Required
Identity and Ethnicity in Central Asia
Examine cultural elements that unite and divide society in modern Central Asia. Overview the ethnic and social divisions in Central Asia and understand their historical roots and modern issues such as clan structure. Explore identity formation in modern Kyrgyzstan, including an overview of the Kyrgyz language as well as traditional Kyrgyz foods, holidays, music, and storytelling. Meet locals and experience the cultural elements first-hand through workshops, guest lectures, and field trips. Encompassed in this course are the mountain horse trek and travel to Uzbekistan.
3 credits
****
Electives (choose one)
RUSS 193/293/393/403 Russian as a Second Language
Russian is a lingua franca for politics and business in Central Asia and thus forms the foundation for Central Asian Studies. Small, intensive classes focus on reading, writing, grammar, speaking, comprehension, and phonetics.
6-week Summer (3 credits); 10-week Summer (9 credits);
Linguistic Anthropology in Central Asia
This course offers an introduction to the foundational relationship between language and culture by examining anthropological approaches to the study of language. Learn how language both reflects and creates thought, culture, and power relations. This course will offer a Kyrgyz-focus, covering all material in the Identity and Ethnicity in Central Asia course above. It will also overview how Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek are used in and are shaped by social, cultural, and individual processes to convey culture, thought, ethnicity, religion, status, and gender.
3 credits. Course is held in its entirety over the six-week period, meaning students on either time frame will take the full course.