sixteen (16) well-qualified and dedicated academics who teach a diversity of units which range in subject matter from Religious Studies, Linguistics, Early Childhood Education, History, Journalism, Literacy and Communications to Sports and Creative Arts.

Although large, the School of Humanities does not have separate programmes from the School of Education. Instead, the academic staff contributes equally in teaching toward the Bachelor of Teaching, Diploma and Certificates in the faculty. The structure is excellent as it means students will graduate with a well-rounded interdisciplinary education firmly anchored in Education and the Humanities which prepares them well for the job market whether in teaching, government, or administration.

The plan for SOH is to continue supporting the SOE teacher education programmes and at the same time developing programmes of its own at various levels: Diploma, Bachelor and Postgraduate studies programmes such as Postgraduate Diploma in Arts, Masters of Arts and PhDs.

The Faculty of Education and Humanities is located at the Panatina Campus, high on a ridge that provides not only a panoramic beautiful view of the Point Cruz Harbour but also a peaceful atmosphere conducive for learning. Within the peaceful atmosphere students and staff can intermingle, learning from each other not only about school subjects but, equally important, their respective cultures as well.

Rev. Dr. Ben Wate

Head of School

Rev. Dr. Ben Wate is the Head of the School of Humanities and Senior Lecturer in History and Religious Studies in the Faculty of Education and Humanities. He teaches history units that cover, Pacific and Migration History, and Church History. He also teaches units in religious studies that include Church and Society, and Major World Religions.

He was a former Senior Lecturer at Bishop Patteson Theological College (BPTC), a South Pacific Association of Theological Schools (SPATS) accredited theological institute that offers undergraduate theology degrees in Solomon Islands (owned by the Anglican Church of Melanesia- ACOM). He had taught interdisciplinary courses in Theology & Ethics, including Anthropology of Religion, and Theories in Social Anthropology. Read more...