"Migration, Translocality, Globalization - The Distinctive Case of the Baloch"

Crossroads Asia Lecture by Brian Spooner at ZMO Berlin

The Baloch have changed. And their relationship with their neighbors has changed. They are now known for their secession movements in Iran and Pakistan and for their international terrorist activities. Their current situation is a consequence of globalization. But these consequences of globalization are easier to understand if studied in historical perspective. We will retrace the long history of Baloch migration, their translocality, and their political and economic marginalization, in order to develop the implications of their current struggles and explore what can be learned from their case for a better understanding of the outlook for similar marginal areas in Asia and elsewhere.

Brian Spooner is Professor of Anthropology and Curator for Near Eastern Ethnology at the University of Pennsylvania. His main ethnographic research has been with the Baloch in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. His general area of interest is the history, culture and languages of the communities between the Mediterranean and China that used Persian as their written language for various periods over the past millennium. His current research focuses on the experience of globalization in these communities. His latest publications are Literacy in the Persianate World (edited with William L. Hanaway, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012) and Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and its Neighbors (edited with Harold F. Schiffman, Brill, 2012).

Time and location: February 28, 2013, 6 pm at ZMO.