Ibanez-Tirado, Diana (2015) ‘How can I be post-Soviet if I was never Soviet?’ Rethinking categories of time and social change – a perspective from Kulob, southern Tajikistan. Central Asian Survey, 34 (2). pp. 190-203. ISSN 0263-4937

Preview

PDF - Published Version Download (180kB) | Preview

Abstract

Based on anthropological fieldwork conducted in the Kulob region of southern Tajikistan, this paper examines the extent to which the existing periodization ‘Soviet/post-Soviet’ is still valid to frame scholarly works concerning Central Asia. It does so through an analysis of ‘alternative temporalities’ conveyed by Kulob residents to the author. These alternative temporalities are fashioned in especially clear ways in a relationship to the physical transformations occurring to two types of housing, namely flats in building blocks and detached houses. Without arguing that the categories ‘Soviet’ and ‘post-Soviet’ have become futile, the author advocates that the uncritically use of Soviet/post-Soviet has the unwanted effect of shaping the Central Asian region as a temporalized and specialized ‘other’.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Soviet, post-Soviet, time, temporality, chronology, housing
Schools and Departments:	School of Global Studies > Anthropology
Depositing User:	Diana Ibanez-Tirado
Date Deposited:	10 Sep 2015 12:13
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2019 21:31
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/51673

View download statistics for this item

📧 Request an update