The making of a global community: Ismailis and English in Central and South Asia

December 13, 2013

December 13, 2013

Brook Bolander

Till Mostowlansky

Abstract: Taking British colonial India as a starting point, Ismaili institutions, throughout the twentieth century and up the present day, have attempted to expand their range of influence by integrating far-flung communities of Ismailis into a globalized structure. While Ismailis in South Asia can be considered initiators of such processes, the Ismailis of Central Asia have only recently joined the global community (jamat). Based on historical and ethnographic data from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and India, this presentation, on the one hand, deals with the more general processes of globalization in which Ismaili institutions are embedded. On the other hand, the presentation specifically focused on the role of language, particularly that of English, with regard to the making of a global Ismaili community. 

Bio: Brook Bolander, University of Zurich, Switzerland, and Till Mostowlansky, University of Bern, Switzerland, are post-doctoral researchers, working within the fields of English linguistics and Central Asian Studies, respectively.

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