31506

WiSe 19/20: Introduction to the Contemporary Caucasus

Oliver Reisner

Information for students

The course will be offered from January 28 till February 14, on each Tuesday (16-20), Friday (14-18) and Monday (14-18).

Comments

Utilizing the latest research we want to introduce into the study of the Caucasus, its history and present challenges. First we will assess the diversity of the region in geographical, ethno-linguistic and other terms. Then we will turn towards the history of the region as a periphery in between changing constellations of empires attempting to dominate the region. We will analyse the coping strategies of local actors to deal with external threats in a frontier region and its impact on social developments and special forms of state building. With the intrusion of the Russian Empire, traditional forms of societal organisation became questionable. Together with a new group of educated Caucasians, an intelligentsia, Western ideas entered the Caucasus and inspired a transformation according to European ideals that somewhat prefigured a short-lived independence of nation states after WWI. close

Suggested reading

Coene, Frederik: The Caucasus. An Introduction. London & New York: Routledge, 2010. Companjen, Francoise; Maracz, Laszlo; Versteegh, Lia (eds): Exploring the Caucasus in the 21st Century. Amsterdam: Pallas Publications, 2010. De Waal, Thomas: The Caucasus. An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010 / 2nd ed. 2018. Grant, Bruce: The Captive and the Gift. Cultural Histories of Sovereignty in Russia and the Caucasus. Ithaka & London: Cornell University Press, 2009. King, Charles: The Ghost of Freedom. A History of the Caucasus. Oxford UP, 2008. Longuet-Marx, Frédérique (éd): Caucase. Axes Anciens, Nouveaux Enjeux. Genève: Centre de Recherches Entreprises et Sociétés, 1998 (Nouveaux Mondes No. 8) close