Central Asia: Contexts for Understanding

by David W. Montgomery (Editor)

Overview

Central Asia is a diverse and complex region of the world often characterized in the West as exotic, remote, and difficult to understand. Central Asia: Contexts for Understanding offers the most comprehensive introduction to the region available for students and general readers alike. Combining thematic chapters with detailed case studies, readers will learn to appreciate the richly interconnected aspects of life in Central Asia. These wide-ranging, easy-to-understand contributions from many of the leading scholars in the field provide the context needed to understand Central Asia and presents a launching point for further reading and research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780822988274
Publisher:	University of Pittsburgh Press
Publication date:	05/31/2022
Series:	Central Eurasia in Context
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	900
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

David W. Montgomery is research professor in the Department of Government and Politics and the Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland and director of program development for CEDAR—Communities Engaging with Difference and Religion. His books include Practicing Islam: Knowledge, Experience, and Social Navigation in Kyrgyzstan; Living with Difference: How to Build Community in a Divided World; and Everyday Life in the Balkans.

David W. Montgomery is research professor in the Department of Government and Politics and the Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland and director of program development for CEDAR—Communities Engaging with Difference and Religion. His books include Practicing Islam: Knowledge, Experience, and Social Navigation in Kyrgyzstan; Living with Difference: How to Build Community in a Divided World; and Everyday Life in the Balkans.

Table of Contents

Contents About this Book About the Notes Note on Transliteration and Spelling Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Acronyms Central Asia in Context | David W. Montgomery Mapping Context | Julien Thorez and Emmanuel Giraudet Maps Part I. Contextualizing Central Asia 1. Central Asia as Global | Alexander Cooley 2. Central Asia as Local | Morgan Y. Liu 3. Central Asia as Place | Alexander C. Diener and Nick Megoran 4. Central Asia as Story | Benjamin Gatling I-A. Ordinary Soviet Life through Collectivization | Marianne Kamp I-B. Regulation and Appropriation of Islam in Authoritarian Political Contexts | Tim Epkenhans I-C. Migration from the Deep South to the Far North as Central Asian “Glocalism” | Marlène Laruelle Discussion Questions and Further Reading Part II. Contexts of History 5. Precolonial Central Asia | Scott C. Levi 6. Colonial Central Asia | Alexander Morrison 7. Soviet Central Asia | Ali İğmen 8. Post-Soviet Central Asia | David G. Lewis II-A. The Rise of Vali Bay, an Entrepreneur between Two Empires | David Brophy II-B. The Management of Islam in the Late Soviet Period | Adeeb Khalid III-C. Gendered Aspects of Soviet Industrialization in Ak Tyuz | Botakoz Kassymbekova Discussion Questions and Further Reading Part III. Contexts of Living 9. Rural Life | Tommaso Trevisani 10. Urban Life | Natalie Koch 11. Migratory Life | Madeleine Reeves 12. Diaspora Life | Medina Aitieva III-A. Mobility and the Rural Modern along Tajikistan’s Pamir Highway | Till Mostowlansky III-B. From Potemkin Village to Real Life in Turkmenistan | Sebastian Peyrouse III-C. Private Education, Inequality, and the Growing Social Divide in Bishkek | Emil Nasritdinov, Aigoul Abdoubaetova, and Gulnora Iskandarova Discussion Questions and Further Reading Part IV. Contexts of Structure 13. Family Structure | Cynthia Werner 14. Social Structure | Edward Schatz 15. Moral Structure | Maria Louw 16. Gender Structure | Svetlana Peshkova IV-A. On Mothers- and Daughters-in-Law | Julie McBrien IV-B. Mahalla as State and Community | Johan Rasanayagam IV-C. Aitys, Ancestors, and the “Little Sister” | Eva-Marie Dubuisson Discussion Questions and Further Reading Part V. Contexts of Transformation 17. Religion | David W. Montgomery 18. Politics | John Heathershaw 19. Law | Judith Beyer 20. Education | Martha C. Merrill V-A. Mood and Islam in Kazakhstan | Wendell Schwab V-B. Spectacular Politics in the World Nomad Games | Mathijs Pelkmans V-C. Displacement and Belonging in Eurasia | Jennifer S. Wistrand Discussion Questions and Further Reading Part VI. Contexts of Work 21. Resources | Jeanne Féaux de la Croix and David Gullette 22. Economics | Elmira Satybaldieva and Balihar Sanghera 23. Property | Eric McGlinchey 24. Labor | Russell Zanca VI-A. Language as the Wealth of the Turkmen Nation | Victoria Clement VI-B. Family as a Risk Management Institution in Changing Work Contexts | Sophie Roche VI-C. Domestic and Foreign Policies in the Context of Eurasian Integration | Olivier Ferrando Discussion Questions and Further Reading Part VII. Contexts of Vision 25. Media | Svetlana Kulikova 26. National Identity | Laura L. Adams 27. Environment | Amanda E. Wooden 28. Development | Noor O’Neill Borbieva VII-A. Governing Extremism through Communities in Tajikistan | Edward Lemon VII-B. Customary Governance and the State in Central Eurasia | Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili VII-C. Lineage Associations and Informal Politics in Mapping Kyrgyz Leadership | Aksana Ismailbekova Discussion Questions and Further Reading Part VIII. Contexts of Aesthetics 29. Music | Will Sumits 30. Art | Aliya de Tiesenhausen 31. Literature | Rebecca Ruth Gould and Amier Saidula 32. Film | Michael Rouland VIII-A. Soviet Cultural Construction and Its Afterlives | Artemy M. Kalinovsky VIII-B. Sound, Aesthetics, and Instrumental Variance in Dutar Ensembles in Tashkent | Tanya Merchant VIII-C. Translating Art into Politics through Central Asian Feminist and Queer Fantasy | Georgy Mamedov Discussion Questions and Further Reading Translating Contexts into Policy | David M. Abramson, Laura L. Adams, and David W. Montgomery About the Contributors Index

Editorial Reviews

At this time, when an assessment of the situation in Central Asia, broadly defined, is so vitally needed, this volume brings together detailed and specific reports on its various localities by respected experts from many disciplines to produce a work of critical importance for anyone interested in this strategic region and in fact in world affairs generally.” —Robert L. Canfield, professor emeritus at Washington University, St. Louis
 

“Central Asia: Contexts for Understanding offers an accessible and multi-faceted introduction to a crossroads and cockpit of world history. The authors offer chapters on everything from religion to cinema to the environment, providing a student-friendly approach to the modern history, contemporary condition, and lived reality of a complex region.” —J.R. McNeill, Georgetown University, author of The Webs of Humankind: A World History
 

“This volume assembles an impressive array of leading scholars and perspectives in Central Asian studies, combining beautifully-written thematic chapters with illuminating case studies. A multidisciplinary tour-de-force, the authors offer nuanced reflection, engaging analysis, and complex interconnections, which will inspire deeper understanding and generative insights for new students and established scholars of the region alike.” —Regine Spector, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
 

"A seminal reading on social and cultural aspects of Central Asian societies."
—Slavic Review

From the Publisher