Date published:

NEW European Handbook of Central Asian Studies: History, Politics, and Societies

The new European Handbook of Central Asian Studies: History, Politics, and Societies – Stuttgart: ibidem Verlag, 2021. (Open Access)

Editors:  Jeroen Van Den Bosch, Adrien Fauve, Bruno De Cordier

This handbook is the first comprehensive teaching material for teachers and students of Central Asian Studies with an actual strong pedagogic dimension. It presents 22 chapters, clustered around five themes, with contributions from more than twenty scholars, all leading experts in the field of Central Eurasian Studies.

The book doubles as a reference work for scholars. The book is framed to address post-colonial frameworks and, where possible, untangle topics from their ‘Soviet’ reference frame and point out pitfalls, myths, and new insights.

Chapters aim to de-exoticize the region, drawing parallels to European or to historical European-occupied territories.

The goal is to provide solid background knowledge about Central Asia to readers, and intertwine this with an advanced level of insight to leave readers equipped with a strong foundation to approach more specialized sources either in classroom settings or through self-study.

Authors (together with didactic experts and editors) took great care to explain concepts and provide (working) definitions. In addition, the handbook offers a comprehensive glossary, concise atlas, didactic sections, info boxes, overviews of intended learning outcomes, and a smart index (distinguishing between: names, concepts, events and places).

Online lectures (YouTube), recorded by the authors themselves, accompany the handbook either as instruction materials for teachers or as visual aids for students.

Download the full book here (Open Access, no registration required)

Table of Contents

About the Project:

This project, Eurasian Insights: Strengthening Central Asian Studies in Europe (EISCAS) is an Erasmus+ Strategic partnership for higher education, which is co-funded by the European Union. 

https://eiscas.eu/about-eiscas/project/