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Virtual Talk • Reading Al-Farabi in Soviet Central Asia
January 28, 2021 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
The sudden interest in the legacy of Abu Nasr al-Farabi (ab. 870-950) in Soviet academic circles during the 1970 and 1980s resulted in numerous publications dedicated to his treatises in Central Asian Soviet Republics. Born in southern Kazakhstan and known as the “Second Teacher” in Islamic tradition (following Aristotle, the “First Teacher”), Farabi became famous in medieval Europe for his commentaries on ancient Greek philosophical texts, though more recent scholarship has highlighted the far greater extent of his intellectual influence across the world. This talk will discuss the rise in interest in this major Islamic philosopher in the antireligious, Marxist-Leninist conditions of the late Soviet intellectual milieu.
Dr. Zifa Auezova is a prominent Kazakh historian and granddaughter of the great Kazakh writer and intellectual, Mukhtar Auezov (1897-1961). She received her PhD from the Department of Oriental Studies at the St. Petersburg State University. Her research interests focus on the intellectual history of Central Asia and literary articulations of state ideologies.
Co-presented by the UNC Russian Flagship Program, the Central Asia Working Group, and the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies.
Event registration required. Please RSVP via this Zoom link: https://unc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcrduqvrzwsGN25qMQxiT8RBN967rVx4M-4