This course begins with an in-depth discussion of Central Asian culture in the context of the region's ancient religions: Zoroastrianism and Islam. That discussion is followed by an examination of the clash of new ideologies, Communism and Democracy, with the traditional tribal mores of the region, leading to repeated ethnic, social, and political strife. The third part of the course examines the roots of conflict in Central Asia through the contributions of major Central Asian authors like Chingiz Aitmatov.

Dates, topics and Assignments:

September

7   Introduction to the course; course content, materials to be covered;
     office hours; tests; book report; paper; grades, etc.
          Assignment: W121.From the Hymns of Zarathustra to the Songs of Borbad (read from the beginning up to the "Achaemenians") ;
                       B608. "Cosmic Dualism", pp. 189-205 (optional)

9   The Cosmology and Mythology of Persia; First set of Oral Reports assigned
          Assignment: W119. Firdowsi's Shahname (read from the beginning up to "Gathering a Host");
                  B609. Fillipani-Ronconi, pp. 51-83 (optional)

12 The role of farr in Persian life and culture
          Assignment: W121. From the Hymns of Zarathustra to the Songs of Borbad (read from the "Achaemenians" up to the "Seleucids")

14 The Iranian world and Alexander
          Assignment: B596. The Cambridge History of Islam, pp. 3-29 (Pre-Islamic Arabia)

16 State of life and learning in Arabia before the rise of Islam is assessed
          Assignment: B538. Esposito, pp. 3-36; B540. Farah, pp. 103-124.

19 Reports: The Rise of Islam: Muhammad and the Qur'an
          Assignment: B538. Esposito, pp. 68-116; Farah, pp.125-150. 

21 Reports: The Fundamentals of Islam: Beliefs and Observances
          Assignment: B538. Esposito, pp. 162-202; W231. The Hajj Ritual

23 Islamic Sects and Schools of Law
          Assignment: B589. Schimmel, pp. 98-186; W236. Terminology Related to Islam

26 The Sufi stations and states are discussed
          Assignment: None

28 "The Sufi Way"
           Assignment: B553. "Islam in France" (pp. 3-28); B553. "Islam in the UK" (pp. 51-76)

30 Islam in Europe is discussed  
          Assignment: Marx's Communist Manifesto (Handout)

October

3 Clash of Socialist Ideology and Islam
           Assignment: B532. Chambers, pp. 1-45; A810. Case, "I Became a Bakhtiari"; W111. The Bakhtiaris of Iran"

5 "In Search of Grass"
           Assignment: Chambers, pp. 45-84; W110. "The Qashqais of Iran"; Beck, pp. 27-73 (optional)

7 "The Qashqais of Iran"
           Assignment: Chambers, pp. 84-135

10 The lifestyles of the Bakhtiaris and the Qashqais are compared
           Assignment: Chambers, pp. 136-202; W112."The Kirghiz of Afghanistan"

12 "The Kyrgyz of Afghanistan"
           Assignment: Chambers, pp. 84-135; W113. "The Kazakhs of China"

14 "The Kazakhs of China"
           Assignment: none

17 Study Guide I is distributed

19 Review

21 Exam One

24 Tribal customs of Central Asia are discussed
           Assignment: B592. Spuler, pp. 71-114

26 Clothes and jewelry of Central Asia are displayed.
           Assignment: W114. History of the Manghits I

28 Mongol life and customs
           Assignment: W115. History of the Manghits II

31 The Mongol invasion of Central Asia
           Assignment: none

November

2 "The Mongol Onslaught"; Division of the Mongol Empire
           Assignment: W101. "Central Asia: An Overview"; W103. "Iran: A Concise Overview";

4 Iran and Central Asia from ancient times to the present/current affairs
          Assignment: W102. "Afghanistan: An Overview"

7 History and Culture of Afghanistan from the end of the 19th century to the present.
          Assignment: W104. " Tajikistan: A concise Overview"

9 Tajikistan: the land and its people/current state of economy, privatization, health, etc
          Assignment:W108. "Uzbekistan: A Concise Overview" ; W106. "Turkmenistan: A Concise Overview"

11 The Islamic and Communist faces of Central Asia/ current state of economy, privatization, health, etc
          Assignment:W105. "Kazakhstan: A Concise Overview" ; W107. " Kyrgyzstan: A Concise Overview"

14 Study Guide II is distributed; Review

16 Exam Two

18 Discussion of the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz--current state of economy, privatization, health, etc.
          Assignment: W160. "Kerbabayev's life"; W161. "The Merry Japbaks"; W163. "Mukhtar Auesov's Life"; W222. "Fierce Grey"

21 Sovietization of Central Asia
          Assignment:W224. "Akbar Tursunov's Life" and "From the Ashes"; W165. "Sattor Tursun's Life"; W166. "The Intersection"

23 Soviet View of Muslims
          Assignment:W167. "Chingiz Aitmatov's Life"; W169. "Jamila"

24-25 Thanksgiving Holiday

28 Soviet ideology and Central Asia
          Assignment:W170. Farewell, Gyulsary!

30 No class
          Assignment: Same

December

2 Rural life under the Soviets
          Assignment:W232. "To Have and to Lose"

5 Soviet and Muslim Marriages
          Assignment: W233. "The Piebald Dog Running Along the Shore"

7 Where culture meets literature: the Nivkhi philosophy of life and culture

9 open

12    Study Guide III is distributed; General Review

14 Film: "Close to Eden"

Final exam (test 3) is on Friday, December 16, 2005, 1:30-3:30 p.m. in 229 Nolte Center

ASSIGNMENTS

There will be three tests, two reports, one book report, and one final paper. Attendance also carries points.

Tests

There will be 3 tests. The dates for the tests are geared to the completion of each of the three sections devoted to the main topics. The exams will cover classroom discussions, reading Assignments, and reports. There will be no make-up tests. Exceptions will be made for hardship cases on an individual basis. The instructor should be informed of the reason for not taking the test in advance. The first two tests carry 10 points each. Test 3 carries 15 points. The tests altogether are worth 35 points.

Reports

Each student participates in the gathering and delivering of information two times. Once in giving an oral report and once in a written report.

Oral Reports
After a topic is assigned, the student gives a presentation in class. At the same time she/he emails the report to the instructor for approval. The instructor corrects the report and returns it. Immediately after the student receives the corrected report, he/she should make the corrections and then email the report to all the other students.

Written Reports
The rules for the written reports are the same as those for the oral reports. After the student receives the corrected report from the instructor, he/she makes the needed adjustments and emails it to all.

• Students are responsible for knowing the contents of both reports for tests.
• Each report is worth 10 points.
• The reports are graded for the quality of their overall contribution to the class. Failure to participate at the time assigned amounts to the loss of 3 points. Failure to provide the class with a final copy of the report amounts to the loss of the rest of the points.

Book Report (3 pages)

Any book on aspects of Central Asian, Iranian, or Afghan cultures is acceptable. The book for the book report must have the instructor's approval. The book report is due on December 2, 2005. It carries 12 points. See Guidelines for Writing Book Reports for more information.

Paper (10 pages)

The paper should be double-spaced, typed, and presentable. It should deal with aspects of Central Asian, Iranian, or Afghan life and culture. The paper should include an introduction, a reasonable development of the topic proposed, and a clear indication of diligent research. Look at Guidelines for Writing Papers .The paper carries 30 points:

         Paper is due on December 14, 2005.

Attendance

Attendance is taken by passing a roster to be legibly signed. Each absence is worth half a point. Attendance carries 3 points. You are responsible to make sure that you have signed the roster before you leave the classroom.

Grading Scale

Books on Reserve

The following books are on reserve at Wilson

Allworth, Edward. Central Asia: 120 Years of Russian Rule, 1989.
Beck, Lois. Nomad: A Year in the Life of a Qashqa'i Tribesman in Iran, University of California Press, 1991.
Bennigsen, Alexandre and S. Enders Wimbush. Muslims of the Soviet Empire, 1986.
Case, Paul Edward. "I Become a Bakhtiari," National Geographic Magazine, 1946/47, pp. 325-358
Chambers, James. The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe, Oxford University Press, 1979.
Esposito, John L. (1991). Islam: The Straight Path, NY: Oxford University Press.
Farah, Caesar. Islam: Beliefs and Practices, 1992
Hunter, Shireen T. (ed.). Islam, Europe's Second Religion: The New Social, Cultural, and Political Landscape, Center for Strategic and International Studies,Praeger, 2002.
Irfan, Shahid. "Pre-Islamic Arabia," The Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. Ia, Cambridge U Press, 1970.
Schimmel, Annemarie (1975) Mystical Dimensions of Islam, University of North Carolina Press.
Spuler, Bertold. History of the Mongols, Dorset Press, 1968.

The following books from the general collection at Wilson Library are useful for expanding your knowledge of the area and as sources for reports and papers:

Ahmed, Rashid (2002). Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia, Yale University Press.
Ali, Tariq (2000). The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity, Verso, 2002.
Allworth,Edward. The Modern Uzbeks, Hoover Institute Press, 1990.
Barth, Fredrik, Nomads of South Persia, Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1964
Barthold, V. Turkistan Down to the Mongol Invasion, E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Trust, 1977.
Dupree, Louis. Afghanistan, Princeton University Press, 1980
Enloe, Cynthia (1989). Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, U of California Press.
Fakhry, Majid. (1970, 1983). A History of Islamic Philosophy, Columbia University Press.
Grousset, Rene. The Empire of the Steppe, Indiana University Press, 1986
Hambly, Gavin (ed.). Central Asia, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1969.
Heissig, Walther. The Religions of the Mongols, University of California Press, 1980.
Hiro, Dilip. Between Marx and Muhamad: The Changing Face of Central Asia, Harper Collins Publishers, 1994 & 1995.
Ismael, Tareq Y. and Jacqueline S. Ismael. Government and Politics in Islam, St. Martin's Press, 1985.
Knobloch, Edgar. Beyond the Oxus: Archaeology, Art and Architecture of Central Asia, London, 1972.
Landen, Robert G. The Emergence of the Modern Middle East, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1970.
Lewis, Bernard (2002). What Went Wrong?, Oxford University Press.
Mandelbaum, Michael. Central Asia and the World, Council of Foreign Relations, Inc. 1994.
Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto, with an Introduction by A.J.P. Taylor, Penguin Classics, 1967.
Massell, Gregory J. The Surrogate Proletariat, Princeton U. Press, 1974. Praeger Publishers, 1993.
Olcott, Martha Brill. The Kazakhs, Hoover Institute Press, 1987.
Rogers, Michael (1976). The Spread of Islam, Elsevier Publishing.
Rywkin, Michael. Moscow's Muslim Challenge, Sharpe Publications, 1982 & 1990
Said, Edward W. (1978). Orientalism, Vintage Books.
Sarkisyanz, Manuel. "Russian Conquest in Central Asia: Transformation and Acculturation," in Russia and Asia, Stanford: Hoover Institute Press, 1972.
Tursunov, Akbar. "From the Ashes," Icarus: New Writings from Around the World, # 6, 1995
Twining, David T. The New Eurasia: A Guide to the Republics of the Former Soviet Union, Praeger Press, 1993.