What does it mean to know a world area, or to be part of one, for that matter? The most prominent of "Caucasus paradigms" paint a picture of a region famous not only for its cultural, linguistic, religious, political, and economic pluralisms, but for its violence, savagery, conflict, and corruption; its nobility, hospitality, natural beauty, and severity. Such paradigms present a paradox: Despite such histories of diaspora, migration, conquest, and cohabitation, the Caucasus is most often conjured as a place of closure to those "from outside." This volume seeks to turn a longstanding handicap...