Pastoralism & Mobility in Inner Asia

1 Course Unit

"Pastoralism and Mobility" will examine the society and history of mobile pastoralists (nomads) in Inner Asia from earliest times to the present. Peoples covered will include Mongols, Tibetans, Turkic nomads (such as Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Turkmen), and their ancestors and predecessors. The class will focus on questions such as: Is there a distinctive form of Inner Asian pastoralist society? At the grass roots level? At the elite level? How have states (native and foreign) influenced Inner Asian pastoralist society in pre-modern and modern contexts? How have Inner Asian pastoralists influenced neighboring states? What role does kinship play in governing group formation, property, and status in Inner Asian pastoralist society? Does this role vary over time, space, or ethnic background? If so, how? What purposes does mobility serve in Inner Asian societies? How have various forms of livestock lease-holding changed and shaped wealth in Inner Asian pastoralist society? How did class differentiation emerge & function in pre-modern pastoralist societies? What happens when pastoralists become farmers? How have modern schemes of social improvement and productivity, especially collectivization and decollectivization, shaped pastoralist lives? Fall, odd numbered years only Mutually Exclusive: EALC 7783 1 Course Unit