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Bordering Russia, China, and India, Central Asia has been a critical arena of great power politics long before 9/11 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This seminar examines the history of Central Asia throughout the long twentieth century, drawing on scholarly and historical sources with a focus on the history of science, technology, and medicine. The region is explored both as part of global modernity and through its unique Soviet experience. From the Russian conquest to Soviet control of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, Central Asia’s social fabric, governmental structures, and international connections were profoundly influenced by transportation and communication infrastructures, racialized medical practices, and the Cold War’s nuclear arms race, space competition, and computerization. By revealing the enduring material impact of the Soviet scientific and technological legacy, the seminar encourages students to engage with key methodological issues in global history and in Science and Technology Studies, including conflicting political and scientific chronologies as well as post- and decolonial framings.