Today from 12 noon until 3pm, all are welcome to visit the Lecturers’ Common Room in the Raised Faculty Building (details below) to see a display of UL books from and about Central Asia curated by visiting fellow Dr Ainur Akhmetova.  There will also be a 30-minute talk by Dr Akhmetova in the room starting at 1pm and followed by a Q&A.

From the poster for the event:

“Dr Ainur Akhmetova will present a collection of books on the Central Asian region’s literature, folklore, art, and history, all catalogued in the UL and other libraries of the University of Cambridge.

“The literature of Central Asia dates back to the early times. Historical, political, cultural, and social factors and situations unite the region’s people, who gained Independence from the USSR in 1991. The artistic literature reflects the commonalities of the past, distinctive geography and history, profound philosophy, and enriched culture of this immense steppe. The authors’ literary production of this region is being translated into several languages, including Russian and English, from their native languages, effectively reaching wider readership worldwide with regard to the period of Independence of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyz, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. It is only recently that other parts of the world are becoming interested in the region’s current development in the Soviet and post-Soviet space and in its contemporary literature.

“Dr Ainur Akhmetova has a Ph.D. in Literature Studies from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. She is currently leading a collaborative project that investigates Central Asian postcolonial literature and Kazakhstan’s literature since the independence period. She is a Fellow at the Mukhtar Auezov Institute of Literature and Art of Kazakhstan and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge.”

Do go if you have the chance.  The Lecturers’ Common Room is on the first floor of the Raised Faculty Building on the University’s Sidgwick Site, in the south-east corner of the building.

We look forward to posting a guest blog post from Dr Akhmetova about the books on display.

Mel Bach