Patron: President of Austria, Dr. Heinz Fischer

KCTOS: Knowledge, Creativity and
Transformations of Societies

Vienna, 6 to 9 December 2007

S E C T I O N S

 
Framed Knowledge as an obstacle for creativity and transition of the societies

Section Chair/ Abstracts, suggestions to:

Munira Shahidi (Head of Z. Shahidi International Cultural Foundation [NGO, and Slavic University of Tajikistan) [BIO]

Email: munira_shahidi@yahoo.com

 
ReferentInnen / Speakers   >>
 

ABSTRACT:

This is a section about contradictions of the last, 20th century Central Asia, as one geographical area. From one hand it was a time of really revolutionary changes in the regional system of knowledge, creation of regional intercultural infrastructure and liberalization of women. From the other, however, it was a time of the framed knowledge and bolshevization of national/regional culture, which turned off international, intercultural, multilinguistic national/regional identity of Central Asia from integration into the modern world. Although Central Asia along with Afghanistan and Turkey significantly contributed Mediterranean civilization of Middle Ages, that contribution is totally marginalized in its inner dynamic and global significance. As a result there is a gap in the world system of knowledge of our own days. To bridge that gap means to legalize centrality of Central Asia for both Eastern and Western system of knowledge, a project of Bukharian reformats of the middle 19-beginning of 20th cc. which could not been realized at soviet period. The point of departure for its actualization now, at post-soviet period, is re-thinking and re-evaluating classical heritage of Central Asia known in the names of Farabi, Ibn Sina/Avicenna, Biruni, al-Khorazmi, Omar Khayam, Mavlana Jalaliddin Rumi, Jami, Navoi, Abdulgadir Bedil, Behzad, Fitrat, Ayni, Lohuti in their original regional/global dynamic.

Observation of the world publications of the last decade, regarding Central Asian potential to integrate modern world, outlines a slight shift toward more objective perception of Tajikistan as a key-player in reformation of the region. Legalizing Tajikistan’s policy as a continuation of its ‘shifting empires’ mission (Lena Jonson. Tajikistan in the New Central Asia. I.B. Tauris &Co.Ltd, 2006) opens perspectives for discussion of existence of ‘another’ non-imperialistic style of thinking, formed and survived in Central Asia during the last millennium. To initiate that discussion on international level within the coming INST conference in December, 2007, is the goal of that section.

The system of knowledge in Tajikistan, as well as in other countries of Central Asia, has been based on modern Russian-European educational system, but restricted by ideological system of soviet regime, could not provide a real transformation of it’s own national/regional cultural values of pre-soviet times into modern intercultural, international reality. Although intention to transform Bukharian society through the reform of education was basic, fundamental challenge of reformat movement, jadidism of the middle 19c.-beginning of 20th c., contradiction of traditionalists and innovators was oppressed by the communist regime of the last century. Inter-Tajik civil war of 1992-1997 was the consequences of that oppression. Although Peace Agreement of June, 27, 97 brought to an end an open military contradiction of the society, that was a product of national/international political goodwill rather, then an evidence of transformation of the totalitarian society into civil society of the new world.

Formation of national/regional identity of Tajiks goes in its roots to interconnection of the Greek system of knowledge and Islam, which improving Aristotelian fundamental idea ‘I and the world’, into the formula ‘I in the world’, made crucial change for transition of societies under umbrella of the common Mediterranean civilization of Middle Ages. But marginalization of Central Asia from the history of Mediterranean civilization, bringing back contradicting idea of the ‘first teacher’ to both Arab world and the West, created a ‘new’ wave of contradiction, in which weak powers were and still are playing a role of intermediates. The generators of that role are NGOs, providing transition of the societies, improving knowledge via new technology and re-thinking Islam as civilization.

Re-vitalizing civilization core of Islam has to start from awareness that the prayer asks from God to increase his/her knowledge (Qur’an, 20: 114), because this is the only way to understand ‘the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day’ (Qur’an, 3:190-191). Awareness was expressed in diversity of literary sources forming Avicennian regional tradition of consequence of knowledge, in which discussion of morality and ethics of knowledge is a base of creativity: who has the moral rights to be the man of understanding? What is the measure of knowledge and creativity in diversity of societies and the world society as a whole? What are the main trends and tendencies of creativity in classical, modern and contemporary arts of Islamic world: Arab countries, Iran, Turkey, and Central Asia? How they affect the art of thinking as a global phenomenon? Is there any difference of transformation of civil societies in Central Asia and Middle East, as a whole, from the societies of the West? Are there really international, intercultural policies in our own, globalizing world?

Formation of the new culture of integration of the Islam world into the new world is a phenomenon of our own days. How to promote legalization of intercultural, international identity as a conflict resolution phenomenon of our own days?

The section will organize conditions for discussions of these ideas, promoting the results of discussion for publications and records of INST in Austria (organizer of KCTOS) with the further presentation of these publications in Tajikistan and other countries of Central Asia, Parliament of Cultures (Ankara, Turkey) and World Congress of Middle East Studies (Germany-Jordan).

 

 

ReferentInnen / Speakers / Orateurs

  • Legislature base of culture and intercultural relations in Tajikistan
    Rasul Abdullaev (Departement of Legislature, Ministry of Justice of RT)
    ABSTRACT

  • Forging Soviet Identity in Central Asia
    Farhad Atai (University of Tehran)
    ABSTRACT

  • Die Evolution des Wissen im Kontext des Kreditsystems in der Republik Tadschikistan
    K. F. Boboev (Zentrums der strategische Forschungen beim Praesidenten der Republik Tadschikistan)
    ABSTRACT

  • Khujand University: reality and dreams
    Umeda Gafarova (Deputy Rektor of Khujand State University)
    ABSTRACT

  • Knowledge and creativity in providing social health
    S.D. Kasymova (Director of the Republican Clinics of Endocrinology)
    ABSTRACT

  • How to raise creativity of the society in transition period?
    J.L. Latipov (Slavic Tajik University)
    ABSTRACT

  • Student movements in the context of transformation of civil society
    The case of Tajikistan
    Nasiba Miravazchonova (Technological University, Z.Shahidi Museum of Musical Culture, Dushanbe)
    ABSTRACT

  • Re-thinking Stalinist terror in the transformation of post-soviet civil society of Central Asia
    Dina Mukhamedkhan (Dushanbe, Kazakhstan)
    ABSTRACT

  • Public Council of republic of Tajikistan and its contribution to develop civil society in Tajikistan
    Mawlan Mukhtarab (Public Council, Republic of Tajikistan)
    ABSTRACT

  • Studying European languages in Tajikistan: problems and prospects
    Shahnosa Muminova (Pedagogical University, Z. Shahidi International Foundation)
    ABSTRACT

  • Maqam and creativity in contemporary world
    Farangis Nurulla-Khoja (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)
    ABSTRACT

  • Knowledge and Creativity in building new international affaires in Central Asia
    Nargis Nurullo-Khoja (Technological University Dushanbe, Tajikistan)
    ABSTRACT

Patron: President of Austria, Dr. Heinz Fischer

KCTOS: Knowledge, Creativity and
Transformations of Societies

Vienna, 6 to 9 December 2007