First Invitation letter
21.12.2011
Dear Colleagues!
We are pleased to invite you to participate in an international scientific conference in memory of the famous Soviet and Russian ethnographer Vladimir Nikolaevich Basilov (1937 – 1998). The conference will be held in Moscow from 24 to 26 June 2012, and in the Kyrgyz Republic (Bishkek and on the shore of lake Issyk-Kul) from 27 June to 1 July.
Excursions and practical-demonstrations (meetings with local traditional healers, bakshi, Manas-tellers, etc.)
Conference Initiator:
– Center for the Study of Shamanism and Other Traditional Beliefs and Practices at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, RAS.
Conference Organizers:
– Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), (Moscow);
– Aigine Cultural Research Center (Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic);
– Central Asian Studies Institute at the American University in Central Asia (Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic);
– The Anthropology Department at the American University in Central Asia (Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic);
– Institute of History and Cultural Heritage of the National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyz Republic (Bishkek)
Further conference organization and support provided by:
– Russian Center of science and culture (Bishkek);
– The International Society for Shamanistic Research (Budapest, Hungary);
Attention: conference participants may choose any convenient variant of attendance (to attend one section only, or several; to participate in the Moscow session of the conference, or the Kyrgyz session, or both).
Organizational fee: 200 EUR
Accommodation and other expenses are to be covered by conference participants themselves[3].
Abstracts of no more than 200 words, along with a short CV of the author/s, including information about professional background and affiliation, scientific positions and degrees, are to be submitted by electronic mail to Basilov-2012@mail.ru no later than 15 February 2012. Please indicate “application” in the subject line of the e-mail. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to select abstracts to be presented.
Full texts of reports and oral presentations (up to 20,000 characters including spaces) are to be sent to the same e-mail address before 31 March 2012.
If you are interested in participating in the video festival, please submit a proposal with the description of the film (title, synopsis, script and technical details) by 31 March 2012. Please also attach a short CV of the author. We would like to make a catalogue of films in the program; thus we ask you to provide a photo of the film director and a still photo or a single frame from the film to accompany the description of the film in the catalogue.
We plan to publish a compilation of conference presentations prior to the conference so that it will be available for distribution at the conference.
We invite you to send any comments or suggestions on organizing additional events, such as visits to alternative doctors and healers, clinics of alternative medicine, psychotherapy trainings, etc. Please send any recommendations by 31 January 2012.
Co-chairs of the International Committee:
Sergey Abashin, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, RAS
Gulnara Aytpayeva, Aigine Cultural Research Center
Shayirbek Djuraev, Central Asian Studies Institute at the American University in Central Asia
Ruslan Rakhimov, Anthropology Department at the American University in Central Asia
Valentina Kharitonova, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, RAS
Conference organizers can be contacted at the following e-mail addresses:
Basilov-2012@mail.ru
Valentina Kharitonova: medanthro@mail.ru
Sergey Abashin: s-abashin@mail.ru
Aigine Cultural Research Center (Gulnara Aytpayeva): To=office@aigine.kg” target=”_blank” style=”font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);”>office@aigine.kg
[1] Location of the symposium (Bishkek or one of the resorts along Issyk-Kul) will be specified later.
[2] The wording of the titles is subject to change.
[3] The organizing committee is waiting for possible funding in order to partly cover some of participants expenses.
The conference program includes:
Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (24–26 June):
– Plenary session in memory of Professor Vladimir Nikolaevich Basilov;
– Scientific symposium (1): “Traditional religious practices in the modern world” (with a regional focus on Russia and Central Asia).
The symposium will be divided into two thematic sections:
1. Central Asian Islam – a new field of study and new questions;
2. Traditional shamanism and the figure of the (neo)shaman in the contemporary world: traditions, transformations, and innovations.
Kyrgyz Republic (27 June–1 July):[1]
– Scientific symposium (2): “The spiritual heritage of the Turkic world of Central Eurasia,”
divided into four thematic sections:
1. “Manas” and the epic heritage of peoples across the globe;
2. Living epics and contemporary epic reciters;
3. Shamanic practices and traditional healing in the contemporary world;
4. The cult of saints and religious life of the peoples of Central Eurasia.[2]
– Mini-festival of ethnographic videos: “Shamans and epic narrators in past and present”.
