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- Central Asia in the 19th Century
- CEUS-R 710
- Ron Sela
This research seminar is designed for each participant to devise and complete an original research project related to the history of Central Asia in the nineteenth century, thereby advancing your own research agenda. Research topics may be associated with any aspect relating to the Central Asian polities of the era, sedentary and nomadic peoples and groups, and the emergence of imperial and colonial rule in the region. Each participant is required to research and write an article-length paper based on primary source materials (principally in – but not limited to - Persian, Turkic, and/or Russian). The paper may result in a draft for a publishable article, a conference paper, or in progressing toward the dissertation stage.
Class Schedule
Our first weekly meetings as a group will be dedicated to the introduction of the major themes in Central Asian history and historiography in the 19th century by reviewing a small number of select readings that may serve as conceptual or methodological models for your own research. These meetings will help us evaluate the significance and accessibility of potential sources and types of sources, and we will also introduce and make use of the extensive material and digital resources for the study of 19th-century Central Asia housed in the Denis Sinor Research Institute of Inner Asian Studies here on campus.
We will meet again as a group toward the end of the semester for students to present their research. Most of the semester, however, will consist of participants working individually to research and write their papers. During this period, you are expected to have regular one-on-one meetings with the instructor.
Tasks and Deadlines:
By week 5: a research proposal outline, including research questions and an annotated bibliography [25% of the overall grade]; by week 9:
a detailed research report, including a comprehensive outline of the first draft [30%]; by week 12: first complete draft; by week 16:
final draft [45%].
