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SUMMARY:From courtyards to communal civil society: a study of the mahalla\
 , courtyard clubs\, and the institution of ?gap' in Kazakhstan and Uzbekis
 tan - Timur Alexandrov (University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20151019T140000Z
DTEND:20151019T160000Z
UID:TALK61955@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Prajakti Kalra
DESCRIPTION:This study presents a comparative analysis of three local form
 s of civil society in urban and rural Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan based on e
 thnographic research.  First\, I focus on the *mahalla*\, a neighbourhood 
 community. My research findings illustrate that despite the transformation
 \nof the *mahalla* into a form of local state authority\, its functions ex
 tend beyond local administration. As a social construct\, the *mahalla* pr
 ovides social space for various forms of civic engagement. Second\, I exam
 ine the\nSoviet legacy-based organisation ? domestic courtyard clubs\nwhic
 h targeted the youth\, teenagers and children. Being popular forms of yout
 h engagement in the Soviet era\, courtyard clubs ceased their activities b
 y the time of the disintegration of the USSR but were revived\nin the earl
 y 2000s. The findings illustrate direct and indirect ways that courtyard c
 lubs advance public good. Finally\, the study investigates the social phen
 omenon of *gap* ? traditional reciprocal associations found in\nmodern Cen
 tral Asia. The Uzbek term *gap* stands for word or conversation. In most c
 ases\, *gaps* are unofficial regular get-togethers of a group of people of
  similar age bound by socially acknowledged ties. *Gaps* represent an info
 rmal social safety net whose members rely on each\nother and receive moral
  and material support. The research also analyses the functionality of oth
 er forms of *gaps* such as *gaps* among women and online *gap*-groups\, an
 d their rituals and symbolic meanings. The paper questions whether these f
 orms of *associational* life can be seen as potent\ncontributing factors i
 n further development of civil society different from the kinds of civil s
 ociety organisations preferred in Western European societies.
LOCATION: Room S2\, Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge\, CB
 3 9DT
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