Bringing together leading scholars working on different periods, places and disciplines in Central Asian Studies, the conference will explore long-term Central Asian social and cultural characteristics as evident in the region's religious, political and artistic formations and traditions, as well as the impact of Central Asia's distinctive geographical environments on human history.
Morning Session: Histories
Chair: Sanjay Subrahmanyam, UCLA
Lothar von Falkenhausen, UCLA, Archaeological Sidelights on Central Asia
Devin DeWeese, Indiana University, The Missing Middle: Broad Brushes and Narrower Perspectives on the Historiography of Central Asia in the Islamic Period
Nazif Shahrani, Indiana University, Mobility, Subjugation and States in 19th & 20th Century Central Asia
Afternoon Session: Cultures
Chair: Gregory Schopen, UCLA
Françoise Aubin, CNRS, Paris, Rambling Reflections about Mobility and Governability of Religious Phenomena and Systems in Inner Asia
Susan Whitfield, British Library, London, Reframing the Artistic Spaces of Central Asia
David Christian, San Diego State University, Mobile Army, Sedentary Tax Base: Mobility and Sedentism in the Mongol and Russian Empires
Summary Remarks, Nile Green, UCLA
A buffet lunch will be provided for those who rsvp.
This event is made possible with generous grants from the UCLA International Institute and the Center for European and Eurasian Studies.
Photo of votive wooden plaque from Dandan-Uliq in the kingdom of Khotan, courtesy of the British Museum.
More information about the UCLA Central Asia Initiative
Rsvp to Elizabeth Leicester at eleicester@international.ucla.edu. Parking is available for $9 in Lot 8 on the UCLA campus. Please obtain a permit from the visitor kiosk on Westwood Blvd.