Educators & Academic Resources

Introduction: Teaching Georgia Beyond Stereotypes

For American educators, teaching about Georgia presents a unique challenge: students often confuse the country with the U.S. state, view it solely through a Soviet lens, or have no frame of reference at all. This resource page provides comprehensive materials to help educators present Georgia as what it actually is—a 3,000-year-old civilization with distinct language, alphabet, religion, and cultural identity.

Georgia is not merely a "post-Soviet state." It is ancient Colchis and Iberia. It is Queen Tamar's Golden Age empire. It is 8,000 years of winemaking. It is an alphabet sent to space on the Voyager Golden Record. Teaching Georgia properly means dismantling Cold War-era misconceptions and presenting a civilization that predates the Slavic ascent by centuries.

I. Primary Sources and Historical Documents

Available Online (Free Access)

Maps and Visual Resources

• Library of Congress Caucasus Maps: guides.loc.gov/caucasus-maps — Historical and contemporary maps
• Euratlas Historical Maps: Georgia's territorial evolution (subscription required but excellent)
• Perry-Castañeda Map Collection (UT Austin): Free downloadable maps of Georgia and the Caucasus

II. Academic Programs and Research Centers

Harvard Program on Georgian Studies

The only dedicated Georgia program at a U.S. university, located at Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

• Website: daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
• Funding: $2.3 million from Georgian Ministry of Education and Science
• Offerings:
  • Georgian language courses (3 levels)
  • January-term research trips to Georgia
  • Summer internships in Tbilisi
  • Lecture series and conferences
• Faculty: Specialists in Caucasus politics, history, and culture

CRRC (Caucasus Research Resource Centers)

The Caucasus Barometer is an annual household survey conducted since 2004, providing free data on:

• Public opinion on democracy, EU/NATO membership, Russia relations
• Economic conditions and perceptions
• Social attitudes (gender, religion, minorities)
• Media consumption patterns

Access: caucasusbarometer.org — Free data analysis tools; students can create custom visualizations

Archives and Libraries

• Georgian National Archives: archive.gov.ge — 5+ million items; digitization ongoing
• Hoover Institution (Stanford): Georgian KGB archives, Eduard Shevardnadze oral history interviews
• Library of Congress: Caucasus maps, Soviet-era publications

III. Documentaries and Films for Classroom Use

Highly Recommended Documentary

Classic Georgian Cinema

• Repentance (1984/1987): Tengiz Abuladze's allegorical critique of Stalinism; glasnost flagship film — Available on MUBI, Criterion Channel
• The Color of Pomegranates (1969): Sergei Parajanov's visual masterpiece about Armenian poet Sayat-Nova in Georgian style — Criterion Channel
• Pirosmani (1969): Biography of Georgian primitivist painter Niko Pirosmani — Klassiki streaming

Contemporary Georgian Films

• In Bloom (2013): Coming-of-age drama set in 1992 Tbilisi during civil war
• My Happy Family (2017): Netflix-produced drama about Georgian family dynamics

IV. Lesson Plan Frameworks

High School (9th-12th Grade)

College/University Level

V. Fellowships and Research Opportunities

For Students

For Faculty

• Fulbright Scholar Program: 1-2 awards annually; research or teaching at Tbilisi universities
• IREX Scholar Support Program: Short-term research grants for Caucasus studies
• Georgian National Archives access: Request research permissions via archive.gov.ge

VI. Academic Journals and Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journals

• Caucasus Survey (Taylor & Francis): Q1-ranked journal; editors at Chatham House and Ilia State University; focus on contemporary politics, security, society
• Nationalities Papers: Association for the Study of Nationalities; regular Georgia coverage
• Central Asian Survey: Includes South Caucasus; Routledge publication
• Europe-Asia Studies: Post-Soviet space; Taylor & Francis

Policy Analysis and Think Tanks

• PONARS Eurasia: ponarseurasia.org — Policy memos, academic papers (free)
• Carnegie Endowment (Russia Eurasia): carnegieendowment.org — Current analysis
• CSIS (Center for Strategic & International Studies): csis.org — U.S. foreign policy perspective
• Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs): UK perspective; expert commentary

VII. Citation Formats

How to Cite This Website

MLA (9th Edition)

APA (7th Edition)

Chicago (17th Edition, Notes-Bibliography)

VIII. Discussion Questions by Topic

See our comprehensive Discussion Questions page for topic-specific questions covering:

• Ancient history and cultural identity
• Soviet occupation and resistance
• Language and endangered linguistic heritage
• Wine and cultural economics
• Contemporary democratic backsliding
• Russian occupation and geopolitics

IX. Recommended Books for Classroom Libraries

History

• Suny, Ronald Grigor. The Making of the Georgian Nation (1994) — Standard academic text; comprehensive historical overview
• Rayfield, Donald. Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia (2012) — Accessible narrative; excellent for undergraduates
• Jones, Stephen F. Georgia: A Political History Since Independence (2015) — Post-Soviet focus

Contemporary Literature

• Haratischvili, Nino. The Eighth Life (for Brilka) (2019) — 944-page family saga spanning Soviet era; longlisted for International Booker Prize; called "Georgia's War and Peace"
• Morchiladze, Aka. Santa Esperanza (2006/English 2015) — Postmodern exploration of Georgian identity

Linguistics

• Hewitt, George. Georgian: A Structural Reference Grammar (1995) — Academic standard; for linguistics students

X. Classroom Activities and Interactive Learning

Activity 1: The Alphabet Challenge

Time: 20-30 minutes

Materials: Printed Georgian alphabet chart (Mkhedruli script)

Instructions:

1. Students learn 5-10 Georgian letters
2. Write their names in Georgian script
3. Discuss: Why do some cultures use different scripts? What does writing system reveal about history?

Activity 2: The Supra Simulation

Time: Full class period

Setup: Arrange classroom as traditional Georgian feast (tables in rows, students seated)

Instructions:

1. Appoint a "Tamada" (toastmaster)
2. Tamada leads structured toasts (to peace, to family, to teachers, to homeland)
3. Each student responds to toast with short speech
4. Discuss: How does ritualized feasting create social bonds? Compare to Thanksgiving or other communal meals

Activity 3: Mapping the Caucasus

Time: 30-45 minutes

Materials: Blank Caucasus map, colored pencils

Instructions:

1. Students label countries (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia)
2. Mark occupied territories (Abkhazia, South Ossetia) in different color
3. Identify Greater Caucasus mountain range; mark major peaks (Shkhara, Kazbegi)
4. Trace historical invasion routes (Dariali Gorge, Roki Tunnel)
5. Discuss: How does geography shape political vulnerability?

XI. Contact for Academic Collaboration

Sakartvelo Unveiled welcomes collaboration with educators. For inquiries about:

• Curriculum development
• Guest lectures (virtual or in-person if feasible)
• Custom educational materials
• Source verification for student research

Contact: educators@kartuli.xyz

Conclusion: Teaching Georgia with Nuance

Georgia is not reducible to "Stalin's birthplace" or "a former Soviet republic." It is a civilization with depth, complexity, and contemporary relevance. For educators, teaching Georgia offers opportunities to explore:

• Linguistic diversity: A language family with no proven relatives
• Archaeological significance: Dmanisi hominids, 8,000-year wine evidence
• Religious history: Among the first Christian nations (337 CE)
• Medieval empire: Queen Tamar's Golden Age
• Soviet resistance: 1978 Language Protests, April 9, 1989 massacre
• Contemporary geopolitics: EU accession crisis, democratic backsliding, Russian occupation

The resources on this page provide a starting point. Georgia deserves to be taught not as a footnote to Russian history but as a subject in its own right—a small nation that has survived empire after empire through cultural resilience, geographic fortress, and stubborn refusal to disappear.