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Central Asia, the world’s “crossroads of cultures and civilizations,” has witnessed an unparalleled increase in world interest since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Its global significance, reflected in its strategic location between China, Russia, India and Iran, in the management of vital natural resources such as oil and natural gas, and the recent American conflict in Afghanistan, have turned the region into one of the key focal points for academics, policy makers and practitioners.
This course offers students a unique opportunity to explore Central Asia’s place in world history, its forceful presence in the history of Islam, and its role as the great connecting link between East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Initial lectures will survey the general history and geography of the region and introduce students to major sources and the “state of the field.” We will then examine chronologically the historical developments in the region, both in the sedentary areas and in the steppes, beginning with the rise of Islam and the Arab conquest and finishing in the late-Soviet era. We will do so partly by reading and discussing primary source materials written in Central Asia (in English translation, of course).
Special themes that will be addressed include:
- Trade, migrations and exchange of ideas and goods along the Silk Road.
- The rise and fall of great empires (Chinggis Khan, Tamerlane).
- The region’s gradual conversion to Islam.
- Central Asia as a “frontier zone.”
- The symbiotic relationship between nomadic and urban-based civilizations.
- The unique interaction between Turks and Iranians in Central Asian history.
- The Great Game or, the scramble for Central Asia.
- Colonization and nation building.
Prerequisites: No prerequisites are necessary.
Readings:
1. Svat Soucek, A History of Inner Asia (Cambridge University Press, 2000).
2. A Course Reader: Anthology of Primary Sources in Translation.
Requirements & Grading:
- Undergraduates: A Midterm Exam (30%), A Take-Home Final Exam (50%), as well as a blank map quiz and contribution to class discussions (20%).
- Graduate students will take both exams (each 25% of the grade), write a short term paper (25%) and contribute to class discussions (25%).
Goodbody Hall 157 | 1011 East 3rd St. | Bloomington, IN 47405-7005 | Phone: (812) 855-2233 | Fax: (812) 855-7500 | ceus@indiana.edu