Mark Andrew Saroyan
(April 6, 1960 ? July 21, 1994
[1]
) was a professor of
Islamic
and
Soviet
studies, focusing on
religion
and
ethnicity
in
Central Asia
and the
Caucasus
.
Saroyan received his B.A. in history from
Princeton University
. He later began studying Soviet politics at
UC Berkeley
in 1986. In 1990 he became one of the first doctorate students of Berkeley's Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies program.
[2]
After his graduation, Saroyan was hired as an assistant professor of political science at
Harvard
. At the same time he was diagnosed with a fatal illness. Though he took his position at Harvard, due to his worsening state Saroyan returned to Berkeley in 1993. He died on July 21, 1994, at the age of 34.
Saroyan was a unique voice in the field of Soviet studies, especially concerning
Islam in the Soviet Union
. At a time when the field was focused on elite-politics within
Russia
proper, Saroyan emphasized
anthropological
approaches among the other Soviet republics.
[3]
Unlike other contemporary scholars such as
Alexandre Bennigsen
and
Helene Carrere d'Encausse
who portrayed regional Islam as a static, anti-Soviet force, Saroyan examined the constantly shifting nature of the religion and its
elite
in an ever-evolving historical and sociopolitical context.
[4]
Going against prevailing Western views, Saroyan argued that Islam was not a threat to Soviet rule.
[4]
More generally, he also argued against the theory, found in both Soviet and Western writings, that Islam, along with other religions, was an
anachronism
that would soon disappear from the region.
[5]
Besides religious issues, Saroyan examined ethnic issues in the former Soviet Union, especially
Armenia?Azerbaijan relations
and the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
.
[6]
Saroyan was additionally involved in policy discussions, participating in conferences in the
United States
,
Europe
,
Turkey
, and
Iran
.
[7]
A skilled
linguist
, he spoke
Armenian
,
Azeri
,
French
,
German
,
Persian
,
Russian
,
Turkish
, and
Uzbek
.
[3]
Publications
[
edit
]
Ronald Suny ed. Nationalism and Social Change. University of Michigan Press, 1996).
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
California Death Index, 1994
- ^
Saroyan, 231
- ^
a
b
Saroyan, 1.
- ^
a
b
Saroyan, 3.
- ^
Saroyan, 4.
- ^
Saroyan, 6.
- ^
Saroyan, 2.
References
[
edit
]