General Information

Introduction

In 1993, Harvard University's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies jointly initiated an effort to enhance Central Asian Studies at the University.  This was a response in part to the increasing importance of the former Soviet Muslim regions on the world scene following the break-up of the Soviet Union.  This effort also sought to build on Harvard's strength as one of the few institutions in the West with a long-standing commitment to the study of this region.  The Program was initially modest, including a seminar series, a study group, course offerings, and a publications program.  The scope of the Program has greatly increased in 1995 with a major grant from the Ford Foundation aimed at developing research and graduate training in Central Asian studies at Harvard in collaboration with scholars and institutions in Central Asia.  The expanded program features course offerings in area studies and languages, support for collaborative research, a visiting scholars program, and a program office to serve the needs of Central Asian Studies at Harvard University. [Back to top.]

Focus and Goals of the Program

Central Asia defies any neat definition.  The primary focus of the Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus is on the newly independent, former-Soviet Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.  However, just as these countries are intimately related to surrounding regions, the Program is intended to be a resource for scholars studying such areas as the Caucasus, the Muslim and Turkic regions of Southern Russia and Western China, and the northern parts of Afghanistan and Iran.

For many, Central Asia is most strongly associated with the remote historical times of Chinggis Khan, Tamerlane, and the Great Silk Road.  While recognizing the great significance of this region in world history, and the crucial importance of history for the contemporary study of the region, the chief goal of the Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus is to promote an understanding of the social, cultural, political, and economic issues facing Central Asia today.  The key problems confronting the Central Asian states as they adjust to their new status as independent countries include: establishing new political structures, building self-sufficient economies, and seeking new national identities.

The Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus takes a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing these and related issues, and in general contributes to the improvement of scholarship on Central Asia in the Harvard community as well as in Central Asia.  Thus, the goals of the Program are to:

• Enhance training opportunities at Harvard for undergraduates, graduate students, and returning professionals to develop the fundamental knowledge, linguistic skills, and analytical approaches necessary to understand and investigate the important issues facing the Central Asian region.
• Foster a scholarly environment which is conducive to fruitful discussion and research on the Central Asian region.
• Bring speakers and visiting scholars to Harvard -- including especially scholars from Central Asia, the Caucasus and related regions -- whose visits bring about mutually beneficial intellectual exchange and the opportunity to apply Harvard's resources toward important research.
• Provide financial and practical support for collaborative research projects involving Harvard scholars and their Central Asian and Caucasian colleagues, thus promoting unique research opportunities in Central Asia, and benefiting scholarship in institutions in the region by exposure to new ideas and Western approaches.
• Contribute to the dissemination and refinement of knowledge of the Central Asian region through support for public forums and publications, including contributions which introduce the region to a non-specialized audience, which build a foundation for study in this underdeveloped field, and which help the knowledge of specialists to serve the practical ends of business, government, and international development.
• Help bring scholarship to bear on the resolution of the pressing social problems facing the region after the collapse of the Soviet system and the advent of a new period in Central Asian history. [Back to top.]
  

Central Asian Studies at Harvard

The Central Asian region occupies the intersection between the Islamic world and the former Communist world.  The joint effort of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies to develop Central Asian studies grows out of their long-standing commitment to this common domain, and the recognition that the region now occupies a new and increasingly important position in world affairs.  These two preeminent centers each bring substantial resources to bear in providing a rich context for the development of Central Asian Studies.  Between them, they have extensive resources for the study of the region: numerous affiliated scholars, rich library resources, publication series, seminars and other related activities.  For example, the Harvard Middle Eastern and Islamic Review, based at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, features regular articles and reviews covering Central Asia.  Students in affiliated programs may pursue studies on all levels in this field.  The National Resource Centers associated with each of these centers have materials and outreach programs which include coverage of Central Asia.

In addition to the two Centers, Harvard University has many other resources to support the Program.  Area studies departments and committees, including especially the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, the Committee on Inner Asian and Altaic Studies, and the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, offer degree programs, courses of instruction, and seminar series relevant to the study of Central Asia.  Several dozen Harvard faculty in departments ranging from Anthropology and Government to History and Fine Arts specialize on topics directly related to this region.  A variety of other Harvard programs support scholars and research initiatives in this field, including the Islamic Legal Studies Program at the Law School, the Caspian Studies Program at the Kennedy School of Government, and numerous others.  One of the University's greatest resources is the Harvard Libraries which contain one of the best collections for the study of Central Asia anywhere in the world. [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)