Turkic and Central Eurasian Studies Courses
NEAR E 257 Introduction to Central Asian Turkic Literature in Translation (5) VLPA
Provides an overview of the major periods of Central Asian Turkic literature, including: the Pre-Islamic Period (eighth-tenth centuries), the Islamic Period (tenth-twentieth centuries), the Modern Period (1905-1991), and the Post-Colonial period (1991-present). Centers on the Turkic peoples who lived under Russian and Soviet colonial rule.
NEAR E 258 Introduction to Kyrgyz Writer Chingiz Aitmatov (5) VLPA/I&S
Introduces the form and content of the work of the Kyrgyz writer, Chingiz Aitmatov, while also examining his life and influence on the people of Central Asia.
NEAR E 261 Turkic Peoples of Central Asia (3) I&S
History of the Turkic peoples, AD 552 to present. Emphasis on current status of Turkic peoples in Central Asia. Geographical distribution, demographic data, reactions and adaptations to changes resulting from the 1917 revolution. Turkic viewpoint on past and present developments. Offered: jointly with JSIS A 261.
NEAR E 262 Central Asian Country Profiles: Introduction to Kazakhstan (5) VLPA/I&S
Examines developments in Kazakhstan after the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Part of a series on Central Asia.
NEAR E 264 Central Asian Country Profiles: Introduction to Uzbekistan (5) VLPA/I&S
Survey of the Uzbek people and their history. Examines developments in Uzbekistan after the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Part of a series on Central Asia.
NEAR E 265 Introduction to Central Asian Turkic Literature in Translation (3) VLPA
Introduces the foundations of modern Uzbek literature; the common Turkic literature of the eighteenth-century and the more recent Chagatay-Uzbek literature. Focuses on post-Soviet literature since 1991. After independence, Uzbek writers were able to express themselves without censorship and prosecution.
NEAR E 266 The Modern Middle East and Central Asia (5) I&S
Ethnographic overview of Muslim societies in the middle east and central Asia from various anthropological perspectives. Examines the unity and diversity of Muslim communities and acquaints students with the significant linguistic, cultural, and political diversity of Muslim societies. Helps students develop an understanding of Islam as a lived experience.
NEAR E 267 Folktales Along the Silk Road (3) VLPA/I&S
Introduces student to the Silk Road connecting China and Europe through the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Constantinople (now Istanbul). Applies comparative-historical and sociological method in folktale research, i.e. compares Western European stories and motifs with tales from the Silk Road while paying attention to the environment of storytelling.
NEAR E 280 Introduction to Central Asian Turkic Literature in Translation (5) VLPA
Provides an overview of the major periods of Central Asian Turkic literature including: the Pre-Islamic Period (eighth-tenth centuries), the Islamic Period (tenth-twentieth centuries), the Modern Period (1905-1991), and the Post-Colonial period (1991-present). Centers on the Turkic peoples who lived under Russia and Soviet colonial rule.
NEAR E 357 Peoples and Cultures of Central and Inner Asia (5) I&S
Introduces Central and Inner Asia with a multidisciplinary, comparative survey of the cultures and societies of contemporary China's Inner Asia (Mongolia, Xinjiang-Eastern Turkestan, Tibet, and Manchuria), the contemporary Muslim Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), and the adjacent areas of Afghanistan and Iran. Offered: jointly with ANTH 357/JSIS A 357.
NEAR E 358 Islam and Muslims in China (5) I&S
Introduces the lived experiences of Muslims in contemporary China. Examines Muslims' understanding of their faith; the relationship of Islam to the political, economic, and social lives of Muslims; how Islam shapes people's sense of culture and identity; and unity and diversity of various Chinese Muslim communities.
NEAR E 359 Language and Ethnic Identity in China (5) I&S/NW
Analysis of the political, social, and linguistic contexts of languages of China's fifty-six nationalities and the ongoing process of Chinese nation-state building efforts from sociolinguistic and ethnographic perspectives. Examines the relationship of linguistic diversity to social and cultural identity and the role of language in the construction of ethnic identities.
NEAR E 360 Oral Literature of the Turkic Peoples of Central Asia I: The Heroic Epos (3) VLPA/I&S
Representative heroic poems of Central Asian Turkic peoples now living in the Central Asian Republics and China. Origin of the heroic epos, its relation to the romantic epos and other oral literary genres. Art of the singer and his role in nomadic Turkic society. Emphasis on Manas, the monumental epos of the Kirghiz.
NEAR E 557 Turkic Linguistics (5)
Survey of the nature and structure of the Turkic languages, focusing on phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, writing systems, history and cultural context, subgrouping and diversification, and linguistic theoretical principles for their description and analysis.
NEAR E 559 Islam and Muslims in China (5)
Introduces the lived experiences of Muslims in contemporary China. Examines Muslims' understanding of their faith; the relationship of Islam to the political, economic, and social lives of Muslims; how Islam shapes people's sense of culture and identity; and unity and diversity of various Chinese Muslim communities.
NEAR E 560 Language and Ethnic Identity in China (5)
Analysis of the political, social, and linguistic contexts of languages of China's fifty-six nationalities and the ongoing process of Chinese nation-state building efforts from sociolinguistic and ethnographic perspectives. Examines the relationship of linguistic diversity to social and cultural identity and the role of language in the construction of ethnic identities.
NEAR E 585 Digital Media: The Middle East and Central Asia (5)
Hands-on, project-based approach to imaging, new media, electronic text, databases, metadata and accessibility, rights management, and other issues central to contemporary humanities research on the Middle East and Central Asia.
Related courses from the Jackson School
Russian, Eastern Europe and Central Asian Studies at the Ellison Center