Courses

The aim of this course is to provide students with a fresh perspective on the concept of Eurasia originating in imperial Russian intellectual history. The course sets out to highlight the impact of nomadic political cultures on shaping the operation of Russian imperial policies and practices and their legacies, a perspective that is typically not represented in Eurasian and Russian history courses as a major idea of analysis. The course’s focus therefore will be on the spread of Russian rule over Eurasia’s steppe regions and Turkestan. Among other things, the course explores how the interplay of the nomadic concepts of sovereignty and territoriality enabled the rise of the Russian empire. Beyond ethnic and cultural history special attention will be devoted to economic and military history, as well as political institutions and diplomacy. We will also look at the ways in which the concept of Eurasia continued to inspire Soviet and post-Soviet politicians and other related groups to construct and reconstruct boundaries between East and West.