Call for Papers

Workshop Aims

The purpose of this workshop is to bring together established scholars and early career researchers from the UK and mainland Europe to share their knowledge and expertise on the (Greater) Central Asia region, which includes the Former-Soviet Central Asian nations and Chinese Central Asia (known variously as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or East Turkestan). The workshop will provide an opportunity to present new research findings, stimulate discussion, and debate current hot topics across Central Asian geographical, social and cultural space irrespective of contemporary political boundaries.

Participants will have the chance to present their ongoing research projects and receive feedback from student peers and more experienced researchers in the field. The workshop offers a great opportunity to meet and network with other scholars working on and in (Greater) Central Asia.

Eligibility

We equally welcome the participation of:

• current postgraduate students at any stage of their studies
• post-doc research fellows
• early-career researchers who have completed PhDs in recent years
• established scholars in the field

Scope

We invite submissions on any aspect of research in (Greater) Central Asia. We are particularly keen to address the frequent exclusion of studies on Xinjiang/East Turkestan within the academic discipline of ‘Central Asian studies’, and for this reason our keynote speaker will this year consider the topic of ‘Xinjiang in Central Asia/Central Asian Studies.’ Individual papers and panels with a Xinjiang focus are therefore solicited alongside those on the independent nations of Central Asia, and those which look at historical and contemporary links between Former-Soviet and Chinese Central Asia are especially welcome. In this way, we seek to find out what scholars of Xinjiang and Former-Soviet Central Asia can learn from one another.

While the regional geographical scope focuses on Xinjiang/East Turkestan and the five countries of Former-Soviet Central Asia, we also invite papers on neighbouring territories with cultural and historical affinities such as the Caucasus and Mongolia.

There will be a conference dinner on the evening of Wednesday 21 March, following the keynote lecture.

Submission of Proposals

We invite researchers to submit individual paper and panel proposals on any topic germane to the study of (Greater) Central Asia. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words, and are to include keywords and full contact details of the applicant. Please send your proposals to our Workshop Administrator, Diana Kopbayeva: d.kopbayeva@ncl.ac.uk. The deadline for receipt of proposals is Friday 16 December, 2016.

Workshop Logistics

The workshop will take place in the Research Beehive, Old Library Building, Newcastle University. Delegates will be informed about accommodation options in the city. Participants do not have to pay a conference fee, and refreshments/lunches will be provided. However, they are expected to cover the cost of the conference dinner on Wednesday 21 March, if they wish to attend. A limited number of travel bursaries (up to £75 per head) are available for postgraduate students. If you would like to be considered for a bursary, please make this clear when you submit your proposal.

Contacts

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Administrator, Diana Kopbayeva: d.kopbayeva@ncl.ac.uk
Co-organiser, Joanne Smith Finley: j.smithfinley@ncl.ac.uk
Co-organiser, Nick Megoran: nick.megoran@ncl.ac.uk