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| Institute of Asian and African Studies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Institute of Asian and African Studies |
| Established | 1956 |
| Type | Research institute |
| Location | Moscow, Russia |
| Parent institution | Lomonosov Moscow State University |
Institute of Asian and African Studies
The Institute of Asian and African Studies is a scholarly institute specializing in the study of Asia and Africa with emphases on languages, histories, and international relations; it is associated with Lomonosov Moscow State University, engages with institutions such as University of Oxford, Peking University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and maintains ties to museums like the State Historical Museum and archives such as the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History. The institute combines curricular programs, archival research, and regional studies projects that intersect with the work of scholars connected to Margaret Mead, Edward Said, Ibn Khaldun, and fieldwork traditions exemplified by expeditions like the Central Asian Archaeological Expedition and initiatives linked to the UNESCO cultural heritage framework. It functions within broader networks that include the Russian Academy of Sciences, the School of Oriental and African Studies, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, and area studies consortia such as the Association for Asian Studies.
Founded in 1956 during a period of expanding scholarly exchange, the institute emerged amid dialogues involving figures tied to the Cold War, comparative projects influenced by models like the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and Soviet-era academic reforms associated with the Ministry of Higher Education of the USSR. Early faculty included scholars who had worked with expeditions to Tashkent, Samarkand, and Lhasa and collaborated with collections from the Hermitage Museum and the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera). Through the 1960s and 1970s it developed language programs in Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bengali, Persian, and African languages such as Swahili and Amharic, partnering with embassies of countries like India, China, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Post-Soviet transitions involved collaborations with entities like the European Commission and academic exchanges with institutions such as Columbia University and Kyoto University, while preserving archival projects linked to the Russian State Library and fieldwork archives donated to the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The institute offers undergraduate and graduate degrees connected to faculties such as Philology Faculty of Moscow State University, postgraduate research aligned with doctoral councils recognized by the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK), and certificate programs cooperating with consortia like the Erasmus Mundus program and the Fulbright Program. Curriculum pathways include language training in Classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Modern Standard Arabic, Hebrew, and Akan alongside thematic tracks in International Relations framed through case studies referencing ASEAN, BRICS, Organisation of African Unity, and regional histories like the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the Taiping Rebellion. Professional development collaborates with governmental and nongovernmental partners such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), the British Council, and international think tanks including the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Research covers history, linguistics, religious studies, and area studies with published outputs appearing in journals comparable to Asian Survey, Journal of Asian Studies, African Affairs, and Russian periodicals housed by the Russian Academy of Sciences. Major projects include edited volumes on topics resonant with works like The Cambridge History of China, databases on inscriptions akin to epigraphic corpora studied at École française d'Extrême-Orient, and collaborative monographs addressing subjects such as the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean trade network, Pan-Africanism, and modernization debates framed by figures like Jawaharlal Nehru and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The institute also curates translation series of primary texts by authors similar to Rumi, Rabindranath Tagore, Ibn Battuta, and Fanon.
Faculty comprise specialists with backgrounds connected to programs at Leningrad State University, Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (St. Petersburg), Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Tokyo, and field research in regions such as West Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa. Staff include curators who liaise with collections at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and librarians maintaining holdings synchronized with catalogues of the Library of Congress and the National Diet Library. Visiting scholars and fellows have included recipients of awards like the Guggenheim Fellowship and grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Alumni hold positions at institutions including United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations Development Programme, World Bank, national diplomatic services such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (India), academic posts at University of Cape Town, Beijing Foreign Studies University, SOAS University of London, and roles in media outlets like BBC World Service and Al Jazeera. Student organizations have collaborated with cultural institutions including the Oriental Institute (Chicago) and participated in competitions linked to the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies.
Facilities include language laboratories equipped for phonetics work comparable to centers at Ohio State University, archival reading rooms tied to the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents, study collections containing manuscripts indexed alongside holdings of the Bodleian Library, and research centers that host seminars modeled after colloquia at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies. The institute maintains area-specific collections for Persianate manuscripts, Tibetan rubrics, and African oral history recordings digitized with partners such as the British Library.
The institute maintains partnerships with universities and research centers including Peking University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, SOAS University of London, Leiden University, University of Cape Town, and policy institutes like the Chatham House and the Brookings Institution, as well as cultural collaborations with embassies of China, India, Japan, Nigeria, and Egypt. It participates in multilateral projects under frameworks like the Eurasian Economic Union research initiatives, UNESCO heritage programs, and joint field expeditions modeled after partnerships with the Smithsonian Institution and the Max Planck Society.
Category:Area studies institutes Category:Asian studies Category:African studies