Variations on Uzbek Identity ― Strategic Choices, Cognitive Schemas and Political Constraints in Identification Processses

Written by a social anthropologist, this study focuses on the various ethnic, tribal, language, and religious groups that may identify as Uzbek, the processes by which they do so, and the reasons individuals and groups choose to identify in this way in spite of large variations in culture. A flexible definition, Uzbekness is defined by the land, and generally refers to people speaking Turkic languages and living sedentary lives in a particular region, if they call themselves Uzbek. They may otherwise be Turkomen, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, or other groups. The author combines a historical approach with field research. Chapters discuss four locations: Bukhara, Khorezm, the Ferghana Valley, and Sharisabz, with an introductory historical sketch; oases were key in the change from nomadic life to post-Soviet farming communities. Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Peter Finke is Professor for Social Anthropology at the University of Zurich and Co-director of the Centre for Anthropological Studies on Central Asia (CASCA). Between 2000 and 2006 he was a Research Fellow and Head of a Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle. He also served as a Visiting Professor at the University of New Hampshire (2002/2003) and the Middle Eastern Technical University, Ankara (2004 to 2006). Since the early 1990s he has conducted field research in Mongolia, Kazakstan, and Uzbekistan, and has published extensively on economic transformation, social change and processes of identity formation.