Laura L. AdamsPage 1
LAURA L. ADAMS
Harvard University
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies,
1730 Cambridge St., 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138
+1 617 290 3540
Education
University of California, Berkeley
Ph.D., Sociology, 1999
Dissertation: Celebrating Independence: Arts, Institutions, and Identity in Uzbekistan
Committee: Ann Swidler (Chair), Michael Burawoy, Yuri Slezkine (history)
Examination fields: Sociology of culture, political sociology, sociological theory
M.A., Sociology, 1993
Macalester College, St. Paul, MN
B.A., Sociology and Soviet Area Studies, 1990
Magna Cum Laude, Highest Honors, Phi Beta Kappa
Peer-Reviewed Publications
“Ethnicity and the Politics of Heritage in Uzbekistan,” Central Asian Survey (forthcoming, June 2013)
"Culture, Colonialism and Sovereignty in Central Asia," in Sally N. Cummings and Raymond Hinnebusch, eds., Sovereignty After Empire: Comparing the Middle East and Central Asia (2011, Columbia University Press/Edinburgh University Press)
The Spectacular State: Culture and National Identity in Uzbekistan. 2010, Duke University Press ("Politics, History and Culture" series, edited by Julia Adams and George Steinmetz). Winner of the 2010 Central Eurasian Studies Society Book Prizeand honorable mention for the 2011 American Sociological Association's Culture Section Book Prize.
"Mass Spectacle and Styles of Governmentality in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan," (with Assel Rustemova), Europe-Asia Studies 61/7 (September, 2009), 1249-1276
“Strategies for Measuring Identity in Ethnographic Research,” in Rawi Abdelal, Yoshiko Hererra, Ian Johnston and Rose McDermott, eds., Identity as a Variable:A Guide to Conceptualization and Measurement of Identity (2009, Cambridge University Press)
"Globalization, Universalism and Cultural Form." Comparative Studies in Society and History 50 (July, 2008), 614-640.
“Globalization of Culture and the Arts” Sociology Compass, 1/1 (September 2007), 127-142
“Frameworks of Resistance to Cultural Globalization,” (with Miguel Centeno and Charles Varner), pp. 80-89 in The Cutures and Globalization Series, Volume 1: Conflicts and Tensions, edited by Helmut Anheier and Yudhishthir Raj Istar, Sage, 2007
“Uzbekistan’s National Holidays,” pp. 198-212 in Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present, Jeff Sahadeo and Russell Zanca, eds. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007
“Modernity, Postcolonialism and Theatrical Form in Uzbekistan” Slavic Review, 64/2 (Summer, 2005), 333-354
“Cultural Elites in Uzbekistan: Ideology Production and the State” pp. 93-119 in Pauline Jones Luong, ed., The Transformation of Central Asia: States and Societies from Soviet Rule to Independence, Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press, 2003
"Who's Afraid of the Market? Culture Policy in a Post-Soviet State," Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 30/1 (Spring, 2000), 29-40
“Invention, Institutionalization, and Renewal in Uzbekistan's National Culture,” European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2/3 (September 1999), 355-373
“The Mascot Researcher: Identity, Power, and Knowledge in Fieldwork,” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 28/4 (August 1999), 331-363
Other Publications and Work in Progress
“Players on the Field of Global Heritage: International Organizations, National Elites, and Local Cultures” (article in progress)
“The Crisis in U.S. Government Funding for Area Studies,”NewsNet, the newsletter of the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies, 53/2 (March 2013),
"'I came here to help:' two travelogue memoirs about Uzbekistan," (review article), Central Asian Survey (29/4, December 2010)
“Can we apply post-colonial theory to Central Eurasia?” Central Eurasian Studies Review, 7(1)2-7 (2008) [translated into Russian as Lora Adams, "Primenima li postkolonal'naia teoriia k Tsentralnoi Evrazii?" Neprikosnovennyi Zapas, 4/66 (2009)].
Book review of Marlène Laruelle, Russian Eurasianism: An Ideology of Empire published in Nationalities Papers (2009)
"Navro'z and the Renewal of Uzbek National Culture." in Yucel Dmirer and Margaret Mills, New Year on the Silk Road: Tradition and Politics of an Ancient Festival (accepted June, 2008)
“The Collapse of the Soviet Union and Post-Socialist Transformation,” in The Historical Atlas of Central Eurasia,Cynthia Parzych Publishing, Inc. (accepted September 2008)
"Uzbekistan: Us and Others," (book review), Transitions Online 19 September, 2007
“Cinema and Theater” in History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume VI. Paris: UNESCO 2005
Review article and annotated bibliography on sociology, Research Trends in Modern Central Eurasian Studies, 1985-2000, Tokyo: Toyo Bunko (Oriental Library of Tokyo University), 2004
“The Future of the Performing Arts in Uzbekistan,” Analysis of Current Events 15/3 (September, 2003), 9-13
Review of Mary M. Doi, Gesture, Gender, Nation: Dance and Social Change in Uzbekistan, in Canadian American Slavic Studies (Winter, 2003)
“A Central Asian Theatrical Mecca?” Transitions Online, 30 July 2003,
“Tashkent Museum Allows for Public Discussion of Recent Past,” EurasiaNet 11/01/02
“Globalization in Central Asia: Notes on Centrality and Marginalization,” introductory essay for the Journal of Central Asian Studies, Vol. VI, No. 2 (Spring/Summer 2002), guest editor for special issue on globalization.
Review of Hermine G. De Soto and Nora Dudwick, Fieldwork Dilemmas: Anthropologists in Postsocialist States, in Canadian American Slavic Studies 36/1-2 (Spring-Summer 2002), 248-249
“What is Culture? Schemas and Spectacles in Uzbekistan,” Anthropology of East Europe Review, 16/2 (Fall 1998), 65-71
Academic Employment
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Lecturer, Sociology Department2008-Present
Director of the Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus2010-Present
Academic Advisor for the REECAprogram (Master’s Degree
in Regional Studies:Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia)2010-Present
Preceptor, Harvard Writing Program2006-2012
Courses taught: Theories of Power and Postcommunist Societies, Being American, Politics of Memory, Contemporary Central Asian Societies, History and Culture of Islamic Peoples of the Former Soviet Union; M.A. proseminar in Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies
Distinction in Teaching award: fall 2008, spring 2009, fall 2010
Supervisor on 7 M.A. theses, reader on 4 M.A. theses and 1 Ph.D. thesis (at M.I.T.)
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ2004-2006
Postdoctoral teaching fellow, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies
Lecturer, Departmental Co-representative for the Undergraduate Program, Department of Sociology
Courses taught: Claims and Evidence in Sociology; Central Asia: History, Society, Politics; Globalization of Culture
Georgetown University, Washington, DC2003-2004
Postdoctoral teaching fellow, Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies
Adjunct Professor, Russian and East European Studies
Courses taught: Contemporary Central Asia; History and Politics of Central Asia
Babson College, Wellesley, MA2001-2002
Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology
Courses taught: Global Culture; Sociology of Culture and the Arts; Social Memory; History and Society foundation course
Hamilton College, Clinton, NY1999-2001
Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology
Courses taught: Introduction to Sociology; American Society; Research Methods; Globalization, Culture and Identity; Sociology of Culture and the Arts; Social Memory; Senior Thesis
Teaching Interests
- Central Asia, Muslim societies
- Sociology of culture, globalization
- Methodology, methods (qualitative, interview, content analysis)
- Contemporary social theory
- Political sociology and social movements
- Sociology of knowledge, cognitive sociology, social memory
Research and Travel Grants
National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (NCEEER) Short-term research grant, 2010
Fuerbringer Professional Development Grant, Harvard University, 2008, 2009, 2010
Gordon Gray Research Grant, Harvard University, 2007
United States Institute of Peace research grant, 2004 (with Anara Tabyshalieva), “Conflict Prevention in Central Asia: Bridging Ethnic and Religious Divides”
National Academies Collaborative Research in Basic Science and Engineering (COBASE) grant, 2004 (with Alisher Abidjanov), “The Role of Intellectuals in the Formation of Civil Society”
American Academy for the Advancement of Science Women in Science Collaborative travel grant, 2003 (with Anara Tabyshalieva), “Revitalization of Intellectual Life in Centra Asia: A test of ‘discursive fields’ theories of intellectual production”
IREX Short-term Travel Grant, 2002
Kennan Institute Short-term Grant, 2002
Indiana University IAUNRC Research Grant, 2002
Berkeley Program for Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies research grant, 1998
IREX Individual Advanced Research Opportunities in Eurasia fellowship, 1996
Fellowships and Honors
Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, postdoctoral teaching fellowship, 2005
Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Georgetown University, Postdoctoral Fellowship, January 2003 - June 2004
14th Annual Nava’i Lecturer in Central Asian Studies, Georgetown University, 2003
Columbia University Harriman Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2001-02 (declined)
Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship, UC Berkeley, 1997-98
Jacob K. Javits Graduate Fellowship, 1991-1995
FLAS Summer Language Training Fellowships, 1993 (Uzbek) and 1992 (Russian)
Selected Papers and Lectures Presented
"Globalization and the Politics of Cultural Heritage in Central Asia," Bogazici and Koc Universities, 2012; Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, 2010
"The Tajikness of Uzbek Culture: A Dangerous Thing to Say," Association for the Study of Nationalities annual meeting, New York, 2011
"Whose Heritage? Good Culture and Cultural Goods," Central Eurasian Studies Society annual meeting, East Lansing Michigan, 2010
"National Minorities and the Politics of Intangible Cultural Heritage," American Sociological Association meetings, Atlanta, 2010
"Globalization and the Politics of Cultural Heritage," Humboldt University, Berlin, 2010
Lectures on social theory, research methods, and academic writing at the following summer schools: Building Anthropology in Eurasia (2008, 2009); Central Asian Research and Training Initiative (2009).
“Culture, Postcolonialism and globalisation in Contemporary Central Asia,” presented at the workshop "Sovereignty after Empire: a framework for analysis," at St. Andrews University, U.K., 2009
"The Ilkhom Theater and alternatives to official discourse in Uzbekistan" (invited), Symposium on Uzbekistan at the Crossroads, Miami University of Ohio, 2008
"Cultural Change in Uzbekistan: Post-Colonialism or Globalization?" (invited), Michigan State University, 2008
“Collective Memory and the Politics of History in Contemporary Tashkent” (invited), presented at the University of Torontoand Harvard University, 2007
“Ideology and Elites in Post-Soviet Central Asia,” presented at the Contemporary Islamic Movements: Ideology, Aesthetics, Politics conference, University of Texas, 2006
“Memory and Forgetting in Contemporary Tashkent,” presented at the Post-Communist Nostalgia conference, University of Illinois, 2006
“’Folk’ and the Performance of National Identity in Uzbekistan,” presented at the Arenas of Eurasian Identity conference, Miami University of Ohio, 2006
"Interpreting the Karimov Regime," (invited) presented at the Brookings Institution, 2005
“The Spectacular State: Culture and Power in Uzbekistan,” (invited) presented at The Havighurst Center, Miami University of Ohio and at George Mason University, 2005
“Winds of Change in Central Asian Politics,” (invited) presented at the University of Michigan’s Center for Russian and East European Studies brownbag series, 2005
“Women and Civic Participation in Uzbekistan,” presented at “Gender Issues in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Emerging Challenges, Emerging Opportunites,” Georgetown University, 2005 (invited)
Roundtable participant, “Events in Kyrgyzstan and Their Regional Implications,” Harvard University, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, 2005
“Actually Existing Civil Society in Central Asia,” 2005 meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society, Washington, D.C.
“GONGOs and the Development of Civil Society in Uzbekistan,” (with Alisher Abidjanov), 2004 conference of the Central Eurasian Studies Society, Bloomington, Indiana
“The Impact of Islam on Gender, Economics and Civil Society,” presented at“Is There an Islamist Threat from Eastern Europe and Eurasia? Reflections on Private and Political Islam,” Georgetown University, 2004 (invited)
“Globalization without Capitalism: Universalism and Cultural Form in Uzbekistan,” the 2003 meetings of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta, GA
“Uzbekistan: Arts Past, Present and Future,” presented at the Middle East Institute’s Country Lectures for the Smithsonian’s Central Asian Film Series, Washington, D.C. 2003 (invited)
“The Sociology of Intellectuals in Kyrgyzstan,” presented at “Transformations and Interventions: critical perspectives on economy and culture in post-socialist societies,” Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 2003
“The Silk Road in Uzbekistan’s Artistic Imagination,” presented at “Central Asia: The silk road in modern times, a workshop for educators,” Georgetown University, 2003 (invited)
“Celebrating Independence: Holidays and Cultural Renewal after the Soviet Union,” presented at “The Ways We Celebrate: holidays and rituals as sources and indicators of social values,” George Washington University, 2003
“Nationalism and Universalism in Uzbekistan’s Peforming Arts,” University of Wisconsin, Madison and at Columbia University, N.Y., 2003 (invited)
“Culture and Ideology in Central Asia,” a symposium organized and led by me at Georgetown University, Washington D.C., 2003
“Islam as Politics and Politics as Spirituality in Uzbekistan,” Primary Source, Burlington, MA, 2002 (invited)
“Globalization and Cultural Form in Uzbekistan,” Crossroads in Cultural Studies, Tampere, Finland 2002
“Holidays and National Identity in Contemporary Uzbekistan,” Summer Language Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, 2002 (invited)
“Globalization and Free Market Ideology,” Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 2001 (invited)
“Cultures of Islam,” panel discussion, Babson College, 2001
“Modernity and Theatrical Form in Uzbekistan,” meeting of the Central Eurasian Studies Society, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2001
“Cultural Elites and the State in Uzbekistan,” Olin Seminar Series, Harvard University, 2001
Professional and Community Activities
Professional societies:
American Sociological Association 1991-present
Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies 1996-present
Central Eurasian Studies Society 2000-present
Association for the Study of Nationalities 2005-present
Professional service:
ASEEES Advocacy Committee member (2013-present)
Turkmenistan Youth and Civic Values Foundation, Board member (2010-present)
Harvard College Fulbright Grants evaluation committee (2008-present)
Regional Seminar for Excellence in Teaching (Open Society Foundation), seminar on "Building Anthropology in Eurasia", core faculty, 2008-2010. Seminar on "The Soviet in Everyday Life," project co-director, 2010-present
Central Asia Research and Training Initiative (Open Society Foundation), mentor and instructor, 2007-present
International Scholar advisor for the Sociology Department at American University of Central Asia (Open Society Institute’s Academic Fellowship Program), 2011-2012
Central Eurasian Studies Society
-President (2007)
-Board member (2003-2004, 2006-2009)
-Co-chair of the Conference Committee (2004-2009)
-Co-chair of the regional conference (2008-present)
-Chair of Membership Committee (2003-2005)
-Publications Committee member, Research Reports Co-Editor for the Central Eurasian Studies Review (2002-2003)
-Volunteer coordinator, (2002-2003)
Central Asian Survey international advisory board member (2010-present
Reviewer for American Sociological Review, Central Asian Survey, European Journal of Cultural Studies, Europe-Asia Studies, Human Organization, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Nationalities Papers, Slavic Review,World Politics; reviewed book manuscripts for Routledge, University of Pittsburgh Press
Selection panel member for International Research and Exchange Council (IREX) and American Councils fellowships, 2001, 2002, 2011; American Councils for International Education Title VIII selection committee member, 2004
Language ability
Russian – fluent
Uzbek – proficient