IAAS Lecture Series Current

THE PROGRAM:

IAAS Lunchtime Lecture Series
2007-2008

The Committee on Inner Asian and Altaic Studies sponsors a monthly lunchtime lecture series. You may bring your own lunch to the lecture; the Cafeteria is located in the CGIS North Building. Snacks will be provided. Unless otherwise noted, the room opens at 12:30, presentation at 1:00 pm. Additional details will be announced as talks are scheduled. For more information, please contact IAAS at iaas@fas.harvard.edu

Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 12:30-2:00 p.m.
REPORTS FROM THE FIELD:
Presentations of Summer 2007 research trips by members of the Inner Asian community.

David Brophy - IAAS
"Sources for the History of Xinjiang in Turkey"

Brian Tawney - RSEA
"Guandi and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in Cabcal County"

Andrea Snavely - RSEA
“Music, Media, and Antelopes: Tibetans as Environmentalists?”

Benjamin Levey - HEAL
“Experiences in the First Historical Archives in Beijing”

Max Oidtmann - HEAL
“Motorcycling to the Archives: Oral History and Research among the Sibe in Xinjiang”

At the CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street
On the Second Floor, in Seminar Room S250
Please note: Presentations will begin promptly at 12:30.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Gardner Bovingdon
Indiana University, Bloomington
The State of Xinjiang Studies,
The State and Xinjiang Studies

At the CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street
On the Concourse Level, in Seminar Room S050

Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Etienne de la Vaissiere
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris

The Islamisation of Central Asia:
Sogdian and Turkish elites in Abbassid policy

One of the results of the Arabic conquest of Central Asia at the beginning of the VIIIth c. was the inclusion of the Central Asian elites and armies in the Muslim empire. Their influence there was important, as the Muslim world was twice conquered by armies from Eastern Iran and Central Asia, first in 750 then in 811. But their specific social background is mainly known from Chinese sources as these Sogdian and Turkish armies were described in the Chinese histories. These elites and armies were active in Northern China before the Arabic conquest, so that to understand their background we have to compare Arabic and Chinese texts. The califs tried to deal with these powerful nobles in various ways which will be here analysed.

At the CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street
On the Second Floor, in Seminar Room S250

Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Yuri Bregel
Indiana University, Bloomington

The Sarts - encore, and again encore

At the CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street
On the Concourse Level, in Seminar Room S050

Wednesday, April 2, 2008, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Devin DeWeese
Indiana University, Bloomington

'Political Islam' in 16th-Century Central Asia

At the CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street
On the First Floor, in Seminar Room S153

Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 4:30 p.m.
Dr. Mariko Namba Walter
Harvard University

will give an illustrated talk based on her recent trip

Afghan Buddhism: From The Yuezhi (Kushans) and Xuanzang to the Taliban

At the CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street
On the First Floor, in Seminar Room S153

Doors will open at 4:00.
Please note: Time differs from the usual.

Friday, May 2, 2008, 4:30 p.m.
Gray Tuttle
Columbia University

Learning from Local History:
Seeing the Big Picture from the Details in Amdo Tibet

At the CGIS South Building , 1730 Cambridge Street
On the Concourse Level, in Seminar Room S050

Doors will open at 4:00.
Please note: Time and day differ from the usual.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 12:30-2:30 p.m.

Presentations by IAAS Doctoral Candidates

Warner Belanger
Anxiety about the Absence of the Buddha: The Redaction of the Caityapradaksina Gatha

Gulnora Aminova
Biography of a Bukharan Saint and the Art of Concealment

At the CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street
On the Concourse Level, in Seminar Room S050

Please note: Presentations will begin promptly at 12:30. Lunch will be provided for all!

For the IAAS Lecture Series of past years:

2006–2007 Lecture Series
2005–2006 Lecture Series
2004–2005 Lecture Series
2003–2004 Lecture Series
2002–2003 Lecture Series
2001–2002 Lecture Series
2000–2001 Lecture Series
1999–2000 Lecture Series
1998–1999 Lecture Series