Barbara Junisbai was just appointed Assistant Dean of the Faculty at Pitzer College, Pomona.  She is an expert on Kazakhstan.  She received her Ph.D. at Indiana University, an important center of Central Asian Studies.  Her topic will be:

"Variations on Kazakh-ness: What Internationally Competitive Sports Tell Us about Identity and Nation-Building in Kazakhstan"

Kazakhstan’s international image is of utmost importance to the government.  The government’s approach to cultivate its image abroad (as an international, multi-confessional, modern, European-Asian, prosperous, successful state that has shed its Soviet past) raises a number of questions about identity and nation-building. Should the government "import" talent (in tennis and bicycling, for example) or foster "home-grown" athletes? If athletes who represent Kazakhstan abroad are not themselves either Kazakh or Kazakhstani, how might this affect the instillation of patriotism and nationalism in its citizens? The manner in which the government is building its international sports teams tells us a great deal about (1) the ambiguous nature of Kazakhstani identity (are we Kazakhs, are we Kazakhstani, and what is required to claim either identity?), (2) the trade-offs between international prestige (short term) and domestic capacity building (long term), and (3) which audience(s) are most important from the government’s point of view (the world at large, the rest of Eurasia, or within Kazakhstan itself?).

A presentation of the Research Focus Group on Identity.

(PS 595)