The NU Library cordially invites you to attend the presentation of the volume “Traditions and Values of Kazakhs in the XXI Century.”

About the book:

The volume “Traditions and Values of Kazakhs in the XXI Century” brings together research and reflections by leading Kazakhstani historians, anthropologists, philosophers, and writers devoted to understanding the transformation of Kazakh identity in the final decades of the twentieth century and the first quarter of the twenty-first century. It aims to offer a historical-philosophical and cultural perspective on the processes shaping the face of contemporary Kazakhstan. Over thirty-five years of independence, Kazakhstani society has undergone large-scale demographic, economic, and sociocultural transformations. A new generation of independence has entered the historical stage and now constitutes the majority of the country’s population. Linguistic and cultural hierarchies have changed, as have forms of self-expression, mechanisms of collective memory, and “reinventing” traditions.

About the Authors:

Alima Bissenova is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Nazarbayev University. She specializes in urban anthropology, anthropology of Islam, postcolonial studies, and intellectual history. She has published her work in English and Russian in Religion, State, and Society, Europe-Asia Studies, AB Imperio, Current History, Novoe Literaturnoe Obozrenie, and Sotsiologiya Vlasti. She is the chief editor of Uly Dala: the Journal of Urban and Social Research. She has also recently edited and co-authored the Qazaqstan, Казахстан, قازاقستان: Лабиринты Современного Постколониального Дискурса in Russian, as well as co-edited and co-authored Post-colonial approaches in Kazakhstan and Beyond collection.

Sultan Akimbekov is the Director of the Institute for Asian Studies. He is the author of several books, including History of the Steppes, History of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan in the Russian Empire, Kazakhs Between Revolution and Famine, and A Brief History of the Kazakhs.

Dina Sharipova is an Associate Professor and Vice Dean for Research at the Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University. Her research focuses on subjective well-being, social capital, identity, nation-building, and civil society in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. She serves as President of the Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) and sits on the editorial boards of Central Asian Survey and Public Administration and Development. Her monograph State-building in Kazakhstan: Continuity and Transformation of Informal Institutions was published by Lexington Books in 2018. She is also a co-author of Postcolonial Approaches in Kazakhstan and Beyond (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). Her work has appeared in leading international journals, including Europe-Asia Studies, Nationalities Papers, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Journal of Happiness Studies, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, and Social Policy and Administration.

Kulshat Medeuova is a Professor of Philosophy at the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Astana). Her research advances interdisciplinary approaches in philosophy of culture, urban anthropology, and memory studies in Kazakhstan. Her recent work focuses on the epistemological dimensions of nationalization, including the construction of the new capital, symbolic practices, and the decolonization of knowledge in post-Soviet Kazakhstan.

Assel Mukasheva is a PhD candidate at the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. Her dissertation examines contemporary trends in social epistemology. She also works as a curator in contemporary art, organizing residencies for emerging artists, exhibitions, and contributing to the development of urban cultural journalism.

Anvar Musrepov is an artist and independent curator based in Almaty. His practice explores the intersection of artistic and curatorial approaches, with a particular focus on decolonial futurisms. His projects include the theoretical journal Horizon. Tselinny, the KORKUT Biennale of Sound Art and Experimental Music (Almaty), and co-curation of the Asar: Central Asian Art conference (Hong Kong, MILL6/CHAT), as well as the National Pavilion of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the 60th Venice Biennale.

Meiramgul Kussainova is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kazakh Language and Turkic Studies at the School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University. Her research focuses on Kazakh oral historical traditions, the history of Kazakh music, intellectual history, and issues of decolonization. She is the author of more than 40 academic publications, including monographs and textbooks.

Radik Temirgaliyev is a historian and writer, and Chairman of the Board of the Kazakh Historical Society. He has worked in several research institutions, including the Institute of State History and the Institute of World Economy and Politics. He is the author of Ak-Orda: History of the Kazakh Khanate, The Era of the Last Batyrs, Kazakhs and Russia, Kazakhs: The Path of the Ancestors, and Tamga: History of Kazakh Tribes.

Ulan Bigozhin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Nazarbayev University. His research interests include religion, nationalism, kinship, and state-building in post-Soviet Kazakhstan, with particular attention to the role of religion in shaping national identity at the local level.

Alina Nurtas-Kalikeeva holds a PhD in Eurasian Studies from Nazarbayev University and is a Leading Research Fellow at the Institute of State History under the Committee of Science, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The program will feature presentations by three authors.

• Alima Bissenova will discuss the role of rites of passage and life cycles in contemporary Kazakh identity.
• Meiramgul Kussainova will present her chapter “Қазақтың үйлену тойы ғұрыптық әндерінің трансформациясы.”
• Alina Nurtas will speak about the transformation of the келін institution in modern contexts and family practices among urban newlyweds.

The event will bring together authors and researchers from leading academic and research institutions.

The presentation will be held in English, Kazakh, and Russian.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at a discounted price during the event.

The publication of the volume was initiated by the Public Foundation Ziyatker Qogam and published with the support of Freedom Holding Corporation.

One copy of the book will also be donated to the NU Library.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Venue: Nazarbayev University Library, 5E.228 (Conference Hall)