Department of social anthropology seminar with John Schoeberlein

The Department of Social Anthropology has the pleasure to invite you to this week's seminar. Dr. John Schoeberlein, Davis Center, Harvard University, will present the following paper:

The Meanings of Re-Islamization in Post-Soviet Central Asia

Abstract
On the face of it, the notion of re-Islamization of Central Asia is absurd. Central Asians did not renounce or forget about Islam under Soviet anti-religious policies. Yet the notion of re-Islamization is used by both participants and observers of the processes to which this term is applied. For some it is yielding salvation while for others it promises radicalism, destabilization, and a return to mediaeval social norms. This talk will explore what this kind of conceptualization of social process surrounding Islam reveals about how participants and observers of the "re-Islamization" think about Islam, religion more broadly, and their relation to social life in post-Soviet Central Asia.

All are welcome!