CONF.- 21st Annual Nicholas Poppe Symposium, Univ. of Washington, May 9

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

CONF.- 21st Annual Nicholas Poppe Symposium, Univ. of Washington, May 9

Posted by: Ilse D Cirtautas <icirt@u.washington.edu>

University of Washington, Seattle

21st Annual Nicholas Poppe Symposium on Central/Inner Asian Studies:
"The Impact of Globalization on the Turkic and Mongolian Culture
and Society"

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Denny Hall 215A-217
9:00 am - 5:30pm
Program

9:00-9:30
Coffee, Tea and refreshments

9:30-9:35
Welcome Address: Ilse Cirtautas

9:35-10:00
"Remembering Nicholas Poppe"

Prof. Emeritus Jerry Norman, Department
of Asian Languages and Literature, University
of Washington

10:00-10:30
"Aspects of Globalization"
(tentative title)
Prof. Stephen Hanson, Vice-Provost of Global Affairs
University of Washington

10:30-10:40
Discussion

10:40- 10:50
Coffee/Tea Break

10:50-11:20
"Uzbekistan's Encounter with Globalization"

Prof. Ilse Cirtautas, Near Eastern Languages
and Civilization,
University of Washington

[After the almost complete isolation from western influences
for more than seventy years during Soviet colonialism all the
Central Asian republics experienced, since independence in 1991,
a constant flow of western ideas, attitudes and material goods.
This paper attempts to show the influence of globalization,
experienced as a process of westernization, and the reaction
to it in Uzbekistan. Similar developments can be observed also
in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

11:20-11:30
Discussion

11:30-12:00
"Chingis's Posse Or Why Mongolia Loves Hip Hop"

Simon Wickham-Smith, Russian, East European and
Central Asian Studies, Jackson School of International
Studies, University of Washington

[The music and culture of hip hop is most readily associated
with urbanized youth culture in the United States and Europe,
so how has it become the most influential and popular youth
culture in contemporary Mongolia? Where in this society, which
so celebrates its ancient culture and history, does the linguistic
subtlety of rap and the electronic beat box find its place and how
do the artists merge such influences with their own culture?
This presentation will use video to address these questions in the
light of globalization and show what of western hip hop has been
retained and what was transformed by Mongolian performers]

12:00-12:10
Discussion

12:10-1:30
Lunch (215 A Denny)

1:30-2:00
"Aspects of Globalization in Xinjiang (East Turkestan):
The Political Geography of the Uighurs"

Prof. Stanley Toops, Miami University, Ohio

[The Uighur, a Turkic ethnic group in northwest China, are the
titular ethnicity of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
After discussing their situation in Xinjiang, this paper will analyze
political components of Uighur society. What is the political
geography of the Uighurs? The paper will be looking at several
components, including the history, and demonstrate how locality
and places matter to Uighurs and their political identity. Political
power, however, is in the hands of the party and the Xinjiang
Production Construction Corps. The paper will also discuss
human rights issues in the context of global influences]

2:00-2:10
Discussion

2:10-2:40
"How to Preserve Traditions in a Global World:
The Case of the Council of Elders in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan"

David Merrell, School of Law, University of Washington

[Traditional dispute resolution councils of village elders have
existed for centuries in Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan such
councils are known as aksakal (lit: white beard) councils. In
Afghanistan they are mostly referred to as jirga or shura. After
the collapse of the Soviet Union and the onset of globalization,
aksakal councils were incorporated into the Kyrgyz judicial
system as Aksakal Courts. Because the Jirga and Shura are
economically efficient, respected by the people, and seek
reconciliation rather than retribution, many in the international
community are calling for their institutionalization by the
Afghan government. Others claim that institutionalization
would change their traditional character and eliminate their
inherent qualities. This paper argues that before any decision
is made on the matter, Afghanistan should look to the experience
of integration in the Kyrgyz Republic]

2:40-2:50
Discussion

2:50-3:00
Coffee Break and Awarding of the combined Nicholas
Poppe/Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association Prize
for the best student in first-year Uzbek.

3:00-3:30
"A Look at the Past: Reflections of Social Changes in Osmanaly
Sydykov's Tarikh-i Shadmaniya (1914)"

Jipar Duishembieva, Ph.D. Student, Interdisciplinary
Ph.D. Program in Near and Middle Eastern Studies,
University of Washington

[Central Asia at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the twentieth
century was a fast changing place where traditional ways of life were
challenged by Russian and later Soviet colonialism. The mostly enforced
social changes on the territory of Central Asia produced local intellectuals
with a distinct position and with different responses to the events around
them. The paper explores how these changes are reflected in a historical
work written by a Kyrgyz intellectual who comes from the nomadic
culture: Osmonaly Sydykov's Tarikh Qyrgyz Shadmaniya published
in 1914 in Ufa. After a brief discussion of Sydykov's life, the paper
explores Sydikov's treatment in the Tarikh of the concepts of history,
education, progress. and technology, concepts so closely related to
current issues of globalization]

3:30-3:40
Discussion

3:40-4:10
"Globalization, Oil and the Environment in the Caspian
Sea Region of Kazakhstan"

Arman Ikhsanov, Exchange Graduate Student from Atyrau
University, Atyrau, Kazakhstan

[The paper will discuss the ecological and environmental
impact of oil and gas pumping by foreign companies in the
Caspian Sea region, particularly in the vicinity of Atyrau. The
discussion will also include the pollution caused by refineries
and other factories built and maintained by foreign companies
and their frequent clash with Kazakh environmental laws]

4:10- 4:20
Discussion

4:20-5:00
"Globalization and its Challenges for the Youth in
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan: A Forum
of students from Central Asia currently studying at the
University of Washington:"
Saodat Khakhimova (Uzbekistan),
Shyngys Nurlanov (Kazakhstan) Arman Ikhsanov (Kazakhstan),
Iskender Suleimenov (Kyrgyzstan)

5:00-5:10
Discussion

5:10-5:20
Summary and Closing Remarks

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