Program Components

U.S.-CARNet: Online Lecture Series

Lectures by U.S. and Central Asian scholars to be delivered online to Central Asian audiences

February 2024 - September 2025

U.S. and Central Asian experts on China will deliver a series of eight online lectures to a wide range of students, researchers, and government officials in Central Asia. Delivered virtually, lectures will last for approximately 40 minutes, with approximately 20 minutes for discussion. While specific topics will be determined by participating scholars, each lecture will explore China’s foreign policy in Central Asia through a wide range of lenses, including economic investment, cultural programming, educational initiatives, and agricultural policies, as well as more traditional foreign policy activity. Lectures will be hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek and simultaneously translated from English into Russian.

U.S.-CARNet: Research Trip

Two-week Research Trip to Central Asia by U.S. scholars

Approximately March 2024

Six selected U.S. scholars of China will travel to Central Asia to meet with fellow scholars in the region, discuss potential shared research and joint publication, deliver lectures at major universities, and speak to local media and government representatives about their research. Visiting U.S. scholars will present their work in open fora designed to foster discussion and mutual dialogue with local experts, journalists, and students. At the conclusion of their visits, each U.S. scholar and a Central Asian peer will have developed tentative plans for a shared research project and joint article. With active offices in each of the five Central Asian republics and long-standing relationships with leading universities throughout the region, American Councils will provide visiting U.S. scholars access to a wide range of influential and active regional scholars, students, researchers, and potential policymakers.

U.S.-CARNet: Professional Development Program

Three-Week Professional Development Trip to U.S. for Central Asia scholars

June 2024

Six selected Central Asian scholars of China or a related field will travel to the U.S. for a three-week professional development program, during which they will strengthen their skills for researching, writing, and publishing in English; gain new insights into the concept and practice of the nexus between academia and policy; and further develop plans for joint research and publication with their U.S. peers. During the program, Central Asian scholars will also complete an intensive, two-day workshop conducted by the Harvard Writing Center on writing for publication in English; meet with a broad range of leading U.S.-China scholars at U.S. universities and think tanks; and visit U.S. National Resource (Title VI) Centers to learn about East Asian Studies programs in the U.S.; explore libraries, archives, and special collections; and meet with colleagues, students, and administrators. During this time, Central Asian and U.S. scholars will also meet to further develop joint research plans.

U.S.-CARNet: U.S. Semester Placement

Semester of Joint Research at U.S. National Resource (Title VI) Center on East Asia

Fall semester 2024 or Spring Semester 2025

Each Central Asian scholar will spend one semester at a U.S. National Resource Center for East Asian Studies, where they will collaborate with their U.S. counterpart on a joint article to be completed by the end of the semester. At the semester’s start, scholars will create a tentative timetable for researching and drafting the work in question. While revisions may continue until July 1, 2025 (when all articles must be finalized in order to begin editing and translation), a working draft of the article will be completed by the semester’s end. Articles will draw on the expertise of both scholars to present objective, rigorous research analyzing China’s activities and interests in Central Asia in a wide range of fields, including economic investment, infrastructure development, educational programming, and cultural initiatives. Scholars will present their articles during the program’s final conference in August, 2025. A volume containing the completed articles in English, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek will be printed and distributed in Central Asia in approximately September 2025.

In addition to their collaboration on at least one article, U.S. scholars will help ensure their visiting colleagues gain a broad experience of Chinese and East Asian studies in U.S. higher education. As part of this effort, they will encourage their Central Asian colleagues to regularly visit classes on topics broadly relevant to their research and teaching at home. In addition to facilitating classroom visits, U.S. scholars will inform their Central Asian colleagues of campus-wide lectures, symposia, and other events relating to China; introduce them to colleagues in the field; and help them take full advantage of the wide array of research materials and other resources available on campus. Visiting scholars will also be encouraged to submit brief proposals to American Councils, in consultation with their U.S. counterparts, to attend at least one national academic conference, where they will present papers, attend presentations, and develop important new connections with scholars in their field. Funding will be provided for meals, housing, and conference attendance.

U.S.-CARNet: Capstone Conference

Capstone Regional Conference in Central Asia

August 2025

All U.S.-CARNet participants will gather for a final conference to be held in Almaty or Astana, Kazakhstan, or a similar location. The two-day conference will be a hybrid event, with live streaming to allow for remote attendance. Media representatives, regional scholars, and graduate students will also be invited to attend the conference.

During day one, each team of U.S.-CARNet scholars will present and discuss their joint articles, delivering rigorous, objective findings to a wide audience of fellow scholars, students, local media, and government policymakers. Day two of the conference will be dedicated to a series of smaller roundtable discussions among U.S.-CARNet participants, American Councils staff, and U.S. Embassy personnel. Discussions will focus on scholars’ roles as public intellectuals in their home countries and specific strategies to engage wider audiences in their research; lessons learned and the value of collaboration; strategies to engage students in collaborative projects with regional and U.S. counterparts; and plans to continue U.S.-CARNet activity through future joint articles and research projects, as well as shared courses and possible student exchanges. A special session will focus on specific strategies to strengthen academic collaboration among Central Asian scholars of China regionally.