The Central Asian World

"Discover the 'Central Asian World' through the lenses of leading anthropologists. Drawing from empirical data and giving voice to local communities, the authors help us to explore the complex life and experiences of contemporary Central Asians. These original contributions were possible due to the generosity and hospitality of Central Asians who welcomed 'outsiders' into their homes and generously shared their food, time, and knowledge with them. If a decade ago, Central Asians had served foreign anthropologists as research assistants, translators and/or informants, today, they have become established and emergent scholars contributing to the international discourse on the region."

Elmira Köchümkulova, Co-ordinator of the Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia

"This collection of deeply informed essays puts the 'Central' back into 'Central Asia' -- a region too long treated as a cultural and intellectual backwater but in historical and ethnological reality an arena of socio-cultural ferment and reciprocal permeation on a global scale. The authors transform the charge of marginality into an object of critical reflection across an impressive array of disciplines, topics, and venues."

Michael Herzfeld, Ernest E. Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University, USA

 "Central Asia has long been unaccountably marginalized in disciplinary and political worldings. This superb collection of essays triumphantly demonstrates the huge importance of this vast region for anyone interested in understanding the contemporary world. Offering a comprehensive, polyphonic introduction to the area's diverse and fluid pasts and presents, the volume advances cutting-edge anthropological approaches in explorations of how more-than-human reverberations of previous regimes affect and shape material culture, ecologies, cosmologies, kinship, economies and state encounters. With contributors from both within and beyond Central Asia, this looks set to be a foundational work for the region and social sciences alike."

Catherine Alexander, Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Durham University, UK