Libraries
 

R310 / R510: Introduction to Central Asian History

INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Ron Sela (faculty profiles: Department of Central Eurasian Studies and Department of History)
Email: rsela@indiana.edu
Office: Goodbody Hall 141
Office Telephone: (812) 856-7017
Office Hours: By appointment

Other courses taught by Prof. Sela:
  • CEUS-R 412/612: Central Asia under Russian Rule

    Course Description
    The course aims to acquaint students with the basic principles of the history of Central Asia, a region that corresponds geographically to today’s Islamic republics of the former Soviet Union (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan), as well as adjacent historic regions of north-eastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and western China (Xinjiang). Following introductory lectures on the history and geography of the region, we will survey, in a chronological order, the historical developments in the region, both in the sedentary areas and in the steppes, beginning with the rise of Islam and the Arab conquest of the region and concluding in the late-Soviet era.

  • Course Description

    Bazaar scene in Registan Square, Samarqand (from Turkestan Album, 1871-1872).

    Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-09953-00188 (image modified from original).


    General Reference Works
    Encyclopaedia of Islam (IU log-in required; you may need to install a suitable font--instructions provided)
    Encyclopedia Iranica
    Glossary of Islam (Wikipedia glossary of Islamic terms and concepts)
    Index Islamicus (IU log-in required; scroll down)

    Other Online Resources
    Abstracta Iranica
    Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS)
    Central Eurasian Studies World Wide (CESWW) (currently the most comprehensive online resource for Central Eurasian scholarship)
    Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies (MECAS) (IU log-in required; database of research, policy and scholarly discourse on the countries and peoples of the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa)
    Online Histories of Central Asia (resources for modern Central Asia)
    Guide to Research in Islamic Art and Architecture
    Silk Road Project

    Textual Sources for Central Asian History
    Islamic Central Asia: An Anthology of Historical Sources (Indiana University Press, 2009; edited by Scott C. Levi and Ron Sela
    Afghanistan Digital Library (online texts published in Afghanistan between 1870 and 1930)
    Digital Persian Archives (database of historical documents in Persian from Iran and Central Asian)
    Documents of Central Asia (Vostochnaia Literatura) (online historical texts in Russian translation)
    Persian Literature in Translation (online historical and literary texts in English translation)
    Silk Road Narratives: A Collection of Historical Texts (online travel accounts in English translation)
    Zerkala (database of published and unpublished sources on Russian colonialism in Central Asia and the Caucasus, ca. 1850-1914)

    Library Resources at IU
    Central Eurasian Studies Collection (Central Eurasian Reference Librarian is available for student assistance)
    Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Collection
    Wells Library Reference Desk
    Sinor Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies Library (SRIFIAS) (in Goodbody Hall 144)

    Scholarly Discussion and News Networks

    H-Asia (Asian studies)
    H-IslamArt (History of Islamic art and architecture)
    H-Mideast-Medieval
    H-Turk (Turkish studies)

    Blogs
    Central Asia in a Historical Context (by Ron Sela)

    Maps and Images


    Map of Central Asia (click on image for printable PDF document)

    ArchNet: Islamic Architecture Community (registration not necessary; online resources for Islamic architecture; click on country links in list of documents and images)
    Ernst Cohn-Wiener Collection (ArchNet) (a digital collection of hundreds of photographs taken 1924-1925 of architectural monuments in West Turkestan and supplemented by more recent photographs)
    Russia and the Former Soviet Republics Maps (part of the Perry-Castañeda Map Collection)
    Shahnama Project (an archive of book paintings--commonly known as Persian miniatures--that were created to illustrate scenes from the Persian national epic, the Shahnama, the Book of Kings)
    Silk Road Maps

    Historical Chronology
    Historical Chronology of Central Asia, 6th-20th Centuries (PDF document)

    Citing Your Sources
    No matter where your information comes from, you always need to cite your sources. The most frequently used citations have been compiled by IU’s reference librarians on a webpage (APA, MLA and Chicago).

    • Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition): Online version (electronic version of the classic guide to documentary style) / Z253 .U69 2003 (available in several locations)
    • Manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago style for students and researchers (7th Edition): LB2369 .T8 2007 (available in several locations).
    • MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th edition): LB2369 .G53 2009 (available in several locations).