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Abstract

After six years of on-and-off fieldwork on the ground in XUAR, most researchers lost access to the region amidst a government crackdown on indigenous religious and cultural praxis and a campaign of racialised mass incarceration. A big part of the government's strategy was to seek to control the narrative about the region by blocking information from getting out and creating a massive stream of propaganda material. The XUAR scholars community reacted to this in various different way, relying on online material and the diaspora and becoming more invested in political and ethical questions around colonisation, forced assimilation and trauma than had previously been the case. Within this frame a group of researchers tried to distill the lessons learned and the methodological adaptations into a methodological approach called "Remote Ethnography," the description of which is currently being edited into an open source handbook. In global environments where ever larger areas are becoming more difficult to access, security threats and surveillance are ever present in research, control of information and research has become an increasingly potent tool in geo-politics, a majority of researchers around the world do not have the resources to travel to their regions of interest due to global inequality and international law and institutions are being dismantled as we speak this methodological approach derived from the changing circumstances in XUAR is gaining in relevance for Central Asia and the world.

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Uzbek Cinema in Historical Perspective: Ideological and Aesthetic Shifts

This paper examines the development of Uzbek cinema across different historical periods, focusing on the ideological and aesthetic transformations that shaped its evolution. Beginning with the early Soviet era, the study showcases how cinema became a key instrument in promoting social reform, particularly through narratives centred on women’s emancipation and the rejection of traditional practices.

The earliest Uzbek films of the 1920s emerged within the broader Soviet modernization project and were deeply embedded in the Hujum campaign. Films such as Musulmon ayol (1925), Ikkinchi xotin (1926), Paranji sirli (1927), Chachvon (1927), and Rabot kashkari (1927) constructed the figure of the “liberated Eastern woman” as a visual symbol of socialist transformation.

During the Stalinist and wartime years, Uzbek cinema shifted toward monumental historical narratives and socialist realism. Films such as Tohir va Zuhra (1945) and Navoiy (1947) mobilized folklore and classical heritage to produce culturally resonant yet ideologically disciplined representations of national identity. Heroism, sacrifice, and collective unity replaced earlier reformist agitation, embedding Uzbek cultural history within Soviet patriotic frameworks. Furthermore, the post-Stalin decades introduced psychological urban modernity. For instance, Maftuningman (1958) focused on greater emotional depth and attention to interpersonal conflict, yet remained within what may be described as “ideologically filtered modernism.” Aesthetic experimentation unpacked without fully escaping the structural expectations of socialist morality and collective responsibility.

Following independence in 1991, Uzbek cinema entered a new political economy shaped by market pressures and national revival. However, despite formal innovations, many contemporary historical dramas retain didactic tones and binary moral structures reminiscent of earlier Soviet paradigms. the paper argues that Uzbek cinema operates as a cultural archive of power, revealing how ideological change is mediated through recurring visual tropes of femininity, heroism, and national belonging.

References

Kamp, M. (2002). Pilgrimage and Performance: Uzbek Women and the Imagining of Uzbekistan in the 1920s. International Journal of Middle East Studies.

Drieu, C. (2019). Cinema, Nation, and Empire in Uzbekistan, 1919-1937. Indiana University Press.

Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen.

Abikeyeva, G. (2018). Central Asian cinema: Rewriting cultural histories. I.B. Tauris.

Kenez, P. (2001). Cinema and Soviet society: From the revolution to the death of Stalin. I.B. Tauris.

Northrop, D. (2004). Veiled empire: Gender and power in Stalinist Central Asia. Cornell University Press.

Khalid, A. (2015). Making Uzbekistan: Nation, empire, and revolution in the early USSR. Cornell University Press.

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This article analyzes the experience and uniqueness of animals in cargo transportation in the Turan trade system. It describes the types of animals used in this field, the equipment designed to assist them, and their possible uses. It also highlights the culture of animal-based transportation for both long- and short-distance haulage. Attention is paid to the age at which animals should be trained for cargo transportation and the age at which they should be allowed to perform this work.

In this article were used rock paintings, historical sources, documents, archaeological finds, miniature paintings, research, memoirs of representatives of various fields, and the results of field research. Also, information related to the fields of linguistics and zoology (hippology) was involved.

The article was written using comparative analysis, observation, and interview research methods typical of the specialties of history and ethnology. In addition, various material sources and art samples were thoroughly analyzed and compared with information from sources and research.

The characteristics of each type of livestock raised for the Turkestan freight transport system have been well studied, and the type of animal has been bred based on these indicators. In Turkestan, horses were mainly used in freight transport. In particular, horses were important as a convenient vehicle for transporting goods over short distances. Some horse breeds were bred specifically for the freight sector. For example, Lakai horses can easily carry 150–160 kg of cargo on mountain roads and cover distances of 80 km or more per day. They can move at speeds from 8-9 km to 13-16 km in free movement. In addition, a special breed of horses bred in Kokand also had great qualities as a freight breed. Such breeds were usually bred in large cities. Almost every region, based on its needs, has adopted a certain type of livestock for transportation and has established special care for this purpose.

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This collaborative autoethnographic study examines how culturally relevant research ethics are understood and enacted in the context of fieldwork in Central Asia. The study emerged from a three-year multi-country project involving social science researchers in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan that sought to explore the question: What constitutes culturally relevant human participant research ethics in Central Asia? While the broader project initially focused on participants’ perspectives, the research team’s own fieldwork experiences revealed persistent ethical tensions that could not be fully captured through procedural frameworks alone. This realization prompted a methodological shift toward collaborative autoethnography to interrogate researchers’ lived ethical dilemmas and transformations.

Guided by an integrated theoretical framework combining virtue ethics, relational ethics, and the ethics of care, the study foregrounds ethical sensitivity, practical wisdom, and contextual responsiveness as central to ethical research practice. Data consist of layered autoethnographic vignettes produced by six members of the research team, complemented by iterative “autoethnographic conversations” conducted in the team’s shared analytic space. Analysis followed a confessional-evocative yet analytically informed approach to identify recurring ethical tensions across narratives.

Findings demonstrate that procedural, compliance-based ethics, largely derived from Western institutional models, are frequently insufficient for navigating the complex sociocultural realities of Central Asian fieldwork. The vignettes illuminate five interrelated themes: (1) tensions between procedural compliance and relational responsibility; (2) the ethical significance of gendered cultural norms and spatial expectations; (3) fluid insider–outsider positionalities; (4) the centrality of moral reflexivity and researcher transformation; and (5) the importance of care-centered, contextually attuned ethical decision-making. Across cases, researchers repeatedly relied on their “inner moral compass” and culturally embedded understandings of respect (e.g., tarbiyah) when formal guidelines proved inadequate.

The study argues that culturally relevant research ethics in Central Asia should be conceptualized not as a fixed set of universal rules but as an integrity-based, relationally grounded practice that prioritizes participants’ dignity and researchers’ moral accountability. By theorizing the convergence of virtue ethics, relational ethics, and care ethics within collaborative autoethnography, this paper contributes to ongoing debates on decolonizing research ethics and challenges the uncritical transfer of Global North ethical frameworks into post-Soviet research contexts. The findings have implications for ethics training, international research collaboration, and the development of locally responsive ethical review processes in Central Asia and comparable settings.

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This paper investigates how digital learning and awareness of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) can help urban and rural secondary school teachers improve their reading instruction. The study also examines the similarities and differences in the development of reading literacy through digital learning practices between rural and urban educational contexts.

The study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach. The data were collected using both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative methods (classroom observations and reflective discussions with teachers), and the study involved 117 teachers from rural and urban secondary schools in Kazakhstan.The results of the study revealed a significant gap between the theoretical knowledge provided in teacher education programs and the practical challenges faced in the classroom. This gap is particularly evident in participation in international assessment studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and in the use digital learning. It was found that many teachers have limited skills in effectively using digital platforms and in analyzing PISA data to improve reading instruction. This highlights the need for specialized professional training in this area.

The study findings show that digital learning environments have a significant impact on the development of reading literacy through the use of interactive tasks, the development of critical thinking and increased active participation of students. In addition, raising teachers’ awareness of the PISA reading literacy competencies will help align classroom teaching practices with international standards.

The research makes recommendations aimed at linking theory and practice in teacher education systems. In particular, it highlights the importance of preparation for large-scale international assessment studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the need to strengthen targeted professional development programs aimed at developing teachers’ digital pedagogical skills.

The findings contribute to the scientific on improving reading literacy indicators and supporting teachers’ adaptation to digital and assessment-based educational environments.

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The report is dedicated to the study of Hajj in the context of real and virtual spaces, the relationship between which raises a number of methodological and ethical questions for researchers. Hajj, as a sacred pilgrimage, is perceived as a physical journey to holy sites in Mecca and Medina. However, with the development of digital technologies and virtual platforms, such as online broadcasts and virtual tours, the question arises: how does the perception of sacred space change in conditions of virtuality? How do participants in Hajj understand and interpret their experience when part of it is carried out through a screen? Virtual spaces create new opportunities for the formation of Islamic identity and communities. Muslims participating in Hajj interact with each other on social networks or forums, sharing their experiences, expectations, and emotions. New forms of solidarity and community emerge that go beyond physical presence. We examine how the boundary between digital and non-digital states is formed in the context of Hajj, where the real experience of pilgrimage intersects with virtual representations. How does the virtual experience influence physical pilgrimage? Is virtual Hajj less significant, or does it complement and enrich the real experience? The report aims to stimulate discussion about the significance of virtual practices in Muslim communities and their role in rethinking traditional religious rituals. The results of the study show that with the development of digital technologies, pilgrimage is taking on new forms, including the possibility of virtual Hajj. This phenomenon raises new social and ethical questions within the Muslim community related to the the necessity of using technology in Hajj, and the perception of tradition in the context of innovations and the commercialization of the ritual.

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Since its introduction to Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS) in 2012 through collaboration with the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, collaborative action research (CAR) has been promoted as a key approach to teacher professional development in Kazakhstan. The later initiative, SHARE/Astana (2019–2023), extended this approach to mainstream schools in Astana. However, the project faced sustainability challenges due to limited support from local administration. Since 2024, it has been reconfigured as the SHARE/NIS project, continuing on a relatively small scale with ongoing support from both international and local experts. Although the implementation framework created opportunities for local educators to assume active roles as trainers, facilitators, and administrators alongside international partners, the shift toward genuine ownership and long-term sustainability remains uncertain.

This paper draws on the experiences of a team of local researchers, educators, and administrators involved in NIS, SHARE/Astana, and SHARE/NIS initiatives. It examines how local actors contribute to the development, adaptation, and sustainability of CAR within a highly centralized and evolving educational context. Particular attention is given to the influence of socio-cultural norms, policy dynamics, and institutional hierarchies. The central research question guiding this study is: What is the potential of CAR advocates in Kazakhstan in fostering sustainable educational change?

We argue that CAR becomes sustainable when it evolves from an externally driven reform into an internally valued and embedded practice. Its sustainability depends on shared ownership among policymakers, local education authorities, school leaders, and teachers. Moreover, sustainability is strengthened when local educators and professional development institutions actively reinterpret and adapt the approach to align with contextual realities. The findings suggest that sustainability is not merely a matter of implementation, but of cultivating meaningful ownership grounded in local expertise, agency, and professional commitment.

Reference:

N.Ayubayeva & C.McLaughlin, (2023), Developing Teachers as Researchers: Action Research as a School Development Approach, In C.McLaughlin, L.Winter & N.Yakavets (ed), Mapping Educational Change in Kazakhstan, CUP.

McLaughlin, C. & Ayubayeva, N. The teacher and educational change in Kazakhstan: through a sociocultural lens (2021), In Fielding, N. Ed. Kazakhstan at 30: The Awakening Great Steppe. (pp.175-191).

McLaughlin, C., Ayubayeva, N., Fimyar, O., Helmer, J., Malone, KL., Yakavets, N., Tursunbayeva, X., Winter, E., Abdimanayova, L., Khamidulina, Z., and Zhontayeva, Zh. (2020). Thinking about Change in Education Systems, Pedagogical dialogue.

McLaughlin, C. & Ayubayeva, N. (2015). ‘It is the research of self experience’: Feeling the value in action research. International Journal of Educational Action Research. 23:1, 51-67