Afghanistan
Continuity and the Persistence of Tradition, Culture and Identity
8 – 9 November 2024
On 9 November 2024, the second day of the conference focused on the evolving field of Afghanistan studies and the ways in which local voices, scholarship, and cultural expression continue to shape the understanding of the country. The day opened with a keynote by Dr Yahia Baiza, who examined the historical trajectory and emerging challenges of the discipline. Panels explored women’s education and participation in governance, Afghanistan’s rich literary and print traditions, and the cultural identities of diasporic communities. Through these discussions, Day two highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary approaches, gendered perspectives, and diasporic narratives in re-framing Afghanistan’s past and present while charting directions for future scholarship.
Keynote Address by Yahia Baiza
The Evolving Landscape of Afghanistan Studies: An Analytical Historical Perspective
Keynote Address, Day 2
The Evolving Landscape of Afghanistan Studies: An Analytical Historical Perspective
Dr Yahia Baiza
In this keynote, Dr Baiza traces how Afghanistan studies has shifted through political upheavals and argues the field must centre Afghan scholars and local sources. He calls for interdisciplinary and innovative methods from participatory action research to digital humanities to overcome access and security constraints and build more authentic, nuanced, future-facing research agendas.
Explore panels and watch sessions
Moderator: Yahia Baiza
- Navigating Tradition and Innovation: Digital Education and Women’s Agency in Kandahar Tanya Qadir, Rumie Organisation
- The Participation of Women in Political Negotiations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021
Khatera Yekta, University of Southampton
- Redefining Education: Women’s Role and Participation in Afghanistan’s CBE Localization Agenda and Practice
Rohullah Hakimi, University of East Anglia - Afghanistan: Gender Politics and Intersectionality
Farkhondeh Akbari, Monash University, Australia
Moderator: Barry Sadid
- Persian and Pashto Literature in Concert: Perspectives from the 18th Century
Timur Khan, Leiden University - Imagined Afghans: The Role of Magazine Publications in Forming Afghan Cultural Identity
Sahar Rabbani, Independent researcher - A Bibliographic Study of Zhvandun: Defining and Capturing Afghan Life in the 20th Century
Sophia Tarin, Vartan Gregorian Center for Research in the Humanities - The Female Character’s Multi-Faceted Self: Individuality in Short Fiction Written by Afghan Female Writers after 1978
Anita Karimi, Philipps University of Marburg
Moderator: Zalmai Nishat
- Bread & Butter: Food Stories Crystallizing Hazara Strife, Exclusion and Survival in Afghanistan and Abroad
Farangies Shah, Sciences Po, Paris - Memory and Identity from the Standpoint of Hazara Refugee Women
Anis Rezaei, University of Oxford - The Impact of Khamak Embroidery on Preserving the Cultural Identity of Afghans in the Diaspora
Azita Ibrahimi, Humboldt University, Germany - A Fragrant Memory: Female Piety and Communal Performance in the Diaspora
Ahmad Rashid Salim, University of California, Berkeley
