Product Description

For its citizens, contemporary Central Asia is a land of great promise and peril. While the end of Soviet rule has opened new opportunities for social mobility and cultural expression, political and economic dynamics have also imposed severe hardships. In this lively volume, contributors from a variety of disciplines examine how ordinary Central Asians lead their lives and navigate shifting historical and political trends. Provocative stories of Turkmen nomads, Afghan villagers, Kazakh scientists, Kyrgyz border guards, a Tajik strongman, guardians of religious shrines in Uzbekistan, and other narratives illuminate important issues of gender, religion, power, culture, and wealth. A vibrant and dynamic world of life in urban neighborhoods and small villages, at weddings and celebrations, at classroom tables, and around dinner tables emerges from this introduction to a geopolitically strategic and culturally fascinating region.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126118 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 424 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780253219046
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Recommended. All levels/libraries." -- L. Beck, Washington University in Saint Louis, 2008 June CHOICE.

Review

"Part of a series of books on everyday life in various parts of the world, this volume offers essays on the different ways that Central Asians lead their daily lives and navigate shifting historical, political, and economic trends in past and present times.... Many of the selections concern the difficult transitions from Soviet rule to independent statehood, restrictions on political and social activity, widening gaps between the rich and the poor, and new opportunities for social mobility and cultural expression. The essays on the varying beliefs and practices of Muslims across this wide region are especially informative. The volume contains illustrations and a listing of the contributors' backgrounds and qualifications.... Recommended." -- Choice

"[This] book... offers to the curious reader a better understanding of Central Asian people, their histories, and everyday lives -- a diversity of people who otherwise may have been conceptualized as a grey and anonymous mass, or, worse yet, as mere numbers." -- Irene Hilgers, H-Soyuz, October 2008

[A]n excellent study.... Readers will be attracted to the richness of the collected stories about the social and cultural diversity of Central Asia. The book provides a sympathetic and insightful analysis of Central Asian societies that face common challenges in their transition to a better life. In sum, this innovative work is a significant contribution to various fields in Central Asian studies.Anara Tabyshalieva, Institute for Regional Studies, Kyrgyzstan, SLAVIC AND EAST EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Vol. 53.1 Spring 2009

About the Author

Jeff Sahadeo is Assistant Professor, Institute of European and Russian Studies and Department of Political Science, Carleton University, Ottawa. He is author of Russian Colonial Society in Tashkent, 1865--1923 (IUP, 2006).

Russell Zanca is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Northeastern Illinois University. He is author of The Big Cotton Collective: Uzbeks after Socialism.

Customer Reviews

A Little Known Region
Zanca and Sahadeo have done an excellent job of collecting a series of essays that illuminate the everyday life lived by the peoples of Central Asia. The collection begins with an excellent essay on the history of Central Asia that makes a difficult subject understandable. Other essays are grouped about topics such as community, gender, performance and encounters, the nation state and, of course, religion.

Anyone wishing a deeper understanding of this region would be well-advised to read this book.

John G.
Chicago