Roundtable Abstract:

Do you teach Central Asian studies? This roundtable will critically discuss approaches in teaching Central Asia and ways we can decolonize our syllabi, readings, teaching methods, and pedagogy. We begin with the premise that knowledge about any region needs to be informed primarily by its historical, cultural, and linguistic richness. Ideally, such "specificity" compliments conceptual advances of disciplines (political science, anthropology, sociology, etc.) and knowledge systems dominant internationally. But too often we teach Central Asia by rehashing assumptions based on European and Anglo-Saxon understanding of development, security, nationhood, etc. To decenter external perspectives and stereotypes about Central Asia we need to include regional interpretations of global categories and to increase representation of regional academic communities in international conversations. This can be achieved by building stronger links between students and scholars across geographical areas and academic backgrounds. Other methods in producing joint and representative knowledge include featuring memoirs, art, visuals, sounds, and texts in underrepresented languages. The task of Central Asian and regionally based scholars is, in turn, to further enrich theoretical sophistication or offer alternatives to dominant theoretical concepts. Join the panelists to hear about their experience in teaching Central Asia and share your own ideas.