Know Nuristan through Richard Strand & David Katz 's Lectures

Afghanistan's Nuristan Region in Strategic and Ethnographic Context:

A Lecture by: Richard Strand and David Katz

Boston University GSU, Room 310

Monday, October 15, 2007 

The region called Nuristan is one in a chain of ethnic refuge areas that line the mountains of the Indian Plate collision zone from Afghanistan to Southeast Asia. Nuristan lies in the Hindu Kush mountains of northeastern Afghanistan, spanning the basins of the Alingar, Pech, Landai Sin, and Kunar rivers. It is the homeland of a unique group of Indo-European-speaking tribal peoples, now called Nuristanis, who fled and resisted Islam as it spread eastward. In 1895-96 the Nuristanis were finally conquered by the Afghan armies of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, and the people were obliged to abandon their ancient religious beliefs in favor of Islam.

Nuristanis are today such devout Muslims that they were the first citizens of Afghanistan to successfully revolt against the communist overthrow of their government in 1978. Their success inspired others throughout the country to rise up against the Soviets. Today Nuristan remains a key region in a strategic and ethnographic context.

Richard Strand: 

Richard F. Strand is a linguist and anthropological researcher who is best known for his research into Nuristani and other little-known languages of Afghanistan and neighboring areas of Pakistan.

He was trained at Cornell University. He has published material on the linguistics and ethnography of Nuristân and neighboring regions, collected and analyzed since 1967. Funding for his field research in Nuristân, Afghânistân, and Pâkistân was provided in part by the following institutions: the Fulbright Foundation (1991-92), the Smithsonian Institution (1980, 1984-85), The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (1972), Brown University (1971), Cornell University (1966-69, 1970), and Teachers College, Columbia University (1967-69)

 

David Katz:

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, U.S. Department of State, with the rank of Counselor, he recently completed an 18-month assignment as the Deputy Director, Force Reintegration Cell, at ISAF Headquarters, Kabul, Afghanistan. Before that he served a two-year detail as a professor in the Strategy and Policy Department and State Department Advisor at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He received his PhD in Anthropology (UCLA 1982) based in part on two years of ethnographic research

 He conducted in Nuristan, eastern Afghanistan during the mid-70s. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1984, he has had assignments in Iceland, Afghanistan (during the Soviet Occupation), Yemen, Estonia, Pakistan, and Eritrea. He also served as a Civilian Observer with the Multinational Force and Observers based in the Sinai, Egypt.

Dr. Katz has spent over 10 years in positions both in Washington and abroad dealing with Pakistan and Afghanistan. He served as the Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate,

 Peshawar, Pakistan (1999-2002) and as Deputy Director, Office of Pakistan and Bangladesh, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (2004-6). Dr. Katz also served as the first State Department Representative at the Provincial Reconstruction Team for Afghanistan's Nuristan Province (2006-7).   A resident of Washington State, he also has a home in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Links for the Lectures:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1143391428692281347

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1505528325221759820

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1647579041710577411