- Central Eurasian Studies >> Courses >> Course List
- Post-Soviet Central Asian Identity, Demographics, Language, and Society
- CEUS-R 529
- William Fierman
This graduate colloquium will focus on a variety of cultural social, and economic issues since 1991 in the five former Soviet republics that emerged as independent countries in Central Asia. Issues to be examined include the following: creation of national identities—e.g., language policy, policy towards Islam, and rewriting of history. The course will also include discussion of education, health, poverty, environmental problems, and gender issues. The course will not focus on the political systems of the Central Asian countries. Each meeting will be devoted to a different topic, generally covering all of Central Asia. As we look at each topic, our main focus will be the similarities and differences among the newly independent states of Central Asia; however, we will also consider similarities and differences between Central Asia and other regions of the former USSR.
Students enrolled in this class should already have some familiarity with Central Asia and/or political, economic, and social issues in other post-Soviet countries. (If you lack background on both of these areas, this is probably not the appropriate course for you.)
Readings will be available electronically through the e-reserves. Most of the readings in these packets will be chapters of books, scholarly articles, reports by international organizations, and brief news reports or analyses.
GRADING: The course grade will be calculated with 30% based on class participation, 35% based on weekly short papers, and 35% based on the major paper.
