Uyghur Neighborhoods in Kazakhstan
with Sean Roberts, Associate Professor and Director, International Development Studies Program, GWUWith the fall of the Soviet Union, the Uyghurs of Kazakhstan, like many others in the former USSR, began to resurrect and re-invent traditional cultural practices that had been repressed during the Soviet period as either contrary to socialist atheism or as remnants of a “feudal past.” These traditions… Continue reading Uyghur Neighborhoods in Kazakhstan
Is there a place for Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz Republic? Lessons from Under Solomon’s Throne: Uzbek Visions of Societal Renewal in Osh
Co-Sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholarswith Morgan Y. Liu, Associate Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University Ethnic Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) attempted to create a place for themselves in the Kyrgyz-dominated nation-state since its independence in 1991. For a while, there were reasons to be optimistic about this minority community. Even though… Continue reading Is there a place for Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz Republic? Lessons from Under Solomon’s Throne: Uzbek Visions of Societal Renewal in Osh
Discovering Azerbaijani Musical Traditions
with Jeffery Werbock, Chairman of the Mugham Society of AmericaJeffrey Werbock will present a program of instrumental solo improvisations based on traditional Azerbaijani mugham, played on oud - fretless wood face short neck lute; tar fretted skin face long neck lute; and kamancha- skin face spike fiddle.Mr. Werbock has been giving presentations for over three decades and has performed often… Continue reading Discovering Azerbaijani Musical Traditions
Nomadic Life Styles and Narratives in Kazakhstan: Then and Now
A workshop held in conjunction with the exhibition "Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan" currently at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in the Smithsonian Institution until December 2, 2012.Nomadism has been a key aspect of culture in the Eurasian space, especially on the Kazakh steppes, throughout the centuries. The Russian colonization and the Soviet… Continue reading Nomadic Life Styles and Narratives in Kazakhstan: Then and Now
Politics and Cinema: Divergence in Post-Soviet Central Asian Film
Discussion on Kazakh CinemaIntroduction: Peter Rollberg, Director, IERES, GWU Kazakh Cinema in an Historical Perspective: from Perestroika to Post-Borat Time Jean Radvanyi, Professor, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Cultures, Paris, France Politics and Cinema: Divergence in Post-Soviet Central Asian Film Michael Rouland, co-editor of Cinema in Central Asia: Rewriting Cultural Histories (I.B.Tauris, 2013) Film… Continue reading Politics and Cinema: Divergence in Post-Soviet Central Asian Film
Digital Memory and a ‘Massacre’: Post-Soviet Uzbek Identity in the Age of Social Media
with Sarah Kendzior, Al Jazeera English and Noah Tucker, Courage Services and Registan.net The speakers will examine the transnational effort by ethnic Uzbeks to document the June 2010 violence and mobilize international support, first for intervention to stop the conflict and then in an effort to defend minority rights and preserve evidence of alleged injustices suffered by the community in Kyrgyzstan. These efforts… Continue reading Digital Memory and a ‘Massacre’: Post-Soviet Uzbek Identity in the Age of Social Media
The ATOM project exhibit and art show
To Mark the International Day Against Nuclear Tests Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan H.E. Kairat Umarov and GW’s Central Asia Program have the honor to invite you to attend The ATOM project exhibit and art show.
Studying Central Asia: Looking at the Merits of ‘Eavesdropping’
with Svetlana Jacquesson, Director, Central Asian Studies Institute One of the most striking features of Central Asian Studies, as Western scholars have practiced it since the fall of the Soviet Union, is the absence of structured and meaningful debates. Publications proliferate on a given topics, but they rarely engage in a dialogue. The debate on "clan politics" waged among political scientists, anthropologists… Continue reading Studying Central Asia: Looking at the Merits of ‘Eavesdropping’
The Unique Role of the American University of Central Asia
The American University of Central Asia and the George Washington University's Central Asia Program would like you to invite you to join us on March 12, 2014. After the American and NATO pullout from Afghanistan, AUCA will be one of the few remaining sustainable institutions in CentralAsia promoting free and critical thought. The purpose of the event is… Continue reading The Unique Role of the American University of Central Asia
Revolution and Art in the Kyrgyz Republic
with Sally Cummings, St. Andrews University Professor Sally Nikoline Cummings teaches in the School of InternationalRelations, University of St Andrews. Her more recent publications includeUnderstanding Central Asia (2012), Sovereignty after Empire: Comparing theMiddle East and Central Asia (co-ed, 2012) and Symbolism and Power in CentralAsia: Politics of the Spectacular (ed. 2010). In late 2009 she commissioned two prominent Kyrgyz artists to develop… Continue reading Revolution and Art in the Kyrgyz Republic
Social Media and the Online Debate in Central Asia
with Navbahor Imamova, Voice of America The emergence of the Internet and the growing participation of people, especially youth, in social media constitute positive change for Central Asia. Uzbekistan as well as the other four countries in the region - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – has become more connected to the world than ever before. Despite wide-ranging political restrictions and bans, the… Continue reading Social Media and the Online Debate in Central Asia
First Turkmen Culture Club
Turkmenistan's rich culture is less well-known than those great empires who contributed to it, but Turkmenistan has produced its own fascinating - though under-appreciated - art, music, literature, and cinema. The Turkmen Culture Club welcomes you to explore and experience the creole of deep, desert-isolated nomadic heritage, the ‘Lost Enlightenment’ of Islamic Central Asia, and… Continue reading First Turkmen Culture Club
