Courses sponsored by the Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus:

Since 1995, the Program has sponsored both area studies and language courses.

Area Studies Courses

Previous Years' Area Studies Courses

Anthropology 2865: Islamic Eurasia and the Anthropology of Post-Socialism
Government 1286: The Politics of Identity in Central Asia
Government 2204: Radicalization of Islam in the Former Communist World
History 1870: History of Central Asia to the Russian Conquest
History 2888: Topics in the History of Central Asia: Proseminar
Islamic Civilizations 125: History and Culture of the Islamic Peoples of the Former Soviet Union
Islamic Civilizations 160: The Meanings of Islam in Central Asia
Islamic Civilizations 161: Cultures of Domination in Central Asia [Back to top.]

Language Courses

We are in the process of preliminary planning for courses to be taught on Central Asian languages in the 2007-2008 academic year. We would appreciate it if you would let us know what courses you would like to take. This pertains especially to Uzbek and Tajik -- the courses that we generally teach with some regularity -- though please let us know also of the other languages you might need if available (including languages of any part of Central Eurasia -- for many languages, our possibilities are more limited, but we can work on it).

Please indicate language and level you are interested in, and send it to: Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus - centasiafas.harvard.edu [Back to top.]

Course Descriptions

Anthropology 1930: Culture Wars in Eurasia - New Course!

John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered 2007-08]

The course explores the contestation of culture in Eurasia - especially Central Asia, but also the broader region from Crimea to Mongolia.  From the beginning of the twentieth century, claims about what is the right kind of culture have been asserted for political and social ends in pursuit of modernity, state legitimacy, mobilization of resistance and opposition, artistic and spiritual authenticity, social harmony or creation of a compliant populace, among many other goals.  The course explores the anthropology of identity construction, of social mobilization, of political authority, and of cultural hybridity and integrity in the richly culturally diverse and rapidly changing world of Eurasia, where cultural contestation revolves around concepts like pan-Turkism, Eurasianism, cultural revolution, modernization, nation-building, Islamic revivalism - from the beginning of the twentieth century to post-Communism.

Note: The course is intended primarily for advanced undergraduates and graduate students; Some background in Central Asia and/or Islamic civilization is preferable, though not required.  Enrollment may be limited. [Back to top]

Anthropology 2865: Islamic Eurasia and the Anthropology of Post-Socialism

John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered 2006-07]

This course is an exploration of a newly emerging domain for scholarship: The anthropology of societies and cultures which were formerly isolated from Western anthropology by practical and academic-political barriers.  The course provides general background on the cultural diversity of Islamic Eurasia, as well as exploring the necessary to understand how the cultures and societies of the region were studied previously, how they have been incorporated into post-Soviet scholarship in general and in anthropology and scholarship of "post-socialism" in particular.  The course also explores the problems which have dominated the anthropology of the region, ranging from conceptions of culture, ideology and identity (memory, nostalgia, gender, Islam, hybridity, globalization, politics of culture, etc.) to the anthropology of everyday experience (coping, "re-traditionalization" of the economy, migration, "repatriation", development, "transition" and authoritarianism, etc.). [Back to top.]

Government 1286: The Politics of Identity in Central Asia

John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered Spring 2006]

The course examines how identity concepts are mobilized in Central Asian politics. The focus is primarily on post-Soviet Central Asia, while providing the essential background in the historical context as well as comparative reference to related regions including Western China, Afghanistan, the Near East and Russia. Topics include: the factors forming current national, sub-national and religious identities, the role of national ideologies in the state-building process and promotion of loyalty to the regime, identity as a factor in opposition mobilization, identity in conflicts, and the role identity in international relations. Theories of political identity are explored as they have been developed in the literature on Central Asia and in a broader comparative frame. [Back to top.]

Government 2204: Radicalization of Islam in the Former Communist World

John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered Spring 2005]

Examines the rise of radical Islamism in the former Communist Bloc from resistance to Tsarist rule to emergence of al-Qaeda. Drawing on comparative theories of resistance and political mobilization in Islamic contexts, the course explores a) the ideological underpinnings of Islamism, b) the evidence for Islamic resistance to 19th and 20th century regimes, c) the conditions which incubated radicalism following the USSR's demise, and d) the forms that Islamist mobilization has taken with the Mujaheddin and Taleban in Afghanistan, Tajikistan's civil war, Chechnya's separatist wars, Uzbekistan's Islamic Movement (IMU) and Hizb ut-Tahrir, and the Uyghur separatist movement in Western China. Includes assessment of theories of radicalization developed in the Middle Eastern context, of the significance of Islamism in the context of other ideological currents and problems in the region, and of the policy-making process driving the responses of regional and Western governments. [Back to top.]

History 1870: History of Central Asia to the Russian Conquest

Beatrice F. Manz (Visiting Associate Professor of History)
[Offered 1995-96]

Survey of Central Asian history from Medieval period to Russian conquest, with emphasis on the Mongol and post-Mongol periods. Topics include the rise of New Persian language and literature, formation of Turkic and Iranian identities, relation to court, army and society, impact of Mongol rule and institutions, position of ulama and Sufi orders. [Back to top.]

History 2888: Topics in the History of Central Asia: Proseminar

Edward L. Keenan (Professor of History) and John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered 1996-97]

Offers a foundation for graduate students studying topics in the history, society, culture, and politics of Central Asia, including the former Soviet republics and adjacent areas. The course will simultaneously take up central themes in the contemporary society and recent history of Central Asia, while providing the students with a fundamental knowledge of the methods and resources for the study of these topics.

Note: Knowledge of Russian, Central Asian languages, Turkish or Persian desirable but not required. [Back to top.]

Islamic Civilizations 124: Central Asian Culture and Society

John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered 1995-96, 1997-98, 1999-2000, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2006-07]

The course explores the diversity and continuity in contemporary Central Asian culture and society and their historical roots. After building a basis of knowledge of the pre- and early-modern history of the region, and of its contemporary political context and institutions, the course will approach Central Asian culture, social structure and everyday life from a variety of angles. These will include perspectives available in various types of literature on the region, including the travel accounts of travelers to the region from pre-modern to recent times, indigenous literary and folklore traditions, nineteenth century Orientalist scholarship, and contemporary scholarly approaches. The course will draw on ethnographic accounts to develop a rich picture of the social meaning and cultural context of ways of life (from the historical caravan trade and pastoral nomadism to contemporary collective farm and urban life), community rituals, social institutions, religious practices, moral sensibilities and aesthetic traditions.

Note: Intended primarily for graduates and advanced undergraduates; some background in the Near East and/or the former Soviet Union desirable. Enrollment limited. [Back to top.]

Islamic Civilizations 125: History and Culture of the Islamic Peoples of the Former Soviet Union

John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered 1996-97, 1998-99 (by Firouzeh Mostashari), 2001-02, and 2003-04 (by Laura Adams)]

Themes in the history of cultural change, from prior to Russian expansion into Muslim lands until the post-Soviet period. The course encompasses territories falling under Russian dominion by the nineteenth century that are inhabited by peoples which are culturally more akin to Asia and the Islamic Middle East than to Europe: Central Asia, the Caucasus, and southern Russia. Themes include the background of Iranian, Turkic and Islamic culture, problems of induced cultural change (Russification/Europeanization/modernization), social transformation under the establishment and dissolution of Russian rule and the Communist system, the institutionalization of national identities, and changing family and community organization.

Note: Intended primarily for graduates and advanced undergraduates; some background in the Near East and/or the Soviet Union desirable. Enrollment limited. [Back to top.]

Islamic Civilizations 160: The Meanings of Islam in Central Asia

John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered 2000-01, 2003-03, 2005-06, 2007-08]

The course will examine the changing role of Islam in Central Asia through history from a multidisciplinary perspective. Central Asia is on the margins of the Islamic world, though integral to it, and the course will consider the ways that regions' position on the transcontinental trade routes and desert-oasis borderlands have led to particular expressions of the processes which are common to the Islamic world more widely.  It will also look at the process of modernization and the role of Islam in the Russian and Soviet imperial contexts. Particular attention will be given to the current political, cultural and social processes in which Islam plays a part in the post-Soviet era.

Note: The course is intended primarily for advanced undergraduates and graduate students; Some background in Central Asia and/or Islamic civilization is preferable, though not required.  Enrollment may be limited. [Back to top.]

Islamic Civilizations 161: Cultures of Domination in Central Asia

John Schoeberlein (Lecturer on Central Asian Studies)
[Offered Spring 2003]

Under centuries of conquest and domination from mediaeval imperial expansions to today's authoritarian leaders, Central Asians have worked out the relationship between the population and its rulers through Turko-Mongol, Iranian, Russian, Soviet, nationalist, and Islamist concepts of loyalty, legitimacy, just rule and justified opposition. Central Asian case materials are drawn from historical texts, literature, the social sciences, and the experience of contemporary life, examined in light of relevant social/cultural theory.

Note: The course is intended primarily for advanced undergraduates and graduate students; Some background in Central Asia and/or Islamic civilization is preferable, though not required.  Enrollment may be limited. [Back to top.]

Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
1730 Cambridge Street Rm S-320
Cambridge, MA 02138
centasiafas.harvard.edu
617-496-2643 | 617-495-8319 (fax)