Engaging evening discussion on the urgent and complex topic: “Postcolonial Theories: Their Interpretation in Eurasia and the Decolonial Turn.” The conversation will touch on the ongoing search for identity.

Some argue that today, while the progressive world is attempting to deconstruct the very idea of identity, we in turn are trying to grapple with the traumas of the past. 

Proponents of the decolonial turn seek new frameworks for addressing these challenges.

We have invited three speakers to explore the difficult questions of postcolonialism and the decolonial option, both from a regional perspective and within a broader global context.

Speakers:

Alima Bissenova is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Nazarbayev University. Her research focuses on urban anthropology, the anthropology of Islam, intellectual history, and postcoloniality. She has been published in Ab Imperio, Europe-Asia Studies, and Religion, State & Society. She teaches the course “Postcolonial Theory and Its Applications in Eurasia.”

Sergey Sitar studied architecture at the Moscow Architecture Institute. Since 1995, he has collaborated with Bart Goldhoorn on the architectural journal Project Russia, working as author, editor, and art director. Alongside publishing, he engages in architectural and design practice, exhibition projects, and critical writing.

Madina Tlostanova is a scholar of comparative imperialism, decolonial studies in the humanities and social sciences, and altermodern projects. Her innovative work on Orientalism, racism, intellectual Eurocentrism in secondary modern empires, and post-Soviet subjectivity has attracted significant international academic interest.