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Philipp Lottholz and Polina Manolova, University of Birmingham, CASI Visiting Scholars
Abstract: This paper aims at inquiring how people in the former Soviet periphery make sense of the transformation that they have undergone since the breakdown of Socialism. Drawing on sociological and social psychological perspectives on post-Socialist societies, we develop the concept of the ‘imaginary West’. The latter has, to our mind, fundamentally shaped the way in which people came to understand post-Socialist reforms, democratisation and integration into the global economy.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan from October 28 to November 3. In Bishkek, the Secretary will participate in the opening of the new campus of the American University of Central Asia and dedicate the new chancery of the U.S. Embassy.

Begaiym Esenkulova, an Assistant Professor of the AUCA International and Business Law Department, conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, Germany from May to August, 2015.

On October 1-2, 2015 the "Life in Kyrgyzstan" conference took place in Bishkek for the first time. AUCA alumna Malika Ibragimova (Economics, 2015) was awarded “best student research”. She received a certificate and Thomas Piketty’s book “Capital.”

Student of Anthropology Department Basira Mir Mahamad took part in the two-week anthropological fieldwork in the town of Naryn. She told us about this unique experience, and how the fieldwork helped her and other students to develop their practical knowledge of archaeology.

Vice President for Academic Affairs of AUCA Bermet Tursunkulova received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the nonprofit organization American Councils as one of the first FLEX Program alumni.

Saadat Musabaeva, a senior in the International and Comparative Politics Department minoring in Anthropology at AUCA, attended the American University in Bulgaria as a visiting student in the fall of 2013. This past spring, Saadat spent another semester abroad with the Bard College exchange program.

On September 25, 2015, the Department of Psychology organized the Annual Psychology Student Symposium at American University of Central Asia (AUCA).

On August 31 – September 4, Rahat Sabyrbekov, an assistant professor in the Economics Department at AUCA, participated in the United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) as a Young Fellow. Rahat is a co-author of the Regional and Subregional Assessment on Europe and Central-Asia.

On Friday, September 25, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Psychology Department of AUCA will hold annual student Symposium. This significant academic event is designed to encourage Psychology majors to conduct their research and internship as well as present their findings to a diverse audience of Psychology students and faculty members.