Textbooks for Central Asian Studies
A course from The School of Russian and Asian Studies
and The London School of Bishkek
The following textbooks are used or recommended reading for Central Asian Studies, a study abroad course offered by The School of Russian and Asian Studies in partnership with The London School of Bishkek. Books indicated as required reading are your responsibility to purchase. You may click on the title for a link to the books' pages on Amazon. You should take care to acquire all required texts before your departure to Kyrgyzstan.
Bringing laptop, netbook, or iPad is additionally highly recommended for all students. The London School of Bishkek uses an electronic, online textbook. While Kindles are available from the school to access the material, most students report that accessing the text from a laptop computer is considerably more convenient. This will also make doing research, writing papers, maintaining your required journal, and staying in touch with friends and family back home that much easier. For more on taking your computer abroad, click here.
Required Reading:
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Central Asian Studies
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Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics
By Rafis Abazov
"[C]entral Asian culture remains relatively unknown to the West. The Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics provides a concise yet thorough overview of the region. The book is greatly enriched by Rafis Abazov's insider knowledge of dynamic changes in the post-independence era….Coverage includes thoughts and religions, folklore, literature, media, cinema, performing and visual arts, gender and marriage, festival and social customs. Evocative photos, a map, a chronology, and a glossary compliment the text; and the selected bibliography (resource guide), provides a resource for curious readers to conduct further studies. This is the best source for students and general readers to extensive insight into the jewel of Eurasia."
Jamilia
By Chingiz Aitmatov
The Second World War is raging, and Jamilia’s husband is off fighting at the front. Accompanied by Daniyar, a sullen newcomer who was wounded on the battlefield, Jamilia spends her days hauling sacks of grain from the threshing floor to the train station in their village in the Caucasus. Spurning men’s advances and wincing at the dispassionate letters she receives from her husband, Jamilia falls helplessly in love with the mysterious Daniyar in this heartbreakingly beautiful tale. A classic from the award-winning Kyrgyz novelist Chingiz Aitmatov.
Central Asia's Second Chance
By Martha Brill Olcott
Central Asia, a critical battlefield in the war on terror, is vitally important and still unfamiliar even to many foreign policy specialists. Regional expert Martha Brill Olcott highlights the deep contradiction running through U.S. policy toward Central Asia. Partnerships with antidemocratic regimes have created long-term security risks and the international community has remained complicit in its lack of effective engagement. As recent events in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan demonstrate, tensions in the region lie close to the surface: If we are to prevent these states from descending into chaos, the international community must identify solutions to the economic, political, and social challenges confronting them.
The New Central Asia: The Regional Impact of International Actors
By Emilian Kavalski
This book focuses on Central Asia's place in world affairs and how international politics of state-building has affected the Asian region, thus filling the gaps in ongoing discussions on the rise of Asia in global governance. It also attempts to 'generalize and contextualize the Central Asian experience' and re-evaluate its comparative relevance, by explaining the complex dynamics of Central Asian politics through a detailed analysis of the effects of major international actors - both international organizations as well as current and rising great powers.
Recommended Pre-Course Reading:
The Great Game
By Peter Hopkirk
Peter Hopkirk, a former reporter for The Times of London with wide experience of the region, tells an extraordinary story of ambition, intrigue, and military adventure. His sensational narrative moves at breakneck pace, yet even as he paints his colorful characters--tribal chieftains, generals, spies, Queen Victoria herself--he skillfully provides a clear overview of the geographical and diplomatic framework. The Great Game was Russia's version of America's "Manifest Destiny" to dominate a continent, and Hopkirk is careful to explain Russian viewpoints as fully as those of the British. The story ends with the fall of Tsarist Russia in 1917, but the demise of the Soviet Empire (hastened by a decade of bloody fighting in Afghanistan) gives it new relevance, as world peace and stability are again threatened by tensions in this volatile region of great mineral wealth and strategic significance.
Recommended Reference:
Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of Central Asia
By Rafis Abazov
From the Silk Road to the Great Game, Central Asia has long been a region of great strategic, political, and economic importance. Currently the home of large oil reserves, Islamic terrorists, and new democracies, Central Asia is of growing visibility to Americans. In this atlas, Rafis Abazov provides 50 two-color maps, each accompanied by a facing page of explanatory text, that graphically illuminate the region`s history tracing back to the 8th-7th centuries B.C. From the spread of Islam to the invasion of the Mongols, the area has been at the crossroads of some of the world`s most important developments, all succinctly explained in this book. Students will regard it as a useful reference, and general readers will value it for its clarity and wealth of information.
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