2025, January 27
Share this articleOn January 24, Nazarbayev University (NU) hosted an international research conference titled "Social Sciences and Humanities: Public Discourse."
The event saw the participation of around 60 speakers from universities in Kazakhstan and abroad, including from Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, China, Budapest, and the United States.
The conference was organized by the Department of Kazakh Language and Turkic Studies at NU and the International Association of Teachers of Kazakh Language. Key topics of discussion included postcolonialism, historiographical spaces and national values, emerging trends in literature, language teaching, social factors in anthropological research, and more.
The main speakers of the conference were Amina Tawasil, Lecturer at Columbia University; Alima Bissenova, Professor at NU; and Uli Schamiloglu, Head of the Department of Kazakh Language and Turkic Studies. Participants included representatives from prominent Kazakhstani universities such as al-Farabi Kazakh National University, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, SDU University, Ualikhanov University, Akhmet Yassawi University, and others.
"This conference will be held annually. In the first years, we plan to focus on postcolonial theory. The main goal of the event is to support the professional development of Kazakh language instructors. It will provide an opportunity for knowledge sharing and research exchange with colleagues from other universities in Kazakhstan, while invited guests will present their research outcomes. The best works will be published in the Quttı bilig journal of the International Association of Teacher of Kazakh Language, which was also established by our department," noted Professor Uli Schamiloglu.
He also enthusiastically announced the launch of a new course, KAZ 300, Kazakh Studies in the Post-colonial Era at NU—a unique discipline in which students will explore Kazakh culture through the lens of postcolonial theory.
