CENTRAL ASIA & CAUCASUS WORKING GROUP, Fall Organizational Meeting, Tues., Sept. 25 The first meeting this semester of the Central Asia & Caucasus Working Group will be held on: Tuesday, September 25, 4:15-6:00 pm in CGIS Room S-354 at 1730 Cambridge St., 3rd Floor, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies All interested people are encouraged to join us. The Working Group is, first and foremost, and opportunity for us to get (and give) useful feedback on the projects-in-progress that we are pursuing -- theses, course papers, articles, conference papers, etc. The group is a stable, sympathetic group who are generally generous with their comments. In the organizational meeting, we will discuss the schedule for future meetings, which will be on Tuesdays, alternating with the meetings of the Central Asia and Caucasus Seminar (public seminar series). We will begin with an introduction to the Working Group and then have a introductions by participants and with a chance for all to introduce themselves and mention their particular interests and projects. Please come prepared to talk a bit about any project that you might be considering for presentation this semester or this year. If you need to be added to the Working Group e-mail mailing list (i.e., if you don't get this message directly from me) or if you know of someone who would be interested in receiving information about the Working Group, just send me the name/e-mail address and I'll add it to the list. If you would potentially be interested in making a presentation to the Working Group in the early part of the semester, please let me know as soon as possible. Typical projects for presentation include thesis chapters, term paper projects, and papers you are preparing for conference presentation and/or publication. Note that the presentation can be something rather "raw", though ideally you should have a (draft) paper that can be distributed in advance of your presentation. Here is more info about the Working Group... About the Working Group The Working Group on "Society, Politics and Culture in Central Asia and the Caucasus" forum that meets roughly every other week for discussion of projects on Central Asia. The Working Group is aimed at providing a context for focused discussion on Central Asian and Caucasus-related topics among Harvard graduate students, faculty, and other interested scholars in the Cambridge and Boston area. Central Asia, for these purposes, is understood to include the states of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, as well as closely related areas: the Caucasus, the Volga Basin, Southwestern Siberia, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. Each meeting is devoted to a presentation of some work-in-progress (a thesis prospectus, chapter, or paper) by one of the Working Group participants, accompanied by helpful discussion by the group as a whole. In most cases, a text is distributed in advance so that the presentation of its content can be brief and we can devote our time to feedback and discussion. Guest speakers are also sometimes invited. The Working Group is chaired by John Schoeberlein, Director of the Harvard Program on Central Asia & the Caucasus. The Working Group is an activity of the Harvard Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. The group has been meeting since 1994. Refreshments are served! Please contact me with any questions or suggestions you might have. I look forward to your participation! John Schoeberlein Dr. John Schoeberlein \ Director Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus Davis Center \ Harvard University 1730 Cambridge St., Room S-320 \ Cambridge, MA 02138 \ USA tel.: +1/617-495-4338 program tel.: +1/617-496-2643 fax: +1/617-495-8319 schoeber(a)fas.harvard.edu Central Asia Program website: http://centasia.fas.harvard.edu <Central Eurasian Studies World Wide>: http://cesww.fas.harvard.edu Central-Eurasia-L: http://cesww.fas.harvard.edu/CESWW_Central-Eurasia-L.html