A Liberal Arts Interdisciplinary Curriculum in Tajikistan

Abstract

Tajikistan lies wedged in a corner of post-Soviet Central Asia between China and Afghanistan. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 and a tragic civil war, this mountainous country has experienced fundamental shocks. As one of the poorest of the ex-Soviet states the educational system faces compound problems which are economic as well as institutional. This chapter examines community education within Tajikistan, since the community “college” model is almost nonexistent. This chapter argues that the success of one particular curriculum development project, by the Aga Khan Humanities Project (AKHP), was the result of engaging with the community and embodying, consciously or not, many aspects of the community college. More specifically this project embodied a liberal arts curriculum that emphasized interdisiplinarity and pedagogy that encouraged students to understand how their skills can be applied outside of academia – educating students for the universal community. This chapter is the product of 2 years of teaching in Tajikistan. It addresses the culture of education in Tajikistan which includes the heritage of the Soviet Union and its philosophy of education, plus a new emphasis on critical thinking and interdisciplinary emphasis. While there is evidence that reform is happening, it is also true that some of the work needs to be reconsidered or perhaps challenged with regard to its ability to meet the challenges of a postcommunist planned economy. Finally, as a reflective mirror of educational reform, this chapter examines how the challenges and successes in Central Asia in general highlight elements of North American community colleges which are important but may have been ignored in recent years. Specifically it will show how the community and the culture of the college are important to the education process. It is significant that the success of reform in Central Asia is tied to the interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum and a philosophy of student-centered learning. Chapter 31 A Liberal Arts Interdisciplinary Curriculum in Tajikistan