Mark Saroyan
Encyclopedia
Mark Andrew Saroyan was a professor of Islamic
and Soviet studies, focusing on religion
and ethnicity in Central Asia
and the Caucasus
.
Saroyan 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. 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. Unlike other contemporary scholars such as Alexandre Bennigsen
and Hélène Carrère 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. Going against prevailing Western views, Saroyan argued that Islam was not a threat to Soviet rule. 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.
Besides religious issues, Saroyan examined ethnic issues in the former Soviet Union, especially Armenia–Azerbaijan relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh War
.
Saroyan was additionally involved in policy discussions, participating in conferences in the United States
, Europe
, Turkey
, and Iran
.
A skilled linguist, he spoke Armenian
, Azeri, French
, German
, Persian
, Russian
, Turkish
, and Uzbek
.
Ronald Suny ed. Nationalism and Social Change. University of Michigan Press, 1996).
Islamic studies
In a Muslim context, Islamic studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge...
and Soviet studies, focusing on religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and ethnicity in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
.
Saroyan 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. 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
Islam in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was a state comprising fifteen communist republics which existed from 1922 until its dissolution into a series of separate nation states in 1991. Of these fifteen republics, six had a Muslim majority, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan...
. At a time when the field was focused on elite-politics within Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
proper, Saroyan emphasized anthropological approaches among the other Soviet republics. Unlike other contemporary scholars such as Alexandre Bennigsen
Alexandre Bennigsen
Alexandre Bennigsen was a scholar of Islam in the Soviet Union.Bennigsen was born in St Petersburg in 1913...
and Hélène Carrère d'Encausse
Hélène Carrère d'Encausse
Hélène Carrère d'Encausse is the permanent secretary of the Académie Française and a historian specializing in Russian history....
who portrayed regional Islam as a static, anti-Soviet force, Saroyan examined the constantly shifting nature of the religion and its elite
Ulama
-In Islam:* Ulema, also transliterated "ulama", a community of legal scholars of Islam and its laws . See:**Nahdlatul Ulama **Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama **Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal**Jamiat ul-Ulama -Other:...
in an ever-evolving historical and sociopolitical context. Going against prevailing Western views, Saroyan argued that Islam was not a threat to Soviet rule. More generally, he also argued against the theory, found in both Soviet and Western writings, that Islam, along with other religions, was an anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
that would soon disappear from the region.
Besides religious issues, Saroyan examined ethnic issues in the former Soviet Union, especially Armenia–Azerbaijan relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
.
Saroyan was additionally involved in policy discussions, participating in conferences in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
A skilled linguist, he spoke Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, Azeri, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and Uzbek
Uzbek language
Uzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 25.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
.
Partial list of publications
- Trouble in the Transcaucasus. Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsBulletin of the Atomic ScientistsThe Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is a nontechnical online magazine that covers global security and public policy issues, especially related to the dangers posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction...
. Mar 1989. Vol. 45, No. 2. pp. 16-20.
- Rethinking Islam in the Soviet Union. in. Susan Gross Solomon ed. [ Beyond Sovietology: essays in politics and history]. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1993. pp. 23-48
- Mark Saroyan, Beyond the Nation-State: Culture and Ethnic Politics in Soviet Transcaucasia in
Ronald Suny ed. Nationalism and Social Change. University of Michigan Press, 1996).
- The Armenian Protests: Is It Passion or Politics? GAIA Research Series. 1997.