Despite the global pandemic, the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center (or as I have taken to thinking of it the IAUNRC-in-exile) continues to offer unique and informative programming to diverse audiences. Even as our offices transitioned to our living rooms, studies, and occasional front porches, we did not let ourselves slow down, particularly with regard to the programming that we offered. This semester, the center sponsored the following talks:
Marianne Kamp:“Jobs for Orphans, Taxes for Kulaks, and Love of Tractors: Collectivization Oral Histories from Uzbekistan,” a part of the Title VI Area Studies Showcase Lecture Series
“Unrest in Kyrgyzstan: Popular Uprisings in the 21st Century,” featuring Eugene Huskey, Erica Marat, and Colleen Wood, chaired by Kristoffer Rees
Tsering Wangmo Dhompa:“Elsewhere in Exile”
Christopher Bell:“The Dalai Lama and the Nechung Oracle”
Phillip Smyth:“Iran’s Eastward Focus: Revolutionary Guards and their Central Asian Alliances”
“Iran Untethered: A New Arms Race in the Persian Gulf Region,” featuring Carol Choksy, Jamsheed Choksy, Šumit Ganguly, and Feisal Istrabadi
We also hosted a joint annual symposium with the East Asian Studies Center, Islamic Studies Program, and Russian and East European Institute:
“Islamic Economies,” which featured Aisalkyn Botoeva, Sufian Zhemukhov, and Patricia Sloane-White, with Shariq Siddiqui as the discussant.
Our Center collaborated with several other IU National Resource Centers to present a virtual International Career Fair for the Indiana community college system, Ivy Tech. In the fall semester we sponsored two events devoted to international careers in Information Technology and Health Care.
The IAUNRC also partnered with the Association of Central Eurasian Students to present the following speakers as a part of the ACES Brown Bag series:
Samuel Elzinga:“Understanding Ibn al-Khattab’s Influence on Jihadist Thought in Chechnya, Dagestan, and Beyond”
Kenny Linden:“Veterinarians and Veterinary Science in the Mongolian People’s Republic”
Nicholas Pritchard & Ruslan Yakupov:“Kazakh Protest Songs: The Politics of Language and Activism in Almaty”
Julian Kreidl:“Tajik-Uzbek Contact Phenomena: Mutual Linguistic Influence in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan”
Alicia R. Ventresca Miller:“Before the Silk Roads: Tracking Domesticates and Interactions across Eurasia”
Jonas Astrup & Oxana Lipcanu: “Child Labor and Forced Labor in the Cotton Harvest in Uzbekistan. A Role Model for Central Asia?”
Aubrey Menard:“Youth Activism and Democracy Formation in Modern Mongolia”
Uuganaa Ramsay:“The Meaning of ‘Mongol’ 1860-2020
All in all, it was a solid offering of events, all of which were very well attended, including a number of faculty members from universities and community colleges we collaborate with on a regular basis.
We look forward to featuring even more content next semester, so please check for event announcements.
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies