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COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course aims to familiarize the students to often neglected issues of Central Eurasian societies and their cultures. The collapse of the Soviet communist ideology and its secular and modernising imperatives, and the processes of opening up to new opportunities or returning to repressed identities, customs and values, have changed the cultural and societal landscape of this region. Making sense of some of the key aspects these cultural and societal legacies and changes is key for understanding local politics and cultural behaviours. The course is open only for students of master's degree programmes. Last update: Hrubá Kateřina, Mgr. (28.01.2026)
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The aim of the course is to familiarize students with some key societal and cultural issues emerging in post-Soviet Central Eurasian societies (referring to North Caucasus republics and South Caucasus and Central Asian states) and equip them with a critical understandings and the conceptual frameworks of how past and present cultural and societal legacies are mirrored in the political and cultural behaviours of these societies. Last update: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (19.01.2026)
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According to the Dean's provision, the teacher evaluates the student's performance in the percentages assigned to grades A to F (https://fsv.cuni.cz/opatreni-dekanky-c-20/2019):
Last update: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (19.01.2026)
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1. Introductory Seminar (Brisku & Horák) 17.2. · Syllabus of the course 2. Caucasus Identities & Demographic Change after the Soviet Collapse (Brisku) 24.2. · Coene, Fredrik, The Caucasus: An introduction (New York: Routledge, 2009), chapters 3 & 4 · Holland, C. E., and J. S. Wistrand, ‘Demography of the Caucasus’, in Routledge Handbook of the Caucasus, G. M. Yemelianova & L. Broers, eds, (Routledge, 2020), 375-388 3. Gender and Society in the Caucasus (Brisku) 3.3. · Aliyeva, L. A., ‘Gender and Society in the Caucasus’, in Routledge Handbook of the Caucasus, G. M. Yemelianova & L. Broers, eds, (Routledge, 2020), 389-400. · Torosyan, Karine and Pignatti, Norberto, ‘Employment vs. Homestay and the Happiness of Women in the South Caucasus.’ IZA Discussion Paper No. 12888 (2020). 4. Civil Society, New Media and Digital Activism the Caucasus (Brisku) 10.3. · Aliyev, Huseyn, ‘Civil Society in the Caucasus: Voluntary Youth Organisations’, in Routledge Handbook of the Caucasus, G. M. Yemelianova & L. Broers, eds, (Routledge, 2020), 401-415. · Avedissian, Karena, ‘New Media and Digital Activism: Comparing Armenia and Chechnya’, in Routledge Handbook of the Caucasus, G. M. Yemelianova & L. Broers, eds, (Routledge, 2020), 389-401. 5. Mountain societies in the Caucasus (Horák) 17.3. 6. Central Asian Identities (Horák) 24.3. - Roy, Olivier: The New Central Asia. The Creation of Nations. New York: New York University Press, 2005, p. 1-25 (Introduction) Jinonice library - Sharipova, Dina: Perceptions of national identity in Kazakhstan: Pride, language, and religion. The Muslim World, Vol. 110, No. 1, 2020, p. 89-106
- Urinboyev, R., & Eraliev, S. (2022). Informal civil society initiatives in non-Western societies: mahallas in Uzbekistan. Central Asian Survey, 41(3), 477–497. - Dadabaev, T. 2013. “Community Life, Memory and a Changing Nature of Mahalla Identity in Uzbekistan.” Journal of Eurasian Studies 4 (2): 181–196. Voluntary additional reading: alternatively: Sikhimbayeva, D., & Sadvokassova, A. (2025). Re-defining Kazakh national identity: interplay of Islam and ethnonationalism in post-Soviet nation-building in Kazakhstan. Central Asian Survey, 1–18.
7. Family and Kinship in Central Asia Societies (Horák) 31.3. - Turaeva, Rano: Economy of favours in Central Asia: Tanish-bilish, kattalar and kichkina. Economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Vol. 23, No. 3 (2022), pp. 10-16. · Roche, S., A sound family for a healthy nation: motherhood in Tajik national politics and society, Nationalities Papers, Vol. 44, No. 2 (2016), pp. 207-224. · Schatz, E., Reconceptualizing clans: Kinship networks and statehood in Kazakhstan, Nationalities Papers, Vol. 33, No. 2 (2005), pp. 231-254. 8. Gender, Sex and Marriages in Central Asia (Horák) 7.4. - Colette, Harris: Seductive consumption. The influence of pornography on marital sexual demands in Tajikistan, 2007. - Cleuziou, Juliette: "What Does Marriage Stand for?” Getting Married and Divorced in Contemporary Tajikistan. Oriente Moderno, Vol. 100, No. 2 (2020), pp. 248-273. - Trevisani, Tommaso: Modern weddings in Uzbekistan: ritual change from ‘above’ and from ‘below’. Central Asian Survey, Vol. 35, No. 1 (2016), pp. 61-75. Facultatively: - Kabatova, Karlygash: Purity vs. Safety: How Uyat Undermines Youth’s Sexual Literacy in Kazakhstan. In: Uyat and the Culture of Shame in Central Asia (Hélène Thibault · Jean-François Caron, eds.). Springer Nature (2022), pp. 23-41.
9. Religion and Society in the Caucasus (Brisku) 14.4. - Bram, Chen, Gammer, Moshe, Radical Islamism, Traditional Islam and Ethno-Nationalism in the Northern Caucasus, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 49, No. 2 (2013), pp. 296-337 - Matsuzato, Kimitaka, Danielyan, Stepan, Faith or Tradition: the Armenian Apostolic Church and Community-Building in Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh, Religion, State and Society, Vol. 41, No. 1 (2013), pp. 18-34. - Filetti, Andrea, Religiosity in the South Caucasus: searching for an underlying logic of religion’s impact on political attitudes, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2 (2014), pp. 219-238.
10. Corruption within Central Eurasian Societies (Horák) 21.4. - Urinboyev, Rustamjon, and Svensson, Måns: Law, society and corruption: Lessons from the central Asian context. 2025, chapter 6 (you can read the whole book) - Trevisani, Tommaso: The Moral Economy of Consensus and Informality in Uzbekistan1. In Anthropology of transformation. From Europe to Asia and Back (Juraj Buzalka and Agnieszka Pasieka, eds.), 2022, p. 105-130. 11. Migration and its Impact on Central Asian Societies (Horák) 5.5. - Urinboev, Rustam & Eraliev, Sherzod, The Political Economy of Non-Western Migration Regimes. Palgrave Macmillan, 2022 (chapter 5). - Davé, Bhavna: Labour Migrant from Central Asia to Russia. In: European Handbook of Central Asian Studies (eds. Jeroen Van den Bosch, Adrien Fauve, Bruno De Cordier). Ibidem Verlag, 2021, p. 858-884 (+short case study) Alternatively: - Abashin, Sergei, Migration from Central Asia to Russia in the New Model of World Order. Russian Politics & Law, Vol. 52, No. 6 (2014), pp. 8-23. 12. Religion and Society in Central Asia (Horák + guest speaker) 12.5. - Louw, Maria Elisabeth. Everyday Islam in Post-Soviet Central Asia. Routledge, 2007, chapters - Hoelzchen, Yanti M.: Mosques as religious infrastructure: Muslim selfhood, moral imaginaries and everyday sociality. Central Asian Survey, Vol. 41, No. 2 (2022), p. 368-384. - Tulebaeva, B.: Islam as a parallel tradition in Kyrgyzstan. 13. Music of Uzbekistan. From politics to living rooms and vice-versa (Horák) 21.5. (additional class, concrete time will be announced. - Sultanova, Razia. Music and Identity in Central Asia: Introduction. Ethnomusicology Forum. Vol. 14, No. 2 (2005), pp. 131-142. - Klenke, Kerstin, The Sound State of Uzbekistan. Popular Music and Politics in the Karimov Era. Routledge, 2019 (chapter 7 + conclusion) - Merchant, Tanya, Women Musicians of Uzbekistan. From Courtyard to Conservatory. University of Illionis Press, Urbana, 2015 (chapter 4). Last update: Horák Slavomír, doc. PhDr., Ph.D. (31.03.2026)
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Applying a student-centred method, this course’s format is seminar-based, which means that students’ participation in class – discussing readings’ main arguments, approaches and gaps in the literature – is essential.
Use of generative AI tools: The use and citation of generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT or MS Copilot) in seminar papers and other coursework must comply with the decrees of the IMS Director No. 7/2023 and 9/2023. Generative AI tools may be used unless explicitly prohibited by the instructor. However, they may not be used to generate substantial sections of the text or replace the student’s own intellectual contribution. The student remains fully responsible for any content generated with assistance of AI tools. Presenting AI-generated content, whether verbatim, rephrased, or only slightly modified, as one’s own work constitutes plagiarism. Every submitted paper must include a transparent statement specifying which generative AI tools were used, in which stage of the work they were employed, and how they were used, or confirming that no generative AI tools were used. If this statement is missing or incomplete, the instructor is not permitted to accept the paper for evaluation. Unless the instructor explicitly prohibits the use of generative AI tools, the decision to use or not to use them rests fully with the student. The student has the right to request that the instructor does not use AI assistance for evaluating their work. Last update: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (19.01.2026)
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A. COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1) Attendance is mandatory as the course is designed as a seminar where substantial student participation is expected. 2) One in-class presentation related to course topics and the region studied (can be replaced by coursework based on the agreement with the lecturers). Students could sign up for their presentations in this Google Docs. The topic of the presentation/paper should be agreed upon with the appropriate class leader (typically Adrian Brisku on the Caucasus or Slavomir Horak on Central Asia). 3) A final oral interview based on course topics. 4) Active class participation – 10%, presentation/coursework – 40%, and final oral interview – 50%.
B. COURSE EVALUATION A - "výborně - A" - "excellent - A" Please check The Dean's Measure on Assessment No. 20/2019 for details on the Grading Scale.
C. NOTE ON FINAL EXAM DUE TO DEAN'S MEASURES The final oral interview will be organised as a talk/conversation based on course topics and reading assignments. Students can opt for contact or contactless/distance form (eventually, a combination of both) according to a Dean’s Measure 09/2020. As we have to include at least one more person in the exam, we encourage you to create a small group of 2 people (not more). In the case of a contact form, students must follow the rules. The exact dates and times are in SIS. In case of a distant form, we will use Teams or, eventually, other means of communication agreed in advance via e-mail. Using a webcam will be essential for the talk. A combination of contact and contactless forms is also possible (one student and one teacher sit in Pekarska, and another student or students join online). Last Updated 23 January, 2026 Last update: Horák Slavomír, doc. PhDr., Ph.D. (23.01.2026)
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COURSE SCHEDULE (Changes in schedule will be communicated in advance) 1. Introductory Seminar (Brisku & Horák) 17.2. 2. Caucasus Identities & Demographic Change after the Soviet Collapse (Brisku) 24.2. 3. Gender and Society in the Caucasus (Brisku) 3.3. 4. Civil Society, New Media and Digital Activism in the Caucasus (Brisku) 10.3. 5. Mountain Societies in Central Asia (Horák) 17.3. 6. Central Asian Identities (Horák) 24.3. 7. Family and Kinship in Central Asian Societies (Horák) 31.3. 8. Gender and marriages in Central Asia (Horák) 7.4. 9. Religion and Society in the Caucasus (Brisku) 14.4. 10. Corruption within Central Eurasian Societies (Horák) 21.4. No class April 28 11. Migration and its Impact on Central Asian Societies (Horák) 5.5. 12. Religion and Society in Central Asia (Horák + guest speaker) 12.5. 13. Music of Uzbekistan. From politics to living rooms and vice versa (Horák) 21.5. (preliminary date, the concrete date and time will be specified) Last updated 31 March 2026 Last update: Horák Slavomír, doc. PhDr., Ph.D. (31.03.2026)
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