Dr. Alan Strathern

Professor

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Biography

Professor Alan Strathern specializes in Global History, focusing on religious change and its relationship with politics, particularly during the early modern period. His recent monograph, 'Converting Rulers: Global Patterns 1450-1850' (Cambridge, 2024), offers insights into how different rulers and regions converted to Christianity, with case studies centered on Kongo, Japan, Thailand, and Hawaii. Additionally, his earlier book 'Unearthly Powers: Religious Political Change in World History' (2019) received the World History Association Bentley Book Prize in 2020, where he proposes new theoretical frameworks for understanding the intersections of religion and political authority. Strathern’s research interests extend to Sri Lankan history, where he has explored themes of kingship and conversion in his 2007 work, 'Kingship Conversion in Sixteenth Century Sri Lanka.' As a lecturer at Brasenose College and St John's College, he supervises a diverse range of doctoral projects in the early modern world and engages in interdisciplinary research, highlighting global perspectives in history.

Research Interests

Courses

European World History III: 1400-1650 European World History VIII: Eurasian Empires, 1450-1800 Approaches to History: Sociology and Anthropology Further Subject 11: Iberian Global Century, 1550-1650 Optional Subject 10: Conquest and Colonization: Spain in America in the Sixteenth Century Graduate Papers: Global Imperial History: Themes and Concepts Global Imperial History: DPhil Training Seminar Dawn of the Global World, 1450-1800

Requirements for University of Oxford

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.7
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:22
Reading
Required:24
Writing
Required:24
Speaking
Required:25
Total
Required:110
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in Politics, International Relations, Economics, History, Law, Philosophy or Sociology
Application Checklist
  • Three academic references
  • Official transcripts
  • CV/Resume
  • Statement of Purpose (1,000 words)
  • Two academic essays (2,000 words each)
Specialization Notes

Department of Politics and International Relations - Higher Level English requirement.