“From Samarkand’s neighbourhoods to other Eurasian hubs: Central Asia within and through a historical lens”

The International Conference “From Samarkand’s neighborhoods to other Eurasian hubs: Central Asia within and through a historical lens” will be held on June 2nd 2023, and take place at Samarkand State University. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15th May 2023.

The organizers invite papers on any aspect of the neighborhood's history broadly defined.

Recently, we have been seized by less familiar ideas of understanding: what development is, what is it like for our neighbors and us? Living in Samarkand, we confidently say that progress has nothing to do with the rhyme of neighborhood. In the culture of Samarkand, in this city of crossroads of trading caravans and intellectual circulations, the centrality of the neighborhood is important.

In general, good neighborliness has always been an essential component of the historical/intellectual tradition of the cosmopolitan cities of Eurasia, from “Samarkand to Baghdad and Cordoba”, as scholars have put it. The tradition does not need development. If the internal balance of the tradition is not disturbed from the outside, good neighborliness is balanced by its age-old values because security always comes from the inside. The balance in ancient cities of Eurasia has preserved the unique symbiosis of nomads and sedentary, Persian and Turkic-speaking, globalism and localism, Marxism and Sufism of this complex multifaceted crossroads.

At the proposed conference, we invite participants to share and present research on how knowledge, traditions, and religions circulated and combined between the neighbors of Eurasia. We intend to design a collaborative platform where the concept of “neighborhood” across different disciplines will be discussed to illustrate the possibility of avoiding clashes with hegemonic paradigms of nationhood, borders, and Eurocentric knowledge between long-standing neighbors.

The international Conference will allow discussion of the role of a neighborhood through the history of cities of Eurasia and the current state of historical, scientific research and practical works in the next perspective areas:

• Intercultural communications and cosmopolitan cities of Eurasia (from “Samarkand to Cordoba”)
• Intellectuals of Samarkand: from Sogdians to Jadids;
• “Neighborhood” in the History, Philosophy, and Culture of a Big Central Asia.

We also invite submissions for more practically oriented workshop sessions to share experiences and best practices related to teaching and disseminating the history of neighbors.

Schedule

March 2023

• Dissemination info on the Conference.

March – till 15th of May

• Abstract submission; Scientific committee acceptance. Registration.

June 2nd 2023

• The Conference in Samarkand

Abstract characteristics:

• Abstracts must be original, unpublished, and written in one of the three official languages of the Conference (Uzbek, Russian, and English).
• The abstract title is limited to 20 words.
• The abstract will have 300-350 words and four keywords.

For any information or questions regarding abstract submission, please get in touch with the Secretariat of the Conference: centralasia@gmail.com

Conference registration fee – Details

All conference participants must pay the conference registration fee. Delegates can choose any of the options below to participate in the Conference.

Registration Deadline 30th of May 2023

Authors (aspirants) 30 Euro

Authors (Regular) 60 Euro

Listener 10 Euro

Conference invitation letter

If you require a visa, we advise you to obtain and submit an official Letter of Invitation from the conference organizers to help facilitate the visa process. Please note that Letters of Invitation are only issued to registered and paid/approved delegates. If you need an invitation letter, please complete this form.

If you need an invitation letter, please complete this form.

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