Fri. 11-12 , 1-2:30 and by appt.
History
#377
This course examines a very large chunk of territory over a very long period of time: the vast expanse of Eurasia from the 13th to the early 20th c. Beginning with the centuries-long interaction of sedentary and nomadic peoples across the Eurasian steppe, a structuring theme of the course is the long-term and evolving relationship between Rus’/Muscovy/Imperial Russia and the diverse peoples, cultures, religions and polities of the Caucasus and Central Asia. From the Russian vantage point we will variously consider the nature of Russian expansion to the south and east; patterns of colonization and conquest, settlement and colonial administration; the articulation of policy toward various Muslim peoples; the imperial rivalry between Russia and Britain during the 19th c. for hegemony across Central Asia; and conceptions of national identity within a multiethnic/multireligious empire. From the vantage point of the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia we will variously consider Turco-Mongolian political traditions, Perso-Islamic cultural and religious influences; the oasis economies and the overland trade routes which traversed the Eurasian landmass; and various ways the incursions of "the West" might be understood.
· Students must attend every session of the colloquium or present a valid excuse to the instructor. Active student participation in the weekly sessions is vital to the success of the course.
· Students must complete the assigned readings for every session of the colloquium.
· A primary objective of this course is to develop the student's interpretive skills by a close reading of a variety of materials. To this end, each student will prepare a short "working paper" (1-2 typed pages) for each class session. These papers should articulate the major issues raised by the readings, define the author's point of view, draw out points of comparison between the week's readings, and include a list of questions to be discussed in class. The papers will constitute an essential part of the written work for the course and will also help to structure the weekly discussions. The papers will be due by 11:00 a.m. each Wednesday and will be read briefly by the instructor prior to the session. They will be returned in class so that students may draw on their questions for the discussion. The papers will then be read carefully by the instructor, returned the following week, but not graded. After completing the first three working papers, students are encouraged to meet with the instructor to discuss their progress on this assignment.
· Each student will write two more formal papers (each approx. 5-6 typed pages) on a topic to be assigned by the instructor. The first essay will be due no later than noon, Oct. 18 and the second will be due no later than noon, Dec. 13. These essays will ask you to reflect on an aspect of the course readings and discussions; they will not require additional reading or research. Working papers will not be required for the week in which the essay is due, but thoughtful preparation of the week’s reading will be expected.
· Students are encouraged to meet with the instructor during office hours or by appointment to discuss any aspect of the semester's work. The instructor hopes to facilitate intellectual inquiry within and outside the classroom setting and welcomes student input and criticism.
Readings:
The following books have been ordered at the Bookstore; they have also been placed on Reserve. Most of the articles and excepts we will be reading will be available on ERes.
Soucek, A History of Inner Asia
Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road
Morgan, The Mongols
Khalid, The Politics of Muslim Cultural Reform, Jadidism in
Central
A final note: Please turn off cell phones, pagers, beeping watches and the like for the entire class period; once class has begun, please refrain from taking breaks and leaving the room until the designated break for everyone half way through the session.
Sept. 11: The natural setting and the subjectivites of geography
-McChesney, Central Asia--foundations of change, pp.15-37
-Soucek, A History of Inner Asia, pp.1-45
Sept. 18: Inner Asia (I): Nomads, Merchants and Missionaries
-Barfield, The Nomadic Alternative, pp.1-18, 131-168
-Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road (entire)
Sept 25: The Mongols
-Morgan, The Mongols, Ch. 1-4 (pp. 5-111)
-Fletcher, "The Mongols: Social and Ecological Perspectives" Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies vol. 46, issue 1 (June 1986): 11-50
JSOTR: Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0073-0548(198606)46:1<11:TMEASP>2.0.CO;2-B
-Spuler, History of the Mongols, pp. 29-39
Oct. 2: Muscovy and the Mongols
-Zenkovsky, Medieval Russia's epics, chronicles, and tales pp. 193-207
-Morgan, The Mongols, Ch 6 (pp. 136-174)
-Ostrowski, “The Mongol Origins of Muscovite Political Institutions”, Slavic Review vol. 49, no. 4 (Winter 1990): 527-542.
JSTOR: Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-6779(199024)49:4<525:TMOOMP>2.0.CO;2-E
Oct. 9: Inner Asia (II): Post-Mongol period
-Soucek, History of Inner Asia, Ch. 9-11, (pp. 117-161)
-Selected readings from Gibb, The Travels of Ibn Battuta: vol 2, pp. 470-492 and vol. 3, pp. 539-574.
-Subtelny, “Socio-economic Bases of Cultural Patronage under the Later Timurids,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 20, issue 4 (Nov. 1988): 479-505.
JSTOR: Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0020-7438(198811)20:4<479:SBOCPU>2.0.CO;2-B
Oct. 16: Muscovy/Russia: Creation of a multiethnic/multireligious empire
-Kappeler, The Russian Empire, pp.14-59, 168-171
-Bassin "Expansion and colonialism on the eastern frontier: views of Siberia and the Far East in pre-Petrine Russia" Journal of Historical Geography, 14, 1 (1988): 3-21.
-Yaroshevski, “Imperial strategy in the Kirghiz steppe in the 18th c.” Jahrbucher fur Geschichte Osteuropas 39 (1991): 221-224.
-Fisher, “Enlightened Despotism and Islam Under Catherine II” Slavic Review, 27 (1967): 542-53.
JSTOR: Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-6779(196812)27:4<542:EDAIUC>2.0.CO;2-#
Essay # 1 due no later than noon, Friday Oct. 18.
Oct 30: The Struggle for the Caucasus: Romantic nationalism and Shamil's "Holy War"
-Kappeler, The Russian Empire, pp.171-185.
-Layton, “Marlinsky’s ‘Ammalat-Bek’ and the Orientalisation of the Caucasus in Russian Literature,” in The Golden Age of Russian Literature and Thought, ed. By Derek Offord (St. Martin’s Press, London: 1992), pp 34-57
-Halbach "'Holy War' against Czarism: The Links between Sufism and Jihad in the 19th c. Anticolonial Resistance against Russia" in Muslim Communities Reemerge, ed. A. Kappeler, et al. (1989/1994) pp.251-276.
Nov. 6: "The Great Game":
The 19th c. Cold War between Russia and Britain and the 'new'
imperialism
-Goldfrank, “The Eastern Question” in The Origins of the Crimean War, pp. 40-52.
-Khalfin, Russia’s Policy in Central Asia, 1857-1868 pp. 12-52
-MacKenzie, “Expansion in Central Asia: St. Petersburg vs. the Turkestan Generals,1863-1866” Canadian Slavic Studies III, no. 2 (Summer 1969): 286-311
-“Circular Despatch addresssed by Prince Gortchakow to Russian Representatives abroad” Nov. 1864 (xerox to be handed out in class)
-Harlow and Carter, eds. Imperialism and Orientalism, A documentary sourcebook pp. 184 to mid-185, 187-mid 189. (xerox to be handed out in class)
-Dostoevsky, “Geok-Tepe: What Is Asia to Us?” Diary of a Writer vol. 2, 1043-52
Nov. 13 Special 1-credit course taught
during the week of Nov. 11-15, specific meeting times TBA
INST 120: Russia and the Geopolitics of Contemporary Central Asia
Nov. 20 : Russia in Central Asia: Conquest and Colonial Administration
-Soucek, A History of Inner Asia pp. 177-208
-Khalid, The Politics of
Muslim Cultural Reform, Jadidism in Central Asia,
-Brower, “Russian Roads to Mecca: Religious Tolerance and Muslim Pilgrimage in the Russian Empire” Slavic Review vol. 55, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 567-584
JSTOR: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-6779(199623)55:3<567:RRTMRT>2.0.CO;2-W
Nov. 27
: Central Asia: Confrontations
with modernity, Patterns of
resistance, reform and accommodation. [Thanksgiving is Nov. 28]
-Khalid, The Politics of Muslim Cultural Reform, Jadidism in Central Asia, Ch. 3-5 (pp.80-183)
JSTOR: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-0341(198707)46:3<267:CAUITN>2.0.CO;2-C
-Jo-Ann Gross, “Historical Memory, Cultural Identity, and Change: Mirza ‘Abd ad-‘Aziz Sami’s Representations of the Russian Conquest of Bukhara” in Russia’s Orient ed. By Brower and Lazzerinni.
Dec 4: Empire and nation/identities -- whose nation?
-Khalid, The Politics of Muslim Cultural Reform, Jadidism in Central Asia , Ch 6 –7 (p. 184 to p. 230).
-Geraci, “Russian Orientalism at an Impasse: Tsarist Education Policy and the 1910 Conference on Islam,” in Russia’s Orient, ed. By Brower and Lazzerinni.
-Slezkine, ‘Savage Christians or Unorthodox Russians? The Missionary Dilemma in Siberia,”, Between Heaven and Hell, The Myth of Siberia in Russia Culture, ed. by Diment and Slezkine.
Dec 11: Last class – wrap up
Essay #2 due no later than noon Friday, Dec. 13.