Dr. Urbansky discusses the challenges faced by Chinese immigrants during the late Tsarist Empire and early Soviet Union, highlighting the racial and cultural prejudices that fueled hostilities in urban settings. His analysis explores how these early interactions shaped the experiences and perceptions of Chinese communities in a rapidly changing socio-political landscape.
Join Till Mostowlansky, Research Professor and Eccellenza Professorial Fellow in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at The Graduate Institute Geneva, present his latest work: Transforming Landscapes of Aid: How Gulf Business, the War in Ukraine, and Equestrian Sports Change Small-Town Kyrgyzstan.
Over the last decade, international development in Kyrgyzstan has undergone significant transformations. Despite the ongoing presence of diverse foreign organizations, notable shifts have occurred with the emergence of new contributors to aid, such as entities from the Gulf states, alongside increased trade revenues from China. This talk centers on a small town in southern Kyrgyzstan, delving into the concrete materialization of these influences within its social and political landscape. Drawing upon continuous ethnographic research conducted since 2022, the talk explores the intersection of Islamic charity with the state, the influence of excess on ideas of the good, and how equestrian sports serve as a catalyst for redistribution.
Till Mostowlansky is a Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at the Geneva Graduate Institute. He is the author of Azan on the Moon: Entangling Modernity along Tajikistan’s Pamir Highway (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017) as well as co-editor of Infrastructure and the Remaking of Asia (University of Hawai’i Press, 2023) and Humanitarianism from Below: The Alternative Politics of Universalism (UCL Press, under contract).
The talk is part of the Future of Development Assistance project at the Center for Governance and Markets.
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Join Global Experiences Office Peer Advisors for this weekly roundtable in the Global Hub! Bring your questions about study abroad programs!
Join German Club at Pitt’s weekly meetings, on Tuesdays at 6-7 pm during Spring 2024, to converse in German and learn German culture!
A screening of E.A. Dupont's 1929 silent film Piccadilly, starring Asian American icon Anna May Wong. The screening will be musically accompanied by local musicians, Appalasia and Tom Roberts. Come immerse yourself in their original score and experience one of early Hollywood's finest stars at her finest.
