Scheduled for Aug 20-22, 2025 in Astana, the conference invites experts on Central
Asia to initiate the search for new narratives by applying novel methodological prisms
and tapping into unused – hitherto inaccessible, forgotten, or ignored – sources.
Although we pay attention to the interactions between and with principal neighboring
empires, we are equally interested in exploring local responses to the challenges and
opportunities of the era. Moreover, we would like to show how the upheavals of the 20th
century – revolutions, wars of decolonization, and the Cold War – affected ideas about
governance, citizenship, and identity in Central Asia, abetting or hindering a transition
from the late-Soviet to the post-Independence era. Finally, we intend to host discussions
and roundtables focusing on the state of Central Asian archives and libraries, means of
highlighting local voices, and the role that interaction between historians and public
intellectuals plays in fostering civil society across the region.
Толығырақ: mikhail.akulov@nu.edu.kz
