I look forward to hosting Vassily Klimentov for a presentation of his @cornellupress.bsky.social book "A Slow Reckoning: The USSR, the Afghan Communists, and Islam" on Zoom next week on Friday, April 26, at 14:45 Central European Time. Registration info here: www.uni-regensburg.de/dimas/englis...

I had the pleasure of reviewing Masha Kirasirova's excellent new book with Oxford University Press "The Eastern International: Arabs, Central Asians, and Jews in the Soviet Union's Anticolonial Empire" for the Russian Review. Check out the review (available open access) here: doi.org/10.1111/russ...

As a map of reactions to Hamas' attacks on 10/7 and Israel's subsequent invasion of Gaza reminds us, we live in a "polycentric condition" marked by authoritarian aspirations for a “multipolar” world, but also by networked protest movements eager to learn from one another.

In just under a week (Nov 16-17, 2023) the Department for Interdisciplinary and Multiscalar Area Studies is delighted to host the 2023 CrossArea Conference with together with the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast Studies & the Leibniz ScienceCampus "Europe and America in the Modern World."

Last but not least, much interesting cultural ephemera on exhibition: 1945 field manuals for 🇺🇸 GIs reminding them that "marriage to a foreign girl is a complicated procedure", the board game "Fulda Gap" and special Point Alpha beer brewed by local breweries.

US servicemen stationed at Point Alpha were required to have wills and estate plans drawn up before serving at Point Alpha, which was on the front lines of the Cold War and certain to be immediately overrun by a Soviet/Warsaw Pact offensive in case of World War III.

I highly recommend visiting Point Alpha (literally on the border between Hessen and Thüringen) if driving through Germany – the exhibitions do a great job capturing the military tensions near the Fulda Gap at the height of the Cold War. Here: the theatre in the event of a Soviet invasion.

Many thanks to the Point Alpha Research Institute (PARI) for hosting me and a team of early-career scholars in Geisa, Germany last weekend for discussions on the global reception of perestroika & Chinese reforms in the 1980s. Group photos forthcoming, but here some pictures from Point Alpha itself!

The following day, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, we look forward to discussing the interdisciplinary work of several early career scholars, and later holding a conversation on the archival terrain and digital research infrastructures in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and East Asia).

The event begins on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, with remarks from university leaders, research presentations from DIMAS members and a keynote lecture from @vincentbevins.bsky.social (author of THE JAKARTA METHOD and IF WE BURN) titled "The Unfinished Decade: Protest Tactics, Revolutionary Situations."

I'm thrilled to announce the Kick-Off Conference for the Department for Interdisciplinary and Multiscalar Area Studies (DIMAS) at the University of Regensburg! Our event (16-17.11) takes place parallel to the annual meeting of CrossArea. Info & registration at: www.uni-regensburg.de/dimas/englis...

I'm looking forward to joining Japanese and international scholars this morning to discuss recent historical scholarship on Central Asia since the 1960s! Those interested in joining this event, hosted by the Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, can still sign up via the Zoom link in the poster below.

Delighted to have obtained a copy of @vincentbevins.bsky.social's new book "If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution" ahead of hosting him in Regensburg this autumn (details TBA!). Will share some thoughts on this captivating history of horizontal movements in days to come ...

I'm looking forward to hosting several early career scholars in Geisa, Germany this coming weekend to discuss global perceptions of perestroika, and Chinese reforms in the 1980s. More about our workshop (generously hosted by the Point Alpha Research Institute) here: reformslongshadows.com