Equestrian art takes many forms, even poetic. In 1864 a band of Kirghiz nomads in Central Asia crossed into China and stole a herd of several hundred horses from their long-time Mongol enemies at the cost of many lives. This unprovoked act of violence, which was an episode in a major outbreak of unrest, soon became the subject of a Kirghiz epic-like narrative poem celebrating the heroism of the raiders. Literature traditions show us that stealing herds of horses and protecting them from theft has held worldwide fascination for millennia. Daniel Prior, in studying and translating the previously unpublished manuscript of the Kirghiz raid narrative, found an extraordinarily well-documented window on the complex relationship between such historical events and the stories people tell about them.

Directions to the venue:

1. Enter Keeneland Race Course at Gate 1

2. Take the first right on Entertainment Court.

3. At the top of the hill, veer left into the Keeneland Library parking lot.

http://www.keeneland.com/discover/visit (select “other facilities,” choose the Library)

In 1994 Daniel Prior and a Kirghiz assistant traveled 1,100 kilometers on horseback to trace the itinerary of the hero of a Kirghiz epic poem, Bok Murun. The six-week expedition, which passed through the Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan and the steppes of southern Kazakhstan, revealed that the nineteenth-century oral epic contained a wealth of precise information about the geography and practicalities of the nomadic life of the Kirghiz herders. Prior also experienced the resiliency of a population facing the stunning collapse of the Soviet Union and the uncertainties of independence. In his slide presentation Dr. Prior will talk about the traditions and adaptations of the herders he met, the challenges of doing ethnographic research on oral traditions in post-Soviet Central Asia, and how field ethnography relates to historical research on folklore traditions.

Experience traditional Mongolian Dance and Music! The Arts College of Inner Mongolia University will offer a variety of unique performances from throat singing to horsehead instrumental music.Colorful costumes, exquisite artistry and unmatched skill make this an unforgettable evening of cultural celebration and exploration. Sponsored by the Confucius Institute and the College of Fine Arts.

Lecture: "Recovering Written and Unwritten Messages: The Pragmatics of (Im)politeness in Medieval Russian Birch bark Letters."

Co-sponsored by the UK Department of English and the Linguistics Program

“b-Mail: Everyday Communication on Birch bark in Medieval Russia,” a presentation on how people communicated in the earliest Russian writing. Co-sponsored by the UK Department of English and the Linguistics Program. Prior to its violent annexation by Moscow in 1478, the city of Great Novgorod in northwestern Russia was the seat of a vigorous “merchant republic,” partially democratic in its government. The merchants of Novgorod colonized a huge swath of northern Eurasia in their quest for furs and other commodities; they sold their goods in a trade network that ranged from Western Europe to Central Asia. Despite the distances they travelled, they maintained lines of quick communication by writing, and the materials that they used quite literally grew on trees. Over a thousand messages written on birchbark have been found in the moist earth of Novgorod—letters about everyday concerns, written by men, women, and children, nuns, priests, and laity, nobles and peasants. Thanks to these letters have opened a remarkable window on the civilization of medieval Russia, including many details of economic transactions, legal procedures, folk rituals, and everyday life. Thanks to these texts, we can hear again the voices of a long-lost culture—the desperate words of an eleventh-century lady (perhaps a nun) writing to her unattentive lover; prisoners pleading to be bailed out of jail; wine-merchants ensuring that their stock is not drunk up by the delivery men; an official investigating a drunken brawl; creditors sending bills of sale or stern warnings about overdue payments; matchmakers making deals with the mothers of brides-to-be; and even a small boy scrawling notes to a classmate and drawing heroic pictures of himself when he is supposed to be studying. Close examination of the birchbark letters can also reveal the hidden mechanics of the communication process—how the messages were composed, transmitted, and delivered, and how the spoken word continued to play an important role even in written transactions.

Dr. Stacy Closson is a Visiting Distinguished Lecturer at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce. She received her PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science in International Relations. She came to UKY from the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. where she was a fellow researching Russian energy politics. Dr. Closson was also a Transatlantic Post-Doctoral Fellow in think tanks in Switzerland and Germany. From 1996-2002 she worked in the US Department of Defense as a political-military analyst, entering as a Presidential Management Fellow, and focusing on the former Soviet states. Dr. Closson has published in several academic and professional journals on energy security, state weakness, and unrecognized states. Her forthcoming book is entitled Energy Empire: Russia, Europe, and the Politics of Energy Interdependence. Dr. Closson was most recently named an “Emerging Leader in Environmental and Energy Policy” by the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.

Lecturing on Human Trafficking in the former USSR, Crime & Punishment Class

The Animation of the Perestroika Era