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Abstract:

The field of digital humanities has gained significant traction in recent years, offering new possibilities for interdisciplinary research. However, within this domain, the voices and perspectives of scholars and communities from Central Asia have often been overlooked or underrepresented. This paper aims to shed light on the importance of embracing a postcolonial lens in digital humanities research focused on Central Asia, allowing for a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of the region's cultural heritage and pasts.

Central Asia, with its diverse ethnic groups, languages, and histories, deals with the legacies of colonial rule and the nation-building efforts of the Soviet Union. The imposition of borders, the suppression of languages and cultural practices, and the erasure of narratives that did not align with the dominant ideologies have left marks on the region's collective memory and identity. Digital humanities, with its capacity to integrate diverse data sources, computational methodologies, and interdisciplinary approaches, presents a powerful tool for reclaiming and amplifying hidden narratives and voices.

One such initiative is the "Connecting Disconnected Histories: Soviet Repressions in Central Asia through the Lens of Postcolonial Digital Humanities" project. This project aims to connect disconnected histories and documents on Soviet-era repressions and forced displacements in Central Asia via digital tools, analyze these connections, and critically examine the existing sphere of digital scholarship in and of Central Asia. By creating an open-access digital platform focused on documenting and analyzing the history of Soviet repressions and forced displacements in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan during the 20th century, the project seeks to aggregate and integrate databases, oral histories, narratives, and other digital resources related to the victims of Stalinist persecution and population transfers, reconstructing obscured narratives and suppressed perspectives.

Furthermore, the project endeavors to critically examine existing digital scholarship on state violence in Central Asia through a postcolonial lens, examine issues of digital inequity and colonial biases that persist in mainstream historical narratives and knowledge production about the region. By developing new collaborative networks for advancing Central Asian digital humanities and raising the profile of the region's digital scholarship, the project aims to apply conceptual frameworks and methods from postcolonial digital humanities to uncover hidden stories and decolonize understandings of Central Asia's contested pasts.

Ultimately, the integration of postcolonial perspectives into digital humanities research in Central Asia is a step towards decolonizing knowledge production and fostering an understanding of the region's diverse cultural tapestry.