The Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) takes immense pride in announcing the winners of the prestigious 2023 Graduate Student Paper Awards. This year, we are delighted to honor two outstanding scholars for their exceptional research contributions in the field of Central Eurasian studies.
Nicholas Seay, Ohio State University
Paper Title: “By Tractor and Plane: Pesticides and Chemical Fertilizers in the Valleys of Soviet Tajikistan”
Nurlan Kabdylkhak, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Paper Title: “Voices of the Faithful (Speaking Tsarist): Muslim Petitions in Late Imperial Russia”
About the Awards
The CESS Graduate Student Paper Award is a testament to the society’s commitment to fostering academic excellence and innovative research in Central Eurasian studies. The award acknowledges the best papers presented at the Annual Conference, with the selection made by an interdisciplinary panel of experts.
The award recipients are chosen based on stringent criteria, including originality, depth of research, and the quality of argument and presentation. To qualify, the paper must have been accepted for presentation at the CESS Annual Conference, and the applicant must have been a registered graduate student in the preceding semester.
Prize and Publication Opportunity
Winners are awarded a prize of $500 and are given the opportunity to publish their paper in the Central Asian Survey. This not only highlights the significance of their research but also contributes to their academic profile and the broader discourse in Central Eurasian studies.
Past Winners
The Graduate Student Paper Award has a history of recognizing exceptional talent and research. Notable past winners include Yipeng Zhou from Harvard University, recognized in 2022 for their work on Sino-Soviet knowledge campaigns on the Central Asian borderland, and Claire Roosien from the University of Chicago, who won in 2019 for her exploration of women, textiles, and the textile-text in 1930s Uzbekistan.
The 2023 Graduate Student Paper Awards highlight Central Eurasian studies’ vibrant and diverse research landscape. Congratulations to Nicholas Seay and Nurlan Kabdylkhak for their outstanding contributions. Their work not only advances academic understanding but also enriches the cultural and historical narratives of Central Eurasia.
CESS continues to encourage and support graduate students in their academic pursuits, looking forward to new insights and discoveries in this dynamic field of study.
