Course info

Afghanistan arrived suddenly in America’s collective consciousness following the 9/11/2011 attacks in New York and Washington, DC. Its portrayal in the US media is often one of unrelenting misery: religious extremism, famine, misogynist violence, terrorism, and tribal divisions that stoke seemingly endless civil war. In this class we will uncover a different story: of a society with a rich history and culture at the center of Eurasia. We will take a deep dive into the history of the Afghan people from the pre-Islamic period to the US-led “War on Terror.” Focusing on the region’s position at the nexus between the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Central Asian steppe, this course considers Afghans’ roles in the inter-regional circulation of ideas, communities, and commodities. We will explore the region’s rich multi-religious and multi-ethnic history, its musical and literary traditions, and the Afghan people’s mobile history as merchants, mercenaries, entrepreneurs, mendicants, political leaders, and scholars. The fledgling state of Afghanistan, forged in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, looked ambitiously to the future. Finally, this course closely examines Afghanistan's history at the center of modern global conflicts from the 19th c. British-Russian “Great Game” to the Cold War and the US occupation, asking how—and why—the region came to be known as a “graveyard of empires.” While this class is focused on uncovering a long history of the region, we also will watch films, listen to music, and read literature to help us better understand Afghanistan’s present circumstances.

No prior knowledge of the region is necessary! As this is an upper-division course, we will read an array of different kinds of materials and engage with them critically through group discussion and various styles of written work. By the end of the term, students will have developed a nuanced understanding of Afghans, and of Afghanistan’s history over the past three centuries. This will include political, economic, and cultural elements, and will consider the region’s diverse geographies, cultures, languages, and religions.