Fw: H-ASIA: Afghanistan /H-ASIA coverage

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Ryan Dunch" <ryan....@UALBERTA.CA>
To: <H-A...@H-NET.MSU.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 10:55 PM
Subject: H-ASIA: Afghanistan /H-ASIA coverage

> H-ASIA
> August 18, 2009
>
> Afghanistan /H-ASIA coverage (please see my response below)
> ************************************************************************
> From: "Victoria L. Farmer" <far...@geneseo.edu>
>
> Greetings, Asianists,
>
> A recent posting about an initiative at OSU carried the following
> editor's note:
>
> [Ed. note: While Afghanistan is beyond the mandate of H-ASIA, the
> eHistory initiative at OSU is worth drawing to readers' attention,
> and there is considerable Asia-related material on the site. RD]"
>
> I hadn't realized that Afghanistan is, for these purposes, not in Asia.
> Why is this? While not all South Asianists agree that either Afghanistan,
> to the west, or Burma, to the east, should always be included in courses
> or studies on South Asia, it seems odd to exclude Afganistan from Asia
> entirely. The cultural, historical, and linguistic connections of
> Afghanistan to Pakistan, and thus to British India, are clear. My
> disciplinary background, political science and international relations,
> has certainly led me to include both Pakistan and Afghanistan in my
> courses on South Asia. Indeed, members of this listserv have been quite
> helpful regarding readings and teaching materials on Afghanistan.
>
> I certainly don't want to start a "yes it is, no it isn't" can of worms,
> but my curiousity is piqued. Is there a general consensus on H-Asia that
> Afghanistan is indeed not in Asia?
>
> Best regards,
>
> Vicky Farmer
> --
> Victoria Farmer, PhD
> SUNY-Geneseo
>
> ********************************
> [Ed. response: Dr. Farmer's concern over my comment was also raised
> off-list by another reader. First let me clarify that I did not
> suggest or intend to imply that Afghanistan is not "in Asia." Rather
> that it is not in the area generally covered by H-ASIA, which is
> basically parallel to the coverage of the Association for Asian
> Studies in the USA, subdivided into South Asia, Southeast Asia, and
> East Asia, but omitting other parts of "Asia" as commonly defined. My
> comment reflected my understanding that Afghanistan is not usually
> included in South Asia, but as a China specialist I might just be
> mistaken on that. In any case, these are of course somewhat arbitrary
> and flexible definitions; I do not see any advantage in prescribing
> them tightly, and I doubt my fellow editors would either, so I regret
> that my comment on Afghanistan seemed unnecessarily exclusionary to
> some readers. The H-ASIA list is to a large degree what you, the
> readers, make of it, and that is as it should be.
>
> Ryan Dunch]
>
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