1. Travels into Bokhara: A Voyage up the Indus to Lahore and a Journey to Cabool, Tartary & Persia

Travels into Bokhara by Alexander Burnes marked the first time a modern account of Central Asia was recorded by a European. Burnes himself was a smaller piece of a larger puzzle during the ongoing “Great Game,” between Russia and Great Britain. His reconnaissance and writings about the region proved to be vital to the British, interesting to the general public, and a cause for concern for the Russians when the French translation was published. Despite this, Burnes own orientalist and narrative lens would paint a version of Central Asia that would continue to perpetuate even till today, in reference to Said is an example of “Imagine Geographies,” in which perceived assumptions about Central Asia and its inhabitants is perpetuated by Burke. You can access the text here.

Self-test:

• Identify the key reason as to why Burnes traveled to Bokhara.
• Explain “Imagine Geographies,” a concept coined by Said, and apply it to Burnes’ writings in Travels into Bokhara.

Writing Prompts:

• In Reference to Imagined Geographies and Travels into Bokhara, do modern examples of this exist? If so, give examples.
• If you were put in the place of Burnes, how much would your own perception and views inform your writings about the Travel into Bokhara? 

Additional Materials:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m7uL4Q44ws (Documentary about Afghanistan, mentions Burnes as a source)

Video-lecture by Hasena:

2. “‘Soviet Nationalism’: An ideological legacy to the independent republics of Central Asia”

The lingering presence of the Soviet Union still lingers in Central Asia today. To this day, linguistic and cultural impacts remain as many people in the former Soviet states still practice the customs that the Soviets put in place. For example in the case of Tajikistan, the Cyrillic alphabet was adopted in favor of the Arabic-based script previously utilized as well as their capital being renamed Stalinabad instead of Dushanbe (Persian for Monday). 

This remains to be one aspect of Sovietisation in Central Asia, the essay by Berg G. Fragner however focuses specifically on the implementation of Soviet Nationalism in attempts to maintain hegemony over the discourse involving self-determination based on ethnic nationalism. You can access the text here (pp. 13-35). 

Self-test:

• Explain Otto Bauer’s and Stalin’s views towards the national question.
• Identify the impacts of Soviet nationalism.
• What were some of the impacts on national identity following the collapse of the USSR?

Writing Prompts:

• Explain the reading to a friend or family member and quiz them over their preconceived ideas of Central Asia and the USSR, What were their initial reactions to the reading and how much did they know about this topic?
• Bauer discusses the separation of nationalist ideas and entities from revolutionary ideas and practices. How do you think this would be perceived today in an increasing age of intersectionality?

Additional Materials:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyGppOPUm2Y (Documentary about Tajikistan 20 years after independence from the USSR)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7UGpzhHIYQ (Archival video about life in the USSR)

Video-lecture by Hasena: