How did I never consider how depressing an M.A. in Russian and East European Studies could be?
On Mondays, I have an introductory class on the field, which is to give us an overview of the various issues in the field and help us find direction and understand what we're getting into. We wrestle with communist legacies, memory, transitions to democracy that have been fraught with problems and corruption, ethnic tension and discrimination everywhere, environmental degradation, nationalism, and other cheery topics.
Then I go to a small group associated with the church I go to in Bloomington. Some days, I look around this bible study and think "Library science, library science, biology, computer science, higher education...these people have normal majors. They don't talk about authoritarian regimes as if they're normal or regularly discuss ethnic cleansing. What have I gotten myself into?"
Because, in my field, we do regularly discuss all the ways the various groups have been horribly victimized and have also perpetrated horrifying acts against their neighbors. The 20th century was not kind to humanity. And, I get to wrestle with what it did to Eastern Europe and how to deal with that now. It's not pretty.
And now, instead of going home and enjoying family and turkey, I'm spending the first part of Thanksgiving break writing about Central Asian migration to Russia for my anthropology class on Central Asia. For those of you who don't live mired in post-Soviet space, here's a map of the 5 Central Asian republics, the Caucasus (which includes my beloved Georgia), Russia to the north, and all those countries war hawks keep in the news to the south.
This area, filled with 'stans' has "democracies" that are ruled by dictators and kleptocrats. If that's not depressing enough, researching migration of most of the able-bodied males in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to Russia unearths the crushing poverty of these countries. I was excited about the topic, because it's very relevant to the current political/economic situation of Russia but somehow overlooked how incredibly depressing it could be to research. Economic constraints force men to leave their families for months, years, maybe never to return. Women are left behind to take care of families on impossibly small salaries, and the number who are forced into illegal labor migration and sexual trafficking can be barely hinted at in official statistics.
This isn't making me regret choosing this field, but it certainly carries an unexpected burden. I suppose it gives me even more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving where, like a normal American, I'll gorge myself on delicious food, surrounded by family in a comfortable home with heat, light, and creature comforts.
On Mondays, I have an introductory class on the field, which is to give us an overview of the various issues in the field and help us find direction and understand what we're getting into. We wrestle with communist legacies, memory, transitions to democracy that have been fraught with problems and corruption, ethnic tension and discrimination everywhere, environmental degradation, nationalism, and other cheery topics.
Then I go to a small group associated with the church I go to in Bloomington. Some days, I look around this bible study and think "Library science, library science, biology, computer science, higher education...these people have normal majors. They don't talk about authoritarian regimes as if they're normal or regularly discuss ethnic cleansing. What have I gotten myself into?"
Because, in my field, we do regularly discuss all the ways the various groups have been horribly victimized and have also perpetrated horrifying acts against their neighbors. The 20th century was not kind to humanity. And, I get to wrestle with what it did to Eastern Europe and how to deal with that now. It's not pretty.
And now, instead of going home and enjoying family and turkey, I'm spending the first part of Thanksgiving break writing about Central Asian migration to Russia for my anthropology class on Central Asia. For those of you who don't live mired in post-Soviet space, here's a map of the 5 Central Asian republics, the Caucasus (which includes my beloved Georgia), Russia to the north, and all those countries war hawks keep in the news to the south.
This area, filled with 'stans' has "democracies" that are ruled by dictators and kleptocrats. If that's not depressing enough, researching migration of most of the able-bodied males in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to Russia unearths the crushing poverty of these countries. I was excited about the topic, because it's very relevant to the current political/economic situation of Russia but somehow overlooked how incredibly depressing it could be to research. Economic constraints force men to leave their families for months, years, maybe never to return. Women are left behind to take care of families on impossibly small salaries, and the number who are forced into illegal labor migration and sexual trafficking can be barely hinted at in official statistics.
This isn't making me regret choosing this field, but it certainly carries an unexpected burden. I suppose it gives me even more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving where, like a normal American, I'll gorge myself on delicious food, surrounded by family in a comfortable home with heat, light, and creature comforts.
Glad you're back writing your blog, Hannah. I had to look up "kleptocrats;" wasn't familiar with the term.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Hannah! I love hearing about your life and your intellectual empathy. Also, Andrew and I have been taking geography quizzes online, and I've been thinking of these countries as "the reason I can't get a perfect score in Asia." This is a good reminder that there's real people there with lots of stuff going on.
ReplyDeleteMiss you!