About Alima Bissenova and Lesson Overview

Dr. Alima Bissenova is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. This series of lessons is based on a lecture by Dr. Bissenova on Women of the East and the Problem of their “Salvation” in Colonial Soviet and New Liberal Discourses.

Lesson 1: Wedding Traditions in Kazakhstan 

In this lesson based on excerpts from the lecture by Dr. Alima Bissenova, you will learn about wedding traditions in Kazakhstan at the beginning of the 20th century both from that lecture and from novels by Bauyrzhan Momyshuly and Zhusipbek Aimauytov.

Authors: Lidia Gault, with Shannon Quinn and Gulnara Glowacki.

Lesson 2: Modern Discourse of Saving Eastern Women  

This is the second lesson in a series based on an interview with Dr. Alima Bissenova, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the department of Sociology and Anthropology at Nazarbayev University. This lesson focuses on the issue of modern discourse of saving women and how it has changed over time. Alima Bissenova discusses relevant research conducted by Svetlana Shakirova, a feminist, and Aksana Ismailbekova, an anthropologist. The concept of Orientalism by E. Said is also discussed.

Authors: Lidia Gault, with Shannon Quinn, Dianna Murphy, and Karen Evans-Romaine.