Greetings from the Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute, where our students and instructors are already in the second semester of our 8-week program of Kazakh, Tajik, and Uyghur intensive language instruction! Below is a snapshot of some of the extracurricular events of the past few weeks as well as previews of events and opportunities on the horizon.

Clockwise from top left: CESSI students Nathan Smolucha (elementary Tajik) and Sasha Chhabra (elementary Uyghur) presenting at the WISLI Student Conference on June 30, and Dr. Theresa Sabonis-Helf speaking at the July 9 CESSI Lecture Series. If you missed the lecture, we'll be adding the recording to the CESSI website soon. For more event pictures and notices of upcoming events, see our Facebook page.

A free and virtual event to discover career paths and learn about opportunities for students & speakers of Less Commonly Taught Languages. Hear from leaders and experts who will share stories and advice about building multilingual professional lives.

July 24, 2-4 p.m. (CDT) - Opportunities in Human Services Panel + Keynote Address by Frances Vavrus, Vice Provost and Dean, UW-Madison International Division

July 25, 2-4 p.m. (CDT) - Opportunities in the Private Sector & Government Panels

The CESSI 2024 Lecture Series presents John Riordan, a career Foreign Service USAID officer. His lecture, "From Moldova to Tajikistan, from Belarus to Uzbekistan: The Formulation and Flow of National Identity from the Late Czarist Times to Today," will explore the formulation of identity over the past 150 years drawing on decades of on-the-ground work and research across all four countries. Riordan will discuss his findings on the trajectory of national identity and how it continues to shape the political discussion in each country today.

The CESSI 2024 Lecture Series presents Dr. Eric Schluessel of George Washington University. His lecture, "A Colonial Muslim History of China and the World," will explore the Tarikh-i Ḥamidi, a monument of Uyghur literature and the preeminent Muslim history of nineteenth-century Xinjiang (East Turkestan), in terms of its interaction with other Muslim and Chinese sources and as a colonial, transcultural text that advances insightful observations of Chinese power and new ideas about its workings.

Established in 1974, the Luce Scholars Program is a nationally competitive fellowship that offers early career leaders immersive, professional experiences in Asia. The program aims to forge stronger, more informed, more compassionate relationships across geographic borders by creating opportunities for young Americans across diverse sectors and interests to deepen their ties and understanding of the countries, cultures, and people of Asia. The program is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are graduating seniors, recent graduates, or young professionals and who have had limited exposure to Asia.

Application Deadline: October 1, 2024. To learn more about the Luce Scholars Program and register for an upcoming webinar, please visit https://go.wisc.edu/luce

Title VIII programs are fully funded opportunities to conduct research and language training abroad for three to nine months. Research and training can be conducted in the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. For more information and to apply, see www.studyabroad.americancouncils.org/research-abroad

The Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute was founded in 2011 by a consortium of international and area studies centers at major U.S. universities. We're grateful for the support of these current consortium member institutions: Columbia University's Harriman Institute, Harvard University's Davis Center for Russian & Eurasian Studies, Michigan State University's Asian Studies Center and Center for European, Russian, & Eurasian Studies, The Ohio State University's East Asian Studies Center and Center for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Stanford University's Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of California-Berkeley's Institute of Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies, Institute of East Asian Studies, and Tang Center for Silk Road Studies, University of Kansas' Center for East Asian Studies and Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies, University of Washington's Center for Global Studies and East Asia Center, and University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Russia, East Europe, & Central Asia and Center for East Asian Studies.