Steppe Sisters Annual Meeting & Lecture

Call for Participants

The Steppe Sisters Network, in collaboration with York Asia Research Network (YARN), is organising its 2nd Annual Meeting at the University of York on 21st October 2023, from 2pm to 6pm. The meeting will have the participation of 5-7 members of the Steering Committee who will be attending in person, while others will join us online. During the meeting they will present Steppe Sisters on-going and future projects. This event, which will be conducted both in-person and online, is open to postgraduates and early career researchers who are interested in Central Asian research. Participants are invited to join us and help establish a community of scholars in this field. 

The Steppe Sisters Network was created to help women researchers enhance their capacity and foster a network of like-minded scholars in Central Asian research. Our remit is focused upon human science researchers, specifically, those who work in fields which investigate humans and their environment both today and in the past. This includes the disciplines of history, archaeology, anthropology, palaeoecology, archaeogenetics, and other related fields of human sciences. 

As part of the event, we are delighted to host Dr. Diana Kudaibergenova from the University of Cambridge, who will deliver the Steppe Sisters annual lecture. The lecture is scheduled for 4:30pm to 6pm, and it will be open to the general public.

Steering Committee 

Elissa Bullion, US Natural Resources Conservation Service and University of Pittsburgh 

Katie Campbell, University of Cambridge 

Mariana Castro, New York University

Ainash Childebayeva, University of Kansas

Cecilia Conte, Humboldt University of Berlin

Dilnoza Duturaeva, University of York

Ashleigh Haruda, University of Oxford

Kristen Hopper, Durham University

Leslee Michelsen, Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design in Honolulu

Aikumis Raissova, Durham University

Dilrabo Tosheva, University of Yale 

Alicia Ventresca Miller, University of Michigan

The activities of the Steppe Sisters are currently supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Alumni Award for innovative networking initiatives. As part of this support, we are delighted to offer travel bursaries of up to £200 for postgraduates and early career researchers based in the UK. These bursaries are intended to help defray the costs of travel and accommodation expenses. 

There is no registration fee. To apply for participation in the Steppe Sisters Annual Meeting & Lecture please complete and submit the online application form as soon as possible. The deadline for in-person attendance is Monday, 31st July 2023, and for online participation, it is Sunday, 15th October 2023. We encourage you to submit your application early to secure your spot at the event. For additional queries, please contact Dilnoza Duturaeva dilnoza.duturaeva@york.ac.uk.

To learn more about the inaugural Steppe Sisters Meeting and the Early Career Conference that took place last year in Tashkent, please refer to our recent Newsletter or read the corresponding blog post on ArchéOrient. For additional information and updates, please visit our website. We look forward to welcoming you to the 2nd Steppe Sisters Annual Meeting at the University of York.