Scholars Online
David B. Edwards
Williams College
Filmed in September 2011
Why should high school students learn about Afghanistan? [1:00]
Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan in 1979? [1:22]
What were the social effects of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? [1:36]
Why did Afghans join the mujahideen? [1:43]
What did the leaders of mujahideen groups want? [2:56]
How did the Taliban come to power? [3:15]
What are the most important things to understand about the rule of the Taliban? [1:37]
What role might the Taliban play in the future of Afghanistan? [1:18]
What are the divisions in Afghanistan today? [2:23]
Why is there an insurgency in Afghanistan? [3:03]
What is the significance of the death of Osama bin Laden? [3:51]
David B. Edwards is the W. Van Alan Clark '41 Third Century Professor in the Social Sciences at Williams College. His interests include documentary film and visual culture, humanitarianism and post-conflict societies, and the Near East and South Asia. He is the author of numerous publications including: Heroes of the Age: Moral Fault Lines on the Afghan Frontier (University of California Press, 1996), and Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad (University of California Press, 2002). He also directed and produced the documentary film Kabul Transit (2006).
