About Alima Bissenova and Lesson Overview
This series of three lessons is based on a lecture by Dr. Alima Bissenova, professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, 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, you will learn about wedding traditions in Kazakhstan at the beginning of the 20th century, drawing on the lecture by Dr. Bissenova and from novels by Bauyrzhan Momyshuly and Zhusipbek Aimauytov.
Main author: Lidia Gault, with Aselle Almuratova
Contributing authors: Gulnara Glowacki, Shannon Donnally Quinn
Project team members: Karen Evans-Romaine, Dianna Murphy
Lesson 2: The Position of Women in Kazakhstan: A Variety of Views
In this lesson, professor Alima Bissenova discusses an interview that prominent Russian journalist and YouTuber, Yuri Dud, conducted with members of the Kazakh musical group Irina Kairatovna. Prof. Bissenova uses an excerpt from that interview to illustrate differing perspectives on how the “East” is understood in discussions of gender relations and domestic violence in Kazakhstan. In the lesson, you will also learn about the issue of the position of women in Kazakhstan from a Kazakh human rights activist and an expert from the Institute of Parliamentarism.
Main author: Lidia Gault, with Aselle Almuratova
Contributing authors: Shannon Donnally Quinn
Project team members: Karen Evans-Romaine, Dianna Murphy, Gulnara Glowacki
Lesson 3: Contemporary Discourse on the Salvation of ‘Women of the East’
This lesson focuses on the issue of modern discourses related to ‘saving women’ and how that discourse has changed over time. In the excerpts from her lecture included in this lesson, Dr. Bissenova also dicusses related research conducted by Svetlana Shakirova and Aksana Ismailbekova, as well as Said’s concept of Orientalism.
Main author: Lidia Gault, with Aselle Almuratova
Contributing authors: Shannon Donnally Quinn
Project team members: Karen Evans-Romaine, Gulnara Glowacki, Dianna Murphy
