Former Visiting Researchers and Scholars
Dr. Muhammad Ali Dinakhel
Dr. Dinakhel is a DAAD scholarship holder from June to August 2022 as a guest researcher at the Central Asia Seminar at the Humboldt University in Berlin. He has also remained a visiting researcher in 2016 and 2019 in the department of Central Asian Studies, Humboldt University Berlin. He is PhD in Pakistani Languages and Literature with Specialization in Pashto Language and Literature. He has published three articles on the Pashto manuscripts housed in State Library Berlin Germany. He has edited and published one of these manuscripts titled as “Majma’ ul ash’ar”in 2021. He has published another book titled “Da Swat Pashto Adab aw Saqafat” (Pashto Literature and Culture of Swat) in 2020 published by Academy of Sciences Kabul, Afghanistan. He has also translated a book on genealogical study of Pashtuns into Pashto, published in 2022. His research interest areas include Pashto language, literature, linguistics, Pashtun culture, Central Asian literature and Area Studies (Central Asia).
Current research projects:
He conducted a short-term postdoctoral project titled „Linguistic and Cultural Analysis of Pashto Sound Recordings in Lautarchiv of the Humboldt University Berlin". There are seventeen different Pashto sound recordings recorded from Pashtun soldiers being POW during WWI. These sound recordings will be transcribed, translated into English and will be written in standard Pashto text. Linguistic, cultural and historical aspects of these sound recordings will be explored and analysed. He presented a part of his ongoing research project in HIP workshop organized by department of South Asian Studies, Humboldt University Berlin on 15th July 2022.
Past research projects:
- 2019: "An Analysis of Literary, Linguistic, Cultural and Religious Aspects of Pashto Manuscripts in the State Library Berlin"
This project of Dr. Muhammad Ali Dinakhel, was funded by DAAD under its programme “Research Stays for University Academics and Scientists 2019. As a Research Fellow at Humboldt University Berlin, he completed his research project titled “An Analysis of Literary, Linguistic, Cultural and Religious Aspects of Pashto Manuscripts in the State Library Berlin, Germany” from June to August 2019 at the Department of Central Asian Studies. He has already published two articles about Pashto manuscripts in the State Library Berlin Germany. In this project he analysed literary, linguistic, cultural and religious aspects of ten rare and valuable Pashto manuscripts housed in State Library Berlin. One of these manuscripts titled ‘Majma’al ash’ar was introduced by him for the first time to the circle of Pashto literature.
- 2016: "Cultural and Civilizational Study of the Pashto Literature of Swat”
For my research stay at Humboldt University Berlin, I was financially supported by the Higher Education Commission Pakistan under its programme “International Research Support Initiative Programme”. I conduct my research in Humboldt University Berlin under the supervision of Dr. Lutz Rzehak. My focus is on Pashto language, linguistics, literature and culture. I presented a part of my ongoing research project in a seminar on 25th April 2016 at the Department of Central Asian Studies. I spoke on the topic of “Reflection of Militancy and Talibanization in the Pashto Poetry of Swat”. The lecture was followed by productive discussion and questions answers session. I found some rare and valuable Pashto manuscripts in the State Library Berlin. On the recommendation of my supervisor, I also visited British Library London for about ten days to get acquainted with the Pashto manuscripts related to my research project. I was very interested to get in contact with other scholarly institutions in Berlin. I joined several lectures and seminars at different institutions. I also gave one more presentation on the “Concept of Peace in Pashtun Culture” in the workshop of Humboldt India Project in the department of South Asian Studies of the Humboldt University Berlin.
Dr. Bahodir Nurmetovich Karimow
From October to November 2017 Dr. Karimow was on a scholarship of the DAAD and visiting scholar at the Central Asia Seminar of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Dr. Karimov works at the Tashkent State University for Uzbek Language and Literature, named after Alisher Navoi. He is the author of more than 200 scientific and pedagogical-methodical works. His books include:
- "Jadid munaqqidi Vadud Mahmud" (1999)
- "Qodiriy Qadri" (2003)
- "Yangilanish sog'inchi" (2004)
- "Abdulla Qodiriy: tanqid, tahlil va talqin" (2006)
- "Adabiyotshunoslik metodologiyasi" (2012)
- "Abdulla Qodiriy va germenevtik tafakkur" (2014)
- "Qodiriy nasri - nafosat qasri" (2014)
- "Ruhiyat alifbosi" (2016)
Dr. Michal Zelcer-Lavid
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- Dr. Michal Zelcer-Lavid
Dr. Zelcer-Lavid was a postdoc researcher at the Central Asian Seminar of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin from September 2016 to September 2017. She is also a lecturer at the Multidisciplinary B.A. Program (Liberal Arts) in Bar-Ilan University and Sapir Academic College in Israel.
Current research projects:
Her research focuses on nationalism and ethnic identity in Tibetan and Uyghur literature in China. Broader research interests are ethnic conflicts in Asia, ethnicity, culture and politics in contemporary central Asia and China.
Curriculum Vitae:
Dr. Zelcer Lavid has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Haifa; B.A in Anthropology, Sociology and in East Asian Studies with excellence from Tel-Aviv University. She studied Chinese (Mandarin) both in Israel and in China at the Beijing Language and Culture University (Spr. semester, 2001) and Yunnan University (intensive course, 2004). She was awarded grants from both the Hebrew University (2002) and Haifa University (2004) for excellence in academic achievements. In 2010 she was named outstanding junior professor of Bar Ilan University.
Dr. Zaynabidin Abdirashidov
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- Dr. Zaynabidin Abdirashidov
Dr. Zaynabidin Abdirashidov was a DAAD alumnus at the Central Asian Seminar of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (July 2017- September 2017). His research,the birth of liberal-reformist movement in early 20th century Bukhara, was supported by the DAAD: He was focusing on ‘Abd al-Ra’ūf Fiṭrat’s conviction and his early journalistic works in Turkey.
Fields of research:
- Late 19th and the beginning of 20th centuries Turkestan and early soviet Uzbekistan history
- Intellectual history and the development of postcolonial thought and intellectual change in Turkestan
- Westernization or Modernization or …? Abd al-Ra’ūf Fiṭrat and Emergence of Young Bukharan Movement
Prof. Dr. Aftandil Erkinov
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- Prof. Dr. Aftandil Erkinov
Prof. Dr. Aftandil Erkinov was a DAAD scholarship holder at the Central Asian Seminar of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin from June to July 2017. In his DAAD supported research he focuses on comparisons of the cultural environment of Khivian khan`s period Muhammad Rahim-khan II (19th – early 20th C.) with later cultures of the region.
Fields of research:
- History of Turkic and Persian literature in Central Asia (15th – beg. 20th century)
- History of the intellectual life in Central Asia (15th – 20th century)
- Transmission of manuscripts in Central Asia (15th – 20th century)
- Culture of the Muslim Palaces of Centrals Asia
- Muslim society and Islam of Central Asia under Russian Empire (1865–1917)
Current research projects:
- History of the intellectual life in Central Asia (19th – 20th century)
- Culture of the Muslim Palaces of Centrals Asia (15th – beg. 20th century).
- The Muslim women of Central Asia in the 20th century.
Dr. Tsypylma Darieva
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Dr. Tsypylma Darieva is lecturer and visiting researcher at the Central Asia Seminar from October 2016 to July 2017. She is an associate member of the Institute of Slavic Studies and Caucasus Studies at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena. Her current Project "Transformation of urban spaces as representations of power in the Caucasus and Central Asia" is financed by the Zentrum für Osteuropa und internationale Studien Berlin (ZOIS).
Research areas and ongoing research projects:
- Anthropology of migration, diaspora, post-socialist urbanity, sacred sites, religious pluralism, South Caucasus, Central Eurasia
- Project Development: "Transformation of Urban Spaces as Stages of Regional Power: Caucasus and Central Asia in Comparison", in cooperation with the Zentrum für Osteuropa und internationale Studien Berlin (ZOIS)
Dr. Saida Daukeyeva
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- Dr. Saida Daukeyeva
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Dr. Daukeyeva was Research Fellow (HERMES) at the Central Asian Seminar of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (April 2015- July 2017). Her research, supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, explores the intersection of music with political, social and cultural geographies in Central Asia, focusing on the musical construction of place and borders among the Kazakh diaspora in western Mongolia and returning migrants in Kazakhstan. |
Fields of research:
- Ethnomusicology and Historical Musicology of Central Asia and the Middle East
- Music Culture of Kazakhstan and the Kazakhs of Mongolia
- Medieval Arabic Writings on Music
Research projects:
- Musical Geographies of Central Asia: Sounding Place and Borders
- Dombyra Performance, Migration and Memory among Mongolian Kazakhs
- Kazakh Qobyz Performance
- Funeral and Commemorative Rituals among Kazakhs in Mongolia and Kazakhstan
M.A. Qahramon Yakubov
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Mr. Yakubov is a PhD student at the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Tashkent and was visiting scholar at Central Asian Seminar of Humboldt University for three months (March - June, 2017). His project Waqf Administration in the Khiva Khanate: Legal and Social Perspectives is supported by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung.
Areas of Research:
- History of Waqf in Khorezm
- Social History of Central Asia in Modern Period
- Islamic Law and Comparative Jurisprudence
- Land Tenure and Agrarian Relations in Modern Islamic Principalities
Research projects:
- Waqf Administration in the Khiva Khanate: Legal and Social Perspectives (In the late of 19th and the Beginning of 20th Centuries). Prof. Devin DeWeese, Gerda Henkel Stiftung Project, 2014 – 2017
- The Archives Talk: Writing the Social History of Colonial Central Asia. Prof. Jürgen Paul, Volkswagen Stiftung Project, 2010 – 2013
Dr. Askar Djumashev
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- Dr. Askar Djumashev
From October to the end of December 2016 Dr. Djumashev received a scholarship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and was visiting researcher at the Central Asia Seminar.
Bevor that, he was guest at the Central Asian Seminar from July 2009 until the end of March 2011 as a scholar of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation as well as from September until the end of November 2003. From April to the end of June 2004 he received a DAAD scholarship and was also visiting researcher the Central Asia Seminar.
Research projects:
- «NATIONALITY POLICY IN THE SOVIET UNION: THE CASE OF KARAKALPAKSTAN, 1924 - 1941» (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2009-2011)
- "The Political Elite of Karakalpakstan (1924-1941): History, Methods and Research Methodology" (Gerda Henkel Foundation, 2005-2006)
Dr. Bakhrom Khujanov
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- Dr. Bakhrom Khujanov
From September 2015 to July 2016 Dr. Bakhrom was working as a visiting researcher at the Central Asian Seminar of Humboldt University in Berlin. His scientific research and promotion was financed by a postdoctoral fellowship from Erasmus Mundus.
From April to May 2012, he was already once guest at our Institute. In 2007 he worked as a visiting researcher at the Department of Anthropology at the FU-Berlin.
Working title of Dissertation:
"Markaziy Osiyo mintaqasidagi Milliy-etnik munosabatlarning geosiyosiy jihatlari" ( "The geopolitical aspects of ethnic- and national relations in the region of Central Asia").
Fields of teaching and research:
- The identity issues in Central Asia
- Geopolitical processes in the Central Asian region
- Minority issues in the countries of the Central Asia Region
- National-ethnic migration within Central Asia
- International Relations in East
- Ethnology and its theoretical foundations
Dr. Olaf Günther
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Olaf Günther was Crossroads Asia Research Fellow from September to November 2015. His research focus was on regions of Central- and Inner Asia. His interest is mainly the interaction between humans and the environment in remote areas and their transcendence at the periphery of modernity. Research projects:
Completed research projects:
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further information on Olaf Günther
M.A. Kishimjan Osmonova
Kishimjan Osmonova war Stipendiatin des Deutschen Akademischen Austausch Dienstes am Zentralasien-Seminar (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin) |
M.A. Emilia Róża Sułek
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Dr. Barbara Gerke
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Dr. Elisa CencettiFields of teaching and research:
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Ayfer Durdu, M.A.
Activities
Publications
Ayfer Durdu was a researcher in the Crossroads Asia Network. You can view her complete profile here. |
Dr. Timothy Nunan
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Dr. Jarmila Ptackova
From October 2013 to March 2015 Dr. Ptackova was associate and lecturer at the Central Asian Seminar at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.
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Topic of research project: "Nature versus Economy" -Transformation and urbanization of Tibetan grassland areas in the environmental protection zone of the Three River Sources in Qinghai Province |
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Prof. Mohammad Saleh Rasekh
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Lecture:
Topic of research project: Turkmen dialects in northern Afghanistan. |
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Dipl.-Geogr. Christoph Wenzel
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Dr. Irina Morozova
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Dr. Andrea Chiovenda
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Melissa Kerr Chiovenda
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Prof. Dr. Rustem Kadyrzhanov
Research and research projects
Topic of research project: Language planning and vernacular nationalism in Kazakhstan |
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Prof. Dr. Nasriddin Nazarov
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Prof. Gulnara Kuzibaeva
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Dr. Alok Kumar Kanungo
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Dr. Maira Sarybay
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Dr. Aitugan Mukashev
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Dr. Natalya Ustelimova
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Mirzaeva Zulkhumor Inomovna
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Bahodir Karimov
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Askar Djumashev
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Zaynabidin Sharabidinovich Abdirashidov
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Makset Karlibaev
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Prof. Khurmetkhan Mukhamadi
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Elisa T. Bertuzzo
July 2008 - October 2009 Guest Scientist at the IAA, financed by the Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies.
Bertuzzo's research focus' on megacities in the Islamic world.