printer friendly pageREES 244A: Practice of Everyday Life in Kazakhstan: From Nomadism to Modernity (ANTHRO 144A)
An interdisciplinary introduction to the historically nomadic land of Kazakhstan, its peoples and their lifestyles ¿ the practice of everyday life. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, Kazakhstan is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory is greater than Western Europe: it stretches from the fringes of Europe to the borders of Mongolia and China. The seminar surveys language and society, traditional economics and customary law, rituals and folk customs, local dwelling, craft and art, the cultural panorama, the historical relationship between sedentary and nomadic peoples as well as new approaches to the study of nomads in modernity. Speaking of the present time, we will follow the changing nomads in a changing world. The instructor is going to base, to the extent possible, on the extremely rich fieldwork data recently discovered in Kazakhstan -- the data is yet little known in the West. The seminar will make extensive use of audio-visual materials and films.
REES 250A: Minaret and Mahallah: Women and Islam in Central Asia (ANTHRO 150A, FEMGEN 150A)
Introduction to women's culture and art in Muslim countries of Central Asia. Women, bearers of family rites and folklore, are the key figures in transmission of traditional culture and guardians of folk Islam. Women helped to keep the continuity of Islamic education in Central Asia during the harsh times of Communist dominance. The whole wealth of women's oral tradition will be demonstrated and examined to the extent possible. The course will make broad use of audio-visual materials.
Instructors:
Kunanbaeva, A. (PI)
REES 301: An Introduction to Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
This seminar investigates the origins and evolution of the field and exposes students to major debates about the history, geography, politics, societies, economies, cultures, and languages of the region.
REES 312: Socio-Economic Issues in Contemporary Russia and Eastern
Course focus on the political dynamics of market liberalization and response to economic crisis in these emerging markets, including the sources of support and opposition to reform, the interplay between international organizations and domestic politics, and the challenges of protecting the losers of economic liberalization.
REES 330: WIth God in Russia: Orthodox Christianity in the 19th and 20th Centuries (REES 130)
The experience of religion, particularly Orthodoxy, under tsars and commissars. Religion as a lived experience; practice and belief in the provinces and villages, intertwining of religion and folk customs (the so-called double faith); condition of the Church before and after the Revolutions of 1917; religion under Soviet control; and liberation of the Church since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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