| Examination of little known Asian peoples of the former Soviet Union and their role in solving cultural, economic and geopolitical issues facing the twenty-first century. The course will focus on changes in the socio-economic status of women in these areas. The first half of the course examines Siberia's indigenous peoplesÑthe Nenets, the Evenk, the Nivkh, the Sakha/Yakut and the Chukchi and the impact of Russian outsiders (conquerors, traders, settlers, rulers and exiled convicts). Folktales, short stories, art and films will shed light on the culture, history, spirituality (shamanism), environment, sociopolitical and gender issues of these ethnic groups. The second half of the course will focus on the former Soviet Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. A discussion of the history and culture of this transit zone linking West to the East, Christianity and Islam, Europe to Asia, will help students better understand important geopolitical processes occurring in the border regions of the modern world. Discussion based on examples of Central Asian literature and cinema. Important questions: 1) How politicization and industrialization affect belief systems of indigenous ethnic groups, their attitude toward the environment and rural or subsistence economies? 2) What is the significance of these two vast areas, rich in oil and gas, for the twenty-first century?
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