James Pickett is an assistant professor of Eurasian history at the University of Pittsburgh. His first book, Polymaths of Islam: Power and Networks of Knowledge in Central Asia (Cornell University Press), explores transregional networks of Turko-Persian exchange among families of religious scholars and their military patrons in eighteenth and nineteenth century Bukhara. Related articles also trace the cultural memory of this era as a subsequent influence on Soviet propaganda in Iran and language ideology in Central Eurasia. His current research project exploits chancellery archives to compare Bukhara's transformation into a Russian protectorate with the political economy of Muslim princely states in British India. James received his PhD in history from Princeton University.

Research interests: Sovereignty, Islam, Document Cultures, Migration, Education

Countries of interest: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,

Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Russia