Annotation
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with some key societal and cultural issues emerging in post-Soviet Central Eurasian societies (referring to North Caucasus republics and South Caucasus and Central Asian states). It invites students to critically read a body of scholarly literature that employs anthropological, sociological and constructivist approaches and methods to analyse issues of regional, national and local identities, gender relations, changes in family structures, the role of religion, migration and traditional cultural norms.
Applying a student-centred method, this course’s format is seminar-based which means that students’ participation in class – discussing readings’ main arguments, approaches and gaps in the literature – is essential. In so doing, this course will equip students with a critical understanding and the conceptual framework of how past and present cultural and societal legacies are mirrored in the political and cultural behaviours of the societies.