CHAIR: Assel Kadyrkhanova | DISCUSSANT: Erin Hutchinson
ROOM: Alcoa Room, 228 Barco Law | Sat, Oct 27th, 14:15

• The Digital Nation: Literature, Power and Identity Online
Diana Kudaibergenova (Lund University)

• Voice of the People, Pen of the Elite: Folk Culture and Nation-Building in Maoist Xinjiang
Joshua Freeman (Harvard University)

• Central Asian Writers in the “Wide Russian World”
Naomi Caffee (Reed College)

CHAIR: Byeitbitgul Khaumyen | DISCUSSANT: Colin Johnson
ROOM: Posvar 3431 | Sun, Oct 28th, 11:00

• Socio-Economics, Power and the Dynamics of Pamiri Identity
Jonathan Zaharin

• The Roof of the World Festival: Intangible Cultural Heritages and Intercultural Exchanges
Mehrenegar Rostami (University of California, Los Angeles)

CHAIR: Jonathan Zaharin | DISCUSSANT: Marintha Miles
ROOM: Posvar 3431 | Sun, Oct 28th, 09:00

• Central Eurasian and North Asian Indigenous Ontologies: The Totemic Marriage Between the Hunter and the Chased Doe
Attila Mateffy (University of Bonn)

• Value Conflicts in Bringing Up a “Healthy” Child in Kyrgyzstan
Baktygul Tulebaeva (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main)

DISCUSSANT: Madeleine Reeves
ROOM: Posvar 3431 | Sat, Oct 27th, 11:00

• Existential vs. Essential: The Securityscapes of LGBT People in Kyrgyzstan
Nina Bagdasarova (American University of Central Asia)

• Diverse Security Making Strategies for Children’s Future
Aksana Ismailbekova (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale)

• Coping with Insecurity: Securityscapes of Civil Society Activists in Tajikistan
James Usborne

• “Woman is a Madrasa”: The Role of Women in Production of Islamic Knowledge in Bishkek
Mukaram Toktogulova (American University of Central Asia)
• Schools for Muslim Children and Youth in Moscow
Rano Turaeva (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology)
• Knowledge Alone is Not Enough: Education and Religious Normative Frameworks in Afghanistan
Andreas Durr (Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main)
• Entrepreneurs of Knowledge: The Role of Islamic Funds in Islamic Knowledge Production and Circulation in Kyrgyzstan

CHAIR: Zarina Mukanova | DISCUSSANT: Caitlin Ryan ROOM: Posvar 3431 | Fri, Oct 26th, 11:00

• Between Hope and Despair: Expectations and Disappointments Among Kazak Repatriates
Peter Finke (University of Zürich)

• Leaving Home, Coming Home: Kazakstan as Homeland and Hope-Giver for Repatriate Kazakhs
Indira Alibayeva (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale)

• Disputed Brotherhood: Central Asian Experiences in Turkey?
Meltem Sancak (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale)

CHAIR: Peter Finke | DISCUSSANT: Cynthia Werner ROOM: Posvar 3431 | Fri, Oct 26th, 09:00

• New Marriage Strategies of Kazakh Repatriates from Mongolia and China in Zheti Suw
Zarina Mukanova (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale)

• The Role of Pre-Marriage Rituals in Kazakh Society: Matchmaking Ceremonies and Social Stratification in Kerbulaq Region
Dinara Abildenova (University of Zürich)

Author Ann McClellan will explore the images and tales associated with the ethereal Japanese cherry blossoms. People have celebrated the blooming of these trees for more than 1000 years, and today they serve as instruments of diplomacy, as landscape enhancements, and as eternal signs of spring and romance.

Ann McClellan is the author of two definitive books about the Japanese cherry blossoms including the official book of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.

As a collaborative partnership between the Allegheny County Bar Association and the Asian Studies Center, the Comfort Women: The Legacy of Sexual Slavery in Asia conference will focus on the historical and legal aspects of sexual enslavement of women by the military in the years before and during World War II.