New Books Network
Central Asian Studies
Russian and Eurasian Studies December 30, 2021

Putin's Attempt to Hide the Crimes of Stalinism

A Talk with Benjamin Nathans about the Suppression of "Memorial"

Benjamin Nathans

Hosted by Marshall Poe
For the past 30 years, a group of Russian scholars have dedicated themselves to uncovering the crimes of Stalinism. Their organization, Memorial, has in that time made great strides in …

Central Asian Studies

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Interviews with scholars of Central Asia about their new books.

Russian and Eurasian Studies December 8, 2021

Place and Nature

Essays in Russian Environmental History

David Moon, Nicholas Breyfogle, and Alexandra Bekasova

Hosted by Samantha Lomb
Place and Nature: Essays in Russian Environmental History (White Horse Press, 2021) is a collection of essays on environmental history spanning primarily the 19th and 20th centuries. Covering a wide …
Central Asian Studies December 7, 2021

Decolonizing Central Asian International Relations

Beyond Empires

TIMUR. DADABAEV

Hosted by Luca Anceschi
This month we discuss the post-coloniality of Central Asia's International relations with Timur Dadabaev, the author of Decolonizing Central Asian International Relations: Beyond Empire (Routledge, 2021). This book, which brings together …
Central Asian Studies November 10, 2021

Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia

Rico Isaacs and Erica Marat

Hosted by Nicholas Seay
The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia (Routledge, 2021), edited by Rico Isaacs and Erica Marat, offers the first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary overview of key issues in Central Asian Studies. The 3 …
Central Asian Studies November 1, 2021

Central Peripheries

Nationhood in Central Asia

Marlene Laruelle

Hosted by Luca Anceschi
This month we are delighted to host one of the most important voices in Central Asian Studies worldwide: Professor Marlene Laruelle from George Washington University in DC, to discuss her …
Central Asian Studies October 14, 2021

Slow Anti-Americanism

Social Movements and Symbolic Politics in Central Asia

Edward Schatz

Hosted by Luca Anceschi
I could not think of a better way to start my tenure as host of New Books in Central Asian Studies than discussing Slow Anti-Americanism: Social Movements & Symbolic Politics in Central …
Central Asian Studies October 11, 2021

Labour, Mobility and Informal Practices in Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe

Power, Institutions and Mobile Actors in Transnational Space

Rano Turaeva and Rustamjon Urinboyev

Hosted by Nicholas Seay
In Labour, Mobility and Informal Practices in Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe (Routledge, 2021), Dr. Turaeva and Dr. Urinboyev have brought together a number of studies which explore the daily survival …
Russian and Eurasian Studies September 7, 2021

1837

Russia's Quiet Revolution

Paul Werth

Hosted by Aaron Weinacht
When considering pivotal years in Russian history, one naturally thinks of 1861 (the Serf Emancipation), the 1905 Revolution, or the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Dr. Paul Werth’s 1837: Russia's Quiet Revolution …
Medicine August 16, 2021

ReOrienting Histories of Medicine

Encounters Along the Silk Roads

Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim

Hosted by Christopher Rose
There's been a lot of resurgent interest in the Silk Routes lately, particularly looking at the cultural, political, and economic connections between "East" and "West" that challenge long held narratives …
Central Asian Studies August 2, 2021

The Vanishing Generation

Revolution, Religion, and Disappearance in Modern Uzbekistan

Bagila Bukharbayeva

Hosted by Nicholas Seay
Weaving together personal story and broad analysis, Bagila Burkhabayeva’s The Vanishing Generation: Revolution, Religion, and Disappearance in Modern Uzbekistan (Indiana UP, 2019) deals with the question of Islam and its …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel July 29, 2021

MAPPING THE GREAT GAME

Explorers, Spies & Maps in 19th Century Central Asia, India and Tibet

Riaz Dean

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
“A map is the greatest of all epic poems, its lines and colors show the realization of great dreams.” --Gilbert Grosvenor The Great Game raged through the wilds of Central …
Asian Review of Books July 8, 2021

The Horde

How the Mongols Changed the World

Marie Favereau

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
Most of our understanding of the Mongol Empire begins and ends with Chinggis Khan and his sweep across Asia. His name is now included among conquerors whose efforts burn bright …
Middle Eastern Studies June 29, 2021

The Horde

How the Mongols Changed the World

Marie Favereau

Hosted by Christopher Rose
The Mongols are widely known for one thing: conquest. Through the ages, word "horde" has entered the English lexicon with a negative connotation, conjuring up images of warriors on horseback …
Central Asian Studies June 21, 2021

Central Asia

A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present

Adeeb Khalid

Hosted by Nicholas Seay
In Central Asia: A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present (Princeton University Press, 2021), Adeeb Khalid presents a comprehensive narrative of modern Central Asian history based on original research and …
East Asian Studies June 4, 2021

Land of Strangers

The Civilizing Project in Qing Central Asia

Eric Schluessel

Hosted by Sarah Bramao-Ramos
Eric Schluessel’s Land of Strangers: The Civilizing Project in Qing Central Asia (Columbia UP, 2020) looks at what happened when, at the end of the Qing, Chinese Confucian revivalists gained …
Middle Eastern Studies May 7, 2021

Between Muslims

Religious Difference in Iraqi Kurdistan

J. Andrew Bush

Hosted by Asad Dandia
Between Muslims Religious Difference in Iraqi Kurdistan (Stanford UP, 2020) by J. Andrew Bush asks what it means to be Muslim, yet not pious, in Iraqi Kurdistan. Though Islam is …
Russian and Eurasian Studies May 5, 2021

Ideologies of Race

Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union in Global Context

David Rainbow

Hosted by Diana Dukhanova
Conflicting notions about the dynamics of race in Russia and the Soviet Union have made it difficult for both scholars and other observers of the region to understand rising racial …
Central Asian Studies May 4, 2021

Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes

Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia

Rustamjon Urinboyev

Hosted by Nicholas Seay
In Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia (University of California Press, 2020), Dr. Rustam Urinboyev presents rich ethnographic material to reconceptualize how migrants adapt to …
Central Asian Studies April 14, 2021

In Remembrance of the Saints - the Rise and Fall of an Inner Asian Sufi Dynasty

David Brophy

Hosted by Nicholas Seay
David Brophy's translation of Muhammad Sadiq Kashghari's In Remembrance of the Saints: The Rise and Fall of an Inner Asian Sufi Dynasty (Columbia University Press, 2021) represents the first comprehensive translation of …
Central Asian Studies March 2, 2021

The Russian Conquest of Central Asia

A Study in Imperial Expansion, 1814–1914

Alexander Morrison

Hosted by Nicholas Seay
Alexander Morrison’s study of the conquest of Central Asia offers new perspectives on a topic long obscured by misleading grand narratives. Based on years of research in several countries, The Russian …