Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present [Paperback]

Jeff Sahadeo (Editor), Russell Zanca (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0253219043 | ISBN-13: 978-0253219046 | Publication Date: July 12, 2007

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.

(2009)

Editorial Reviews

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

(Choice 2008)

"[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

(Irene Hilgers H-Soyuz )

"[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

(Anara Tabyshalieva, Institute for Regional Studies, Kyrgyzstan SLAVIC AND EAST EUROPEAN JOURNAL )

"[A]n excellent and compelling collection of essays.... [T]his book is a valuable addition to our understanding of not only a region heavily influenced by the Russian/Soviet colonial legacy, but also of the ways in which the everyday confronts often competing notions of identity." —Robert O. Krikorian, George Washington University, Journal of Colonialism & Colonial History e-jrnl, Vol. 9.3 Winter 2008

(Robert O. Krikorian, George Washington University Journal of Colonialism & Colonial History e-jrnl )

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (July 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253219043
• ISBN-13: 978-0253219046
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #156,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > History > Asia > Central Asia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Known Region, August 9, 2007

By 

John P. Goldman (Chicago, Il) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present (Paperback)

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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great preparation for travel, September 18, 2010

By 

Augusta - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present (Paperback)

I am preparing to travel to Central Asia, and have found it hard to find books that deal with life in that area. This book covers a multitude of topics using specific cases to illustrate the generalizations. It was the most helpful piece of info I found.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Black spot of the book., September 23, 2011

By 

Lintus - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present (Paperback)

I appreciate work done by Jeff Sahadeo and Russell Zanca, but I would like to share my opinion about black spot of the book. I had a good impression about the book (while reading it) and thought that my money were not wasted until I reached essay called "Dinner with Akhmed" written by Greta Uebling. She writes that her article "explores pos-Soviet gender ideologies in Tajikistan" based on a series of encounters she had. In my opinion it is a misleading essay. I had an impression that it is a poorly written story by a weak Western tourist (who is in addition an alcoholic), but not an article written by professional anthropologist, historian or sociologist. In my opinion conclusions and analysis she did are very weak and poorly reflect insides of gender relation, culture, tradition in Soviet, post-Sovet, modern Tajikistan. I felt very good and comfortable reading all other essays, but "Dinner with Akhmed" in my opinion was the worst one, written with ingrained in "modern" world arrogance. For example, invitation to visit an unknown family the author sees as an opportunity "to expand her knowledge about the region", which is "final goal" of the author. A "visit" in Central Asian cultures is not the same as a "visit" in the Western culture, it can be with no purpose and special formal order. The author describes how after having many many toasts with the gay whom she barely knows she "understands" his "final purpose". She writes: "Here in the final toast of the evening, is revealed one of Akhmed's underlying goals and overriding subtext of the conversation..." It sounds ironic to me. Those who lived in Central Asia will doubt it. Because, as I wrote above, in Central Asia visit to a family (even in another country), or person whom you drunk with, most often done not for mercenary ends. In general, I felt like I wasted my time reading that "muddy" essay.