I write with fantastic news - on October 23rd, 2024 at 12:00pm the Central Asian Studies RIW will be holding a moderated Zoom discussion with Dr. Paolo Sartori of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna to discuss his new book, A Soviet Sultanate: Islam in Socialist Uzbekistan (1943‒1991). Participants should come having read, or at least partly read, this book (feel free, in fact, to simply read the introduction and conclusion, or any parts relevant to your own research before coming!). Dr. Sartori will briefly introduce his work (3-5 minutes) and the remaining time will be spent as an open q and a, in which anyone in attendance can ask him any question they want about Sartori's new book, the research that went into it, his methodology, what he sees as its interventions in the field, and broader historiography pertaining to Islam in Soviet Central Asia. Due to the nature of this event, the Central Asian Studies RIW is also happy to announce that we are giving out free (PDF) copies of A Soviet Sultanate - if you want one, please simply reply to this email or email me directly and I will send you a copy. The Zoom Q and A with Dr. Sartori will run from 12:00pm to 1:20pm. Please register for the Zoom here to attend: https://umich.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0od-mgpzIrGN1Gss4j3hl_VM77YYoRddxK . The Austrian Academy Sciences Press describes this book as "the first English-language social history of Islam in Soviet Central Asia after WWII, and it focuses on a key question: what did it mean to be a Muslim in Socialist Uzbekistan? The notion that in the eyes of many Soviet citizens Socialist Uzbekistan was an abode of Islam forms the book’s framing device for understanding how the atheist project of the Soviet empire ultimately failed, but also how it simultaneously helped shape the range of meanings of Muslimness. The book’s central aim is to tell an epic narrative of resilience, resistance and subversion" (see the rest of their description here: https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at/en/product/a-soviet-sultanate/99200960?name=a-soviet-sultanate&product_form=5363 ). Dr. Sartori is a Senior Research Associate at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. There he is a fellow at their Institute of Iranian Studies and currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, the Journal of Central Asian History (Brill) and as the Chairman of the Committee for the Study of Islam in Central Eurasia (https://www.oeaw.ac.at/sice). His main research interests are: the history of knowledge production about Islam in the Russian Empire, with a special focus on the formation of archives in the post-Petrine era; and Soviet Muslimness, with special attention devoted to Central Asia after the Second World War. We are very pleased and honored that he is able to make time to hold this event with us, and we hope you all are also able to attend.