From May 17 to June 20, 2023, the Institute for International and Area Studies (IIAS) of Tsinghua University hosted the “Critical Approaches to the Studies of Eurasia” lecture series, which was delivered by Dr. Catherine Owen, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, University of Exeter's Penryn Campus. The lecture series consisted of six lectures, namely, “Personality, Decolonization and Becoming a Reflective Researcher,” “From the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union in Central Asia and the Caucasus,” “Nation-Building in post-Soviet Central Asia,” “Governance and Social Institutions in Central Asia,” “Hot and Frozen Conflicts in the Caucasus” and “Critical Geopolitics and Eurasian Regionalism.” The lecturer discussed the key topics in today's Eurasian studies and expounded on how to embed and implement critical thinking when analyzing specific Eurasian issues.

In the six lectures, Dr. Owen introduced to the online audiences the overall situation of the British Eurasian studies community and some key areas and topics of concern, and shared the understanding and related practice on critical approaches to Eurasian studies from a comparative perspective. In particular, important research methods such as decolonization thinking, marginal views, a bottom-up approach and critical discourse analysis provide a fresh, complementary perspective for examining hot Eurasian issues. A total of over 1,000 people within and outside Tsinghua University attended the lecture series. During the Q&A session, the lecturer communicated with the online audiences on a range of topics and relevant research methods and theoretical concepts.

Catherine Owen is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, University of Exeter's Penryn Campus. Prior to that she did postdoctoral research in University of Exeter and served as an instructor at the School of History and Civilization, Shaanxi Normal University. Her research interests mainly include governance in Eurasian countries and knowledge production in social sciences. Her latest research outcomes have been published in China Quarterly, European Journal of International Relations, Journal of Chinese Political Science, etc.

Contributed by: Wang Qin

Proofreader: Eurasian Studies Research Group

Typesetting editor: Cheng Yao