SEMINAR SERIES- Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus, SOAS, University of London, Term 2

Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian Studies

Posted by: Jane Savory <js64@soas.ac.uk>

SEMINAR SERIES- Ctr. of Contemporary Central Asia & the Caucasus, SOAS, Term 2

Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus, School of
Oriental and African Studies, University of London seminar schedule for Term 2.

The seminars are free and open to the public. No booking is required.

All the seminars are taking place in Room G50, Main Building, SOAS,
University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG

Enquries: Bhavna Dave (bd4@soas.ac.uk) or Jane Savory
(js64@soas.ac.uk) +00 44 (0)20 7898 4892

Seminar - Film Screening

Date: 15 January 2009
Time: 5.30-8pm

Title: Postcards from Tora Bora (film, 85 minutes)
Followed by discussion with the film director Wazhmah Osman and
co-director Kelly Dolak
Venue: G50, Main Building, SOAS
Contact: Bhavna Dave (bd4@soas.ac.uk) or Jane Savory (js64@soas.ac.uk)

All Welcome

Synopsis

At the height of the Cold War, the Osman family frantically escapes
from Afghanistan while leaving almost everything behind. In the
ensuing chaos,their only suitcase filled with family photos is stolen.
Now after two decades of living in America, Wazhmah Osman, a young
Afghan-American woman returns to her childhood home. Armed only with
rapidly fading memories, she recruits some unlikely and reluctant
guides to put together the pieces of her past. On an alternately sad
and humorous quest, she encounters confused cabbies, the enthusiastic
former minister of the tourism bureau, a museum director that archives
land mines, and a group of angry street vendors. As Wazhmah
desperately searches for any tangible evidence of her former life, the
journey leads her to many unexpected places. Amidst the rubble and
destruction, she finds her estranged father who in the aftermath of
war choose his country over his family. On the road, Wazhmah
frequently finds herself at a strange intersection where cultures
clash, identities are mistaken, and the past violently collides with
the present.

Further information/reviews: http://www.postcardsfromtorabora.com/

Seminar

Date: Thursday, 22 January 2009
Time: 17.30-19.00

Title: Balance of Threat: Security Organizations and Foreign Policy
Alignment in Central Asia
Speakers: Gregory Gleason (Professor of Security Studies, George C.
Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch & Professor,
University of New Mexico)
Venue: G50
Enquiries: Bhavna Dave, bd4@soas.ac.uk or Jane Savory, js64@soas.ac.uk

Seminar

Date: Thursday, 29 January 2009
Time: 17.30-19.00

Title: Islam, State and the Transformation of the Rural Space in
Post-Soviet Central Asia
Speaker: Habiba Fathi (Research Fellow, Aga Khan University Institute
for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC), London)
Venue: G50
Enquiries: Bhavna Dave, bd4@soas.ac.uk or Jane Savory, js64@soas.ac.uk

Seminar

Date: Thursday, 19 February 2009
Time: 17.30-19.00

Title: Temporary Conversions: Encounters with Pentecostalism in Kyrgyzstan
Speaker: Mathijs Pelkmans (London School of Economics)
Venue: G50
Enquiries: Bhavna Dave, bd4@soas.ac.uk or Jane Savory, js64@soas.ac.uk

Seminar

Date: Thursday, 5 March 2009
Time: 17.30-19.00

Title: Endangering Space: Towards a Critical Geopolitics of Central Asia
Speakers: John Heathershaw (University of Exeter) and Nick Megoran
(University of Newcastle)
Venue: G50
Enquiries: Bhavna Dave, bd4@soas.ac.uk or Jane Savory, js64@soas.ac.uk

Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus, School of
Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, Thornhaugh
Street, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG

Centre website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/cccac/

Jane Savory
Office Manager, Centres and Programmes Office
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

tel +44 (0)20 7898 4892 email js64@soas.ac.uk
fax +44 (0)20 7898 4489 web www.soas.ac.uk/centres/

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