Yiwu: Trust, Global Traders and Commodities in a Chinese International City
The History and Identity of Afghan Jewry, November 2020
Sussex Asia Centre Director Magnus Marsden gave an invited address on 24 November 2020 to Hale Synagogue, in which he explored the history and identity of Afghan Jewry.
Exchange and Conflict in Central Asia: From Antiquity to the Present, November 2020
Magnus Marsden gave a presentation at an online conference "Exchange and Conflict in Central Asia" first screened on 17th November 2020. The conference was convened by Keimyung University, Republic of Korea. Professor Marsden's presentation is available on YouTube with Korean subtitles.
Magnus Marsden's September 2nd Op-Ed (in Persian) for Nowruz Radio addresses the diplomatic skills of Afghan merchants
Read the article: Nowruz Radio Op-Ed addressing the diplomatic skills of Afghan merchants
Inherent Impermanence: International Traders in Yiwu, a Chinese International Trade City
Magnus Marsden delivered a paper “Inherent Impermanence: International Traders in Yiwu, a Chinese International Trade City” at the "Street markets as spaces of encounter, laboratories of social creativity and alternative pathways of eco-socially sustainable prosperity" A comparative, transnational and transcultural approach symposium. The event was online and co-organised by Prof Maurizio Marinelli (University of Sussex, Sussex Asia Centre) and Dr Yimin Zhao (Department of Urban Planning and Management, Renmin University of China) on 22 June 2020.
View the programme: Street markets as spaces of encounter - symposium programme [PDF 458.33KB]
Covid-19, International Trade and Global China: Reflections from Yiwu
Magnus Marsden has posted a blog exploring the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for the TRODITIES and exploring the ways in which fieldwork might remain possible in the context of public health measures that are being introduced globally.
Read the blog: Covid-19, International Trade and Global China: Reflections from Yiwu
Magnus Marsden's seminar at Glasgow University
Magnus Marsden gave a seminar about the project's findings to the Department of Sociology at Glasgow University on March 31, 2020.
Relaunch of the Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies
TRODITIES project supported the relaunch of the Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies at the Department of Cross-cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, on 10th March, 2020.
The event was organised by TRODITIES team member, Vera Skvirskaja.
Magnus Marsden presented a presentation entitled, 'Geopolitics as Lives: Inter-Asian Corridors of Connectivity'.
Further details: Relaunch of the Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies [PDF 113.40KB]
Institutions, Infrastructure and Geopolitics in Eurasian Connectivity: A global trade hub Yiwu
Magnus Marsden, Paul Anderson and Huaichuan Rui presented material relating to the project at a workshop entitled 'Institutions, Infrastructure and Geopolitics in Eurasian Connectivity' held on 27th January 2020 at Jesus College Cambridge jointly organised by Jesus College, Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Royal Holloway, University of London and University of Sussex Asia Centre.
Download the poster: Institutions, Infrastructure and Geopolitics in Eurasian Connectivity - poster [PDF 2.37MB]
Seminar details: Institutions, Infrastructure and Geopolitics in Eurasian Connectivity - details [PDF 122.65KB]
Yiwu College of Commerce and Industry visit
Project members hosted a delegation from the Yiwu College of Commerce and Industry at the University of Sussex and the University of Cambridge on 11th and 12 December, 2019 (there is a photo attached).
British Academy International Forum
Professor Magnus Marsden spoke at the British Academy International Forum on Trade on 26th November, 2019.
The Social Life of the Silk Road: New Geographies of China-Middle East Trade
Invited lecture given by Paul Anderson at Desiring the Middle East Seminar, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, November 19, 2019.
Further details on Facebook: The Social Life of the Silk Road
The end of the bazaar?
Vera Skvirskaja attended the City and Society International Forum, at Tongji Univerity, Shanghai on 9-10 November, 2019.
She presented a paper, 'The end of the bazaar?': market-places as sites of urban renewal'.
Changing market-places
Vera Skvirskaja presented a paper at the Asian Dynamics Initiative seminar in Copenhagen on 23 October, 2019.
The paper was entitled, 'Changing market-places and transnational electronic commerce in small Chinese commodities'
Yiwu: Trust, Commodities and Global Traders in a Chinese International Trade City
End of Project conference
The TRODITIES project held its End of Project conference at the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College in China on 7th September 2019. This is the third in a series of events jointly organised with the project's Chinese partners.
Organised in collaboration with project partner - the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College - the conference was attended by 100 delegates, including academics from institutes in Yiwu, Hangzhou and Beijing, as well as think tank directors, foreign traders, and government officials based Yiwu. The theme of the conference was the role of trust in Trans-Asian commercial networks. Having heard presentations from the project team and invited academics, the conference concluded with a roundtable discussion in which Yiwu municipal government leaders expressed their visions of the city's future. Prof Jian Wang of Beijing's University of International Business and Economics concluded the event and congratulated the College and the TRODITIES 
team for their enduring partnership and in-depth research.
Additional information
- Write up in Chinese
- Seminar agenda [PDF 213.58KB]
- Welcome remarks [PDF 395.41KB]
- Welcome remarks (Chinese) [PDF 189.52KB]
Comparing Globalisations
Vera Skvirskaja presented a paper on Yiwu at an international workshop entitled ‘Trading the World. Routes, Resources, Realignments’ held on 22-23 August 2019 at the University of Copenhagen and organised jointly by scholars from Duke University and Copenhagen. Her paper was entitled, ‘Comparing Globalisations – Silk Roads intersections in the present-day Georgia.’
Workshop on Qualitative Research Methods
Magnus Marsden delivered a day long workshop on Qualitative Research Methods to students and lectures in Herat, Western Afghanistan. The event was organised by the Herat Office of the Afghanistan Institute of Strategic Studies and held on August 1st, 2019.
Commodities, Merchants and Refugees
Magnus Marsden delivered project findings at the first conference of the The Scholarly Association for International Studies of Afghanistan held at the Russian Armenian University between 26th and 28th June, 2019. The paper was entitled Commodities, Merchants, and Refugees: Afghans and inter-Asian mobility.
Further details:
http://www.rau.am/eng/events/the-first-cesai-conference-on-afghan-studies/
Belt and Road Initiative
Magnus Marsden spoke at a panel exploring the history of Eurasian trade in the context of China's Belt and Road Initiative. The panel was part of a conference entitled "Belt and Road Initiative: International Responses" held at Soas, University of London on 21st June 2019.
Further details:
https://www.soas.ac.uk/china-institute/events/20jun2019-the-belt--road-initiative-international-responses.html
Asia Dynamics Initiative Annual Conference
TRODITIES team members Magnus Marsden, Vera Skvirskaja, Paul Anderson and Marina Marouda presented project findings at a panel organised by the project entitled "In Motion: Discovering and analysing Inter-Asian Millieu". The panel was organised in the context of the University of Copenhagen's Asia Dynamics Initiative Annual Conference (18-19th June, 2019).
Magnus Marsden also spoke at the conference roundtable discussion which addressed the theme Asian Mobilities in historic and political context.
Further details:
https://asiandynamics.ku.dk/english/adi-conference-2019/
Commodities, Merchants, and Refugees
Magnus Marsden delivered a paper at the Oxford University Modern South Asia Seminar Series on 7th May 2019. The paper was entitled "Commodities, Merchants, and Refugees: Inter-Asian circulations and Afghan mobility".
Ethical Tensions in the Lives of Afghan Traders
Magnus Marsden gave a presentation at the 5th International Ibn Haldun Symposium held at tIbn Haldun University in Istanbul on 28th April 2019. His presentation was entitled 'Ethical Tensions in the Lives of Afghan Traders'.
Further details:
Yemenis in Yiwu: the Eurasian Dynamics of an Emerging Merchant Diaspora
Paper presented by Paul Anderson at a Conference on “Immigration and the Transformation of Chinese Society”,
University of Manchester, 25 April 2019.
Afghan Trading Networks, Geopolitics and Everyday Diplomacy
The Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore published in its Insights series an article by Magnus Marsden entitled 'Afghan Trading Networks, Geopolitics and Everyday Diplomacy: Transcending West Asia’s Northern and Southern Tiers'
Further details:
The article was also published in English and in Farsi by the Afghanistan Institute of Strategic Studies:
Beyond Islam and Beyond Syria:
The Role of 'Aleppine Emotion' and 'Eastern Spirit' in Fashioning Transnational Merchant Geographies in the 2000s
Paper presented by Paul Anderson at a Conference on “Religion in Transition in the Middle East and Mediterranean”, American University of Beirut, 16 April 2019.
Afghan business event
Professor Magnus Marsden addressed a gathering of representatives of over 200 Afghan businesses in London on the 29th March at an event organised by the Ariana Group of Companies to mark the launch of its new mobile App designed to facilitate the making of international remittance payments by Afghans based in the UK. In his remarks on the theme of "Afghan Traders: past and present" Professor Marsden pointed to successes of Afghan merchants in the field of global trade while also identifying challenges facing the community and their networks in the years to come. Other speakers at the event addressed topics ranging from the role of women in Afghan business activities to the issues facing Afghanistan's banking sector and the role of remittances in the country's economy.
The speakers included:
Naveed Noormal - First Secretary, the Embassy of Afghanistan, London
Hamid Kabir - Consultant
Magnus Marsden - Professor of Social Anthropology, Director of Sussex Asia Centre, Sussex University
Sarajuddin Isar - PhD Researcher, SOAS
Farid Mall - Founder and Trustee Member, Paiwand Afghan Association
Zainab Homam - Director of Human Resources, Quantum Marketing
Hedayat Yahya - Former CEO, Afghan United Bank
Jawed Nader - Director of The British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG)
Hamid Rahimi - Manager, Ariana
Afghan business event Magnus Marsden speech Afghan Traders Past, Present and Future [PDF 124.84KB]
Afghan business event Magnus Marsden speech in Dari [PDF 222.00KB]
South Asia: a Roundtable Discussion
Professor Marsden co-chaired and introduced a panel discussion organised by LSE's South Asia Centre entitled "South Asia: a Roundtable Discussion".
The Night of Herat - Celebrating the Pearl of Khorasan
Sussex Asia Centre in collaboration with its partner the Afghanistan Institute of Strategic Studies and the SOAS South Asia Institute held the Night of Heart event at SOAS on Sunday 17th March. The Night of Herat event followed on from the Sussex Afghanistan Forum – an event involving policy makers and academics specialising in Afghanistan. It sought to bring attention to Afghanistan historic and cultural diversity through focused attention on one of the country’s historic cities - Herat. Herat has for long been of regional and global importance in commercial, cultural, intellectual and political dynamics. Herat was a critically important commercial node in the trade between Asia and Europe, commonly referred to as constituting ‘the Silk Roads’. Over the course of the evening, speakers addressed the history of Herat in relationship to Asian history, the role played by the city in influencing the development of globally significant artistic forms - including poetry, painting, music and viniculture. Renowned ethnomusicologists – John Bailey and Veronica Doubleday – capped off the event with a performance of Herati music. The gathering – attended by over 150 members of the public – also enjoyed a taste of Afghan and Herati cuisine.
Download the booklet: The Night of Herat - Celebrating the Pearl of Khorasan [PDF 973.10KB]
Sussex Afghanistan Forum
In collaboration with TRODITIES project partners, the Afghanistan Institute of Strategic Studies, Professor Magnus Marsden organised the Sussex Afghanistan Forum on Wednesday 13th March. The Forum brought together leading academics and policy makers working on Afghanistan. A panel entitled ’Beyond the Great Game’ addressed the significance of trading networks to inter-regional connectivity and also shed light on the role being played by flows of scientific and industrial knowledge in transregional dynamics.
Afghanistan Forum Marsden opening remarks English [PDF 73.92KB]
Afghanistan Forum Marsden opening remarks Farsi [PDF 133.11KB]
A new Silk Road? Documenting merchant lives across contemporary Eurasia
A talk on Yiwu by Dr Paul Anderson, delivered on 12 March at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar.
See video on Facebook: A new Silk Road? Documenting merchant lives across contemporary Eurasia
Diana Ibanez Tirado' research in Yiwu discussed in Russian language media
Eurasia and West Asia: North-South connections
On December 18th Magnus Marsden presented an online seminar to the GPAS-CCAF Seminar Series at Asia-Pacific Research Center, Hanyang University. The seminar was entitled "Eurasia and West Asia: North-South connections".
Agents of Diaspora: Informal Diplomacy between Russia, Syria and China
A paper delivered by Dr Paul Anderson on 12 December 2018 at a Conference on Strongmen and Networks: The Rise of Informal Diplomats, National University of Singapore.
More details:
Launch of policy document
On December 5th 2018 Magnus Marsden attended the press launch held at Cliveden House to mark the Eurasian Council for Internal Affairs launch of its policy document, 'The European Union's Strategy for Central Asia 2020 - 2027: A Review of Past Achievements and Recommendations for the Next Stage' . The report includes perspectives provided by the TRODITIES project and Sussex Asia Centre scholars Magnus Marsden, Diana Ibanez Tirado, James McMurray, Saheira Haliel and Dilmurad in the form of a co-authored report entitled, entitled 'Everyday Diplomats: New Perspectives on Networks, Commerce, and Regional Integration in Central Asia'. The Eurasian Council noted the Asia Centre report's call for policy-makers working on Central Asian interconnectivity to avoid viewing the role played by transnational actors in such process solely through a narrow security lens and to recognise instead the multiple roles played by local actors in forging transregional connections.
Here's a quotation from the Eurasian Council's report:
'The University of Sussex’s Asia Centre notes that in the ongoing dialogue on security challenges in Central Asia, it is important not to vilify the region’s migrant transnational communities, or “everyday diplomats” as it describes them, who are integral to the region’s economy and interconnectivity but who tend to be viewed primarily as a security risk at a national and international level due to isolated incidents of terrorism and organised crime.'
You can read both reports here: The European Union’s Strategy for Central Asia 2020 – 2027
Magnus Marsden address congregation of Afghan Sikhs in Southall
2nd December 2018
Mobility and Masculinity among Afghan Merchants in Eurasia
Magnus Marsden presented project findings in a paper entitled 'Commerce. Mobility and Masculinity among Afghan Merchants in Eurasia'. The paper was presented at a panel discussion around the theme of 'Marriage and Masculinity in Contemporary Afghanistan' jointly organised by the Sussex Asia Centre, SOAS South Asia Institute, Chr. Michelsen Institute, and PTRO (Peace Training and Research Organization, Kabul, Afghanistan). The event was hosted by the SOAS South Asia Institute.
Further details: Masculinity and Marriage in Contemporary Afghanistan
SOAS South Asia Institute workshop
Magnus Marsden spoke about the project's findings to Medicine San Frontiers officials at a workshop organised by the SOAS South Asia Institute held in London on 13th November 2018.
Afghanistan and South Asia: Culture, Commerce and Power
Magnus Marsden was a panellist at an event held on 19th October 2018 entitled "Afghanistan and South Asia: Culture, Commerce and Power" held at SOAS and jointly organised by the Sussex Asia Centre and the SOAS South Asia Institute. Other speakers included Professor Faisal Devji, Professor Shah Mahmoud Hanifi and Ms Moska Najib.
Read more: Afghanistan and South Asia: Culture, Commerce and Power [PDF 758.88KB]
Afghanistan, Asia and the new Silk Road
On Monday 17 September 2018 the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) held a round table jointly organised with the Sussex Asia entitled: “Afghanistan, Asia and the new Silk Road: Perspectives from the Ground”. Academics, economic experts, civil society members and media representatives attended the event. The event explored the ways in which traders from Afghanistan have played a critical role in connecting the country to other parts of Asia over the past decades, often in the most difficult of circumstances. By focusing on the activities of traders, speakers developed the idea that infrastructures are not only built structures but also often human, and that trading networks are an especially clear example of a human infrastructure than channels the movement of people, ideas, and commodities. The speakers included H.E Dr. Mustafa Mastoor, Minister of Economy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Professor Magnus Marsden the Chief Academic Adviser at the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) and Director of the Sussex Asia Centre, University of Sussex, and Mr. Azrakhsh Hafizi, president of ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industries and economic affairs analyst.
Global Traders in Yiwu and their Routes
The TRODITIES project in collaboration with the Yiwu Commercial and Industrial College held a mid-term meeting on 5th September in Yiwu,China. Entitled "Global Traders in Yiwu and their Routes", the international conference was launched by Yiwu's Deputy Mayor Meng Jiao who reaffirmed Yiwu Municipality's support for the project in his speech. The conference was also attended by Mr Zhu, Director of the China International Electronic Commerce Centre, and Prof Wang Jian, Professor at the School of International Trade and Economics at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Both MrZhu and Prof Wang also sit on the project's China Advisory Board. Over the course of the day, papers were presented by TRODITIES team members and by local scholars from Yiwu. The event was also attended by numerous foreign traders currently based in Yiwu.
Further details:
Contemporary Eurasian Connections and Circulations
Magnus Marsden and Paul Anderson presented aspects of their work relating to the TRODITIES project at a panel organised by Ka Kin Cheuk entitled "Contemporary Eurasian Connections and Circulations" at the 2018 Annual Conference of the NYU Shanghai Centre for Global Asia 20-22 August, 2018.
Global Encounters: Transnational Mobility within and beyond China
Diana Ibañez Tirado participated in the International Conference ‘Global Encounters: Transnational Mobility within and beyond China’ at Minzu University of China, Beijing. Diana presented her work on: “Mobility and hierarchies of trade in Yiwu’s Changchun neighbourhood: the case of an Uzbek merchant family from Tajikistan”,(June 2018). In August 2018, Diana gave a guest lecture at the Department of International Relations, Universidad Tec de Monterrey Campus Queretaro, Mexico: “Comerciantes globales: Yiwu, China y redes comerciales [Global traders: Yiwu, China and commercial networks]”.
Yiwu: 35 short stories
Diana Ibañez Tirado, in collaboration with Mr Wu Baojun from the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College, produced the video-documentary: “Yiwu: 35 short stories” filmed in Yiwu, China in July 2018 [Video format, 180 min.]
Muslim Networks and Circulations in West Asia
Magnus Marsden gave a presentation at a conference 'A northern Tier in West Asia?' organised by the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore on 5th July, 2018. The title of his presentation was 'Muslim Networks and Circulations in West Asia'.
Conference webpage:
A Northern Tier in West Asia? – States, Networks, and Informal Diplomacy
Transnational marriage in Yiwu: tensions over money (Munich)
Saheira Haliel presented a paper entiltled "Transnational marriage in Yiwu: tensions over money" at the Department of social and cultural anthropology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany, on July 3, 2018.
Transnational marriage in Yiwu: tensions over money (Sussex)
Saheira Haliel presented a paper entiltled "Transnational marriage in Yiwu: tensions over money" at the Department of anthropology, University of Sussex, on June 26, 2018
Welcome to Ezgi Turhaner, Hesna Aksoy and Enes Sari
Sussex Asia Centre is delighted to welcome Ezgi Turhaner, Hesna Aksoy, and Enes Sari from our partner institution, Koç University Asia Centre (KUASIA). Joining Sussex Asia as part of the International Junior Research Associate (IJRA) scheme, Ezgi, Hesna and Enes will be based at Sussex for the next eight weeks. In addition to working on projects relating to the ERC funded "Trust, Traders and Commodities in a Chinese International City research project", they'll also be attending a series of research training events, and visit team members from the project at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies/Al Waleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge.
Postdoctoral Conversations in Anthropology
Marina Marouda presented a paper entitled "Containing the Other: Vietnamese traders in 'unruly' Odessa" at the workshop "Postdoctoral Conversations in Anthropology" held at the University of Sussex on 26th June 2018.
Everyday Diplomacy: Religious Encounters from the Baltic to the Black Sea
Magnus Marsden presented the keynote lecture at the conference "Everyday Diplomacy: Religious Encounters from the Baltic to the Black Sea" held in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 15th - 16th June, 2018.
More details: Everyday Diplomacy: Religious Encounters from the Baltic to the Black Sea [PDF 86.18KB]
RAI conference: Art Materiality and Representation
Dr Marina Marouda presented a paper at the RAI conference (Royal Anthropological Institute) “Art Materiality and Representation” at British Museum and SOAS on 2nd June 2018.
Her paper, "Containing the Other: Vietnamese traders in ‘unruly’ Odessa", was part of the “Containers/Containment” panel.
Workshop at the Institute of Ethnology, Tbilisi, Georgia
Diana Ibañez Tirado participated in a workshop at the Institute of Ethnology of the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia on the 12 and 13 of May 2018. This workshop brought together the team led by Dr Susanne Fehlings (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main) and Professor Hasan Karrar (Lahore University of Management Sciences) in collaboration with Professor Ketevan Kutsishvili (Tbilisi State University) who are part of the project “Informal Markets and Trade in Eurasia, Central Asia and the Caucasus”. The participants gathered to discuss common research findings and further collaboration with the TRODITIES team members on themes concerning transregional trade, trading networks and informality.
Migration and Well-Being
TRODITIES researchers presented findings related to the Yiwu project at a conference organised around the theme of Migration and Well-Being held at Koc University Asia Centre, Istanbul on 7th and 8th May, 2018.
ICFBE 2018
Professor Huaichuan Rui attended the ICFBE 2018 International Conference on Family Business and Entrepreneurship in Bali of Indonesia on the 2-4 May 2018 and presented a paper entitled
"Entrepreneurship, small family business and Yiwu's historical transformation” (ID: 306).
Yiwu and Global Traders: Goods, Routes and Markets
The photo exhibition 'Yiwu and Global Traders: Goods, Routes and Markets' curated by Diana Ibanez-Tirado has been set up at the Copenhagen University Library, South Campus, Karen Blixens Plads 7, Copenhagen, by the project member Vera Skvirskaja at the Copenhagen University.
The very first group of the exhibition's visitors were the former employees of the Royal Library. An introduction of the TRODITIE's project by Vera generated a lively discussion.
The information about the exibition can be seen on the following links:
Afghanistan in Asian Studies
Professor Magnus Marsden spoke about the project findings at a roundtable discussion "Afghanistan in Asian Studies" at the Association of Asian Studies conference held on Friday 23rd March.
Session abstract: Afghanistan in Asian Studies II: A Roundtable [PDF 275.43KB]
TRODITIES project held its 5th Consortium meeting in Cambridge
The TRODITIES project held its 5th Consortium meeting in Cambridge on 24th February 2018.
TRODITIES project held a workshop at the University of Cambridge
The TRODITIES project held a workshop at Churchill College, the University of Cambridge on 23rd February, 2018. The keynote speaker was Dr Gagan Sood, Assistant Professor at LSE's Department of International History.
View the programme: TRODITIES workshop: Trust, Trade and Global Commodity Networks, Cambridge, February 2018 [PDF 126.11KB]
Hierarchies of Trade in China and Tajikistan
Dr Diana Ibanez Tirado presented a paper entitled "Hierarchies of Trade in China and Tajikistan: Uzbek merchants in Dushanbe and Yiwu" at the Sussex Asia Centre on February 21st 2018.
Afghanistan: Views from Inside and Outside
Professor Magnus Marsden presented findings from his fieldwork on 16 February in the form of a keynote lecture at the conference "Afghanistan: Views from Inside and Outside" organised by the Central Asian seminar at the School of Asian and African Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin.
Conference programme: Afghanistan: Von innen und außen / Views from Inside & Outside
Islamic Cosmopolitanism out of Asia
Magnus Marsden delivered a lecture at the Global Asia Institute NYU Shanghai on 29 Jan 2018. The lecture was entitled Islamic Cosmopolitanism out of Asia.
Further details: Islamic Cosmopolitanism Out of Muslim Asia: Hindu-Muslim Business Cooperation between Odessa and Yiwu
Diana Ibanez Tirado presents guest lecture at the
Diana Ibanez Tirado presented a guest lecture “Illicit trading practices among transnational merchants from South, Central and West Asia in Yiwu, China: on morality, prosperity and entitlement”, at the Department of Social Sciences, University of Roehampton, on December 8th 2017.
Supplying Haji’s:
Afghanistan’s Central Asian emigres in China and beyond
Magnus Marsden presented a paper on 5th December 2017 relating to his work on the project at the Max Planck Institute for the study of ethnic and religious diversity in Gottingen, Germany.
Download the flyer:
Supplying Haji’s: Afghanistan’s Central Asian emigres in China and beyond [PDF 1.58MB]
Muslims on the Belt and Road
On November 30th 2017, Dr Diana Ibañez Tirado participated in the workshop “Muslims on the Belt and Road: New Silk Road Social Transformations in Inner Asia: Four Talks and a Film” at the Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations. The event’s aim was to facilitate an academic discussion on the effects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative especially in Muslim communities in Western China, Pakistan and Central Asia. The scholars in this workshop also included Dr Cholpon Chotaeva (American University of Central Asia in Bishkek), Dr Agnieszka Joniak-Lüthi (Fribourg University), Dr Hasan Karrar (Lahore University of Management Sciences) and Dr Rune Steenberg (visiting researcher at the Aga Khan University's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in London).
Rethinking Identity and Social Representations of the Past
Diana Ibañez Tirado participated in the International Workshop “Rethinking Identity and Social Representations of the Past: Alternative Temporalities, Contested Peripherality and Dynamic Subjectivities” held at the Faculty of Social and Communication Sciences of the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain. Dr Ibañez Tirado presented two of her ongoing works: “Muslim female traders from Central Asia in Yiwu, China: Intimacy, Gender and Cosmopolitanism” and “The ‘somewhen’ of Identities in Central Asia: Temporal and Spatial Aspects of Mobile Communities and Networks”. November 23rd 2017.
Anthropology of global networks
Professor Filippo Osella delivered 6 master and research seminars for post-graduate and doctoral students at Hyderabad University, School of Social Science between 13th to 18th November 2017. The focus on the seminars was on the “Anthropology of global networks”.
Professor Filippo Osella at the University of Hyderabad
Professor Filippo Osella gave a Distinguished Lecture at the University of Hyderabad, India on 15th November 2017.
Marina Marouda at the Raszyn Cultural Centre, Warsaw
Marina Marouda gave an talk on November 12th 2017 about her research in a colloquium organised by the Vietnamese diasporic associations in Poland. The colloqium was held at the Raszyn Cultural Centre, Warsaw. It was reported in a number of media outlets, including online Vietnamese-language newspapers and websites in Poland, as well as national TV broadcaster (VTV) in Viet Nam.
Marina reported on her talk to colleagues and by writing a post for the TRODITIES blog which was published on 20/11/2017:
Magnus Marsden at Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) Workshop
Magnus Marsden spoke in Islamabad on November 10th 2017 about the project and its finding to participants at a workshop organised by the NGO, Community Appraisal and Monitoring Programme. The participants were from Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and the Federally Associated Tribal Areas, regions in the North West of Pakistan.
More information: Community Appraisal and Monitoring Programme
Magnus Marsden presents two seminars in Lahore
Magnus Marsden presented two seminars relating to his research for the Yiwu project to staff and students at the History and Social Science faculty, Lahore University of Management Studies, November 2-3, 2017.
See: Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Article by Magnus Marsden published by BBC Persian
BBC Persian has translated and published an article by Magnus Marsden. The article concerns the varied contributions that Central Asian emigres who fled the Bolshevik revolution have made to Afghan society and the dynamics of the wider region.
See: BBC Persian
Geographies in question
On 17 October 2017, Dr Paul Anderson delivered a talk about Yiwu and trading networks to members of the public and wider university at King’s College, Cambridge. The presentation, titled “Geographies in question”, was part of the University’s Festival of Ideas.
Further details: Geographies in question
Yiwu and Global Traders: Goods, Routes and Markets
On the 6 of October 2017, the exhibition “Yiwu and Global Traders: Goods, Routes and Markets” was inaugurated at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. The curator, Dr Diana Ibañez Tirado, took the photographs and collected the displayed objects in China (2013; 2016), Russia (2015), Ukraine (2016), Iran (2017), Turkey (2017), and the UK (2016-2017). This exhibition aims to show that contrary to one-dimensional yet common depictions of Yiwu as the source of ‘cheap stuff’ that ‘invade’ the world, trade in and from Yiwu is not simply a matter of buying and selling low-priced goods: it is a form of sociality predicated on the mutual recognition of value and people. The circulation of Yiwu’s ‘small commodities’ makes daily life possible, at the same time that it is also implicated in the production of a great variety of networks of global traders and the geographies where they operate.
Dr Ibañez Tirado’s research on Yiwu and global traders has been conducted under the framework of the project: ‘Yiwu: Trust, Global Traders and Commodities in a Chinese International City’ funded by a H2020 Advanced Grant of the European Research Council (2015-2020). This project investigates diverse trading networks, diasporas, and communities present in Yiwu; and the nature of capitalism and the trade systems currently found in this commercial city and its connected outposts in Asia.
What citizens told me about the ever increasing challenges of life in Afghanistan
Professor Magnus Marsden discusses the difficulties facing traders from Afghanistan in the country and the wider region in the latest issue of The Conversation.
Read more: What citizens told me about the ever increasing challenges of life in Afghanistan
Afghan trading networks
Professor Magnus Marsden discussed his work on Afghan trading networks with BBC Persian journalist Haseeb Ammar; the interview was aired in Persian on 24th July 2017.
More details on the BBC Persian pages
St Petersburg International Conference of Afghan Studies
Professor Magnus Marsden gave a paper on his work relating to the project at the St Petersburg International Conference of Afghan Studies held at the Faculty of Asian and African Studies, State University of St Petersburg, June 27th - 29th 2017. Professor Marsden was also appointed as a member o the organising committee of the conference.
Further details: St Petersburg International Conference of Afghan Studies
Aleppo in China, China in Aleppo
Dr Paul Anderson presented a seminar on May 31st 2017 at the Cambridge University China Research Centre (Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies) entitled 'Aleppo in China, China in Aleppo'.
Further details: Aleppo in China, China in Aleppo
TRODITIES project 4th consortium meeting
The TRODITIES project held its 4th consortium meeting in Worthing on May 17th 2017. Consortium members in attendance included Professor Magnus Marsden (University of Sussex), Dr Diana Ibanez (University of Sussex), Dr Vera Skvirskaja (Copenhagen University) and Dr Paul Anderson (Cambridge University), while Dr Huaichuan Rui (Royal Holloway University of London) joined the meeting on Skype from New York.
Research Methodologies Masterclass
Research Methodologies Masterclass for Doctoral Students (15 May 2017) "Beyond Ethics: qualitative methodologies in times of conflict” – During this event, experienced researchers and doctoral students discussed the practicalities, methodologies and theoretical approaches about conducting ethical research in unstable settings in Asia. Presentations included the work of Dr Andreas Bandak (University of Copenhagen), Dr Paul Anderson (University of Cambridge), Dr Diana Ibanez Tirado (University of Sussex) and Professor Magnus Marsden (University of Sussex).
Download the poster: Workshop Beyond Ethics - poster [PDF 378.57KB]
West Asia Workshop
The TRODITIES project team along with the Sussex Asia Centre held a West Asia Workshop on May 16th 2017 at the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex. The workshop interrogated the geographical category of 'West Asia' asking how far the concept is helpful in reframing scholarship on a part of the world that has tended to be divided along the lines of the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Eurasia in area studies scholarship. The workshop was also supported by the ERASMUS fund, the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Hong Kong, and the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. Keynote presentations were given by Professor Nile Green (UCLA and member of the TRODITIES advisory board), Professor Francis Robinson (Royal Holloway University of London), and Dr Seteney Shami (SSRC/Arab Council for Social Science Research). Papers were presented by TRODITIES team members, as well as invited guests from the UK, Ukraine, Turkey, and Denmark, including several PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.
Download the poster: West Asia Workshop - Poster [PDF 448.21KB]
View the list of participants: West Asia Workshop - List of participants [PDF 246.85KB]
Saheira Halliel at Minzu University of China
Saheira Halliel presented her preliminary research findings relating to the project in Beijing at the Institute of Global Ethnology and Anthropology, Minzu University of China on the 12th May 2017.
Insights from Ethnography on Afghan Trading Networks
Professor Magnus Marsden presented a paper on March 28th at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva as part of its Anthropology and Sociology of Development's colloquium series.
More details: Trust, Global Traders and Commodities in a Chinese International City, Insights from Ethnography on Afghan Trading Networks
Exiled in Moscow: When the USSR hosted Asian dissidents
It is widely known that many Soviet citizens defected to the West during the Cold War, but the USSR also hosted its fair share of exiles from countries such as Afghanistan and Indonesia. March 24th 2017.
Read more in Russia Beyond the Headlines
Anthropology as cross-cultural encounter
Professor Filippo Osella delivered a seminar on “Anthropology as cross-cultural encounter” at the School of Foreign Studies, Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College, China on 24th March 2017.
Development's New Geopolitics
Professor Magnus Marsden presented the project and its initial findings at a Sussex Development Lecture held on March 23rd 2017 at the University of Sussex. The lecture series was themed around the title, 'Development's New Geopolitics'.
Trading Worlds: Afghan Merchants across Modern Frontiers
Professor Magnus Marsden presented the project and its initial findings on March 3rd 2017 at the Yale University Programme in Agrarian Studies.
Islam in China: an Anthropologist’s Perspective
Dr Paul Anderson gave a talk on Yiwu given to Religious Studies teachers and around 150 sixth-formers, from eight London schools, on 9 February 2017, at Croydon High School for girls, as part of a religious studies conference. It was entitled“Islam in China: an Anthropologist’s Perspective”
Further details:
Central Asia’s Evolving Relations with China
On January the 28th 2017, Dr Huaichuan Rui and Dr Diana Ibanez Tirado participated in the workshop ‘Central Asia’s Evolving Relations with China’, organised by Royal Holloway University of London under the programme ‘Enhancing the impact of SoM research on Post-Soviet Development in Central Asia’. Dr Rui presented the paper: ‘Chinese MNCs’ Knowledge Transfer in Emerging Markets: Implications to Central Asia’, and Dr Ibanez Tirado the work with the title: ‘From Yiwu, China, to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan: trade, intimacy and gender’.
Transnational merchants in Yiwu
Diana Ibanez Tirado presented a paper entitled “Transnational merchants in Yiwu: trading/smuggling networks across Southwest and Central Asia” at an International workshop “Il/legal and informal practices in the Eurasian region”, held at Senate House, University of London on January 27th 2017.
TRODITIES Project Workshop, Copenhagen
The TRODITIES end of Phase 1 workshop was held on January 20th 2017 at the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, University of Copenhagen. Team members presented their fieldwork findings to date and benefited from the insightful comment and criticism of project advisor, Professor Jose Carlos Aguiar, Latin American Studies, University of Leiden.
Download:
Silk Road route back in business as China train rolls into London
TRODITIES project featured in an article in The Observer (14/1/2017) by Tracy McVeigh entitled ' Silk Road route back in business as China train rolls into London'
'When the East Wind locomotive rumbles into east London this week, it will be at the head of 34 carriages full of socks, bags and wallets for London’s tourist souvenir shops, as well as the dust and grime accumulated through eight countries and 7,456 miles.'
Photograph: VCG/Getty Images
Insights from Ethnography on Afghan Trading Networks
Professor Magnus Marsden presented a talk on January 10th 2017 entitled "Trust, Global Traders and Commodities in a Chinese International City, Insights from Ethnography on Afghan Trading Networks". The talk formed part of the "Geographic Colloquium, Institute of Geographical Sciences" at the Freie University Berlin.
China-Arabia Encounters and Engagements
Professor Magnus Marsden presented a paper entitled 'Supplying Hajjis: Northern Afghanistans Trading Communities in China and Beyond' at the 3rd Muhammad Alagil Arabia Asia conference held at Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore 15-16 December, 2016.
View the programme: China-Arabia Encounters and Engagements [PDF 617.36KB]
How Syrian merchants negotiate identity and difference in extraordinary times
Dr Paul Anderson gave a presentation: “How Syrian merchants negotiate identity and difference in extraordinary times” at Global Muslim Encounters Conference, Centre for Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Cambridge, 9-10 December 2016.
Contemporary Perspectives on Sectarianism among Arab Merchants in China
Dr Paul Anderson gave a paper entitled “Contemporary Perspectives on Sectarianism among Arab Merchants in China” at the Centre of Islamic Studies Annual Research Symposium, University of Cambridge, 6 December 2016.
The Social Life of Global Trade: How Commodities Cross Asia
Dr Paul Anderson gave a talk on Yiwu entitled 'The Social Life of Global Trade: How Commodities Cross Asia' delivered to Year 12 students from around 20 different schools nationwide. It took place on 26th November 2016 at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge.
It was part of a University Admissions events branded as a “subject masterclass in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies”.
The historical importance of Spanish Language to global commerce
Dr Diana Ibanez-Tirado gave a lecture at the Yiwu Commercial and Industrial College (YCIC) on the 24 of November 2016. The lecture focused on the historical importance of Spanish Language to global commerce from China, and to contemporary trading activities among the Latin American merchants currently working in Yiwu. The lecture was given in the context of the new BA in Spanish Language launched by the YCIC this year.
Global traders, capitalism and trading routes
Dr Diana Ibañez-Tirado gave a keynote lecture on the 24th October 2016 at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences (FCPyS) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) entitled: “Global traders, capitalism and trading routes: from Yiwu to markets in Asia and the Middle East.”
Download the poster: Global traders, capitalism and trading routes - poster [PDF 182.02KB]
A New Silk Road?
Dr Paul Anderson gave a talk on Yiwu at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies in Cambridge on 22 October 2016 entitled: “A New Silk Road?”
Event details: A New Silk Road?
Image copyright:
Maher Najm flickr
Trade, culture, society: social science approaches to the economy
A talk entitled Trade, culture, society: social science approaches to the economy was given by Dr Paul Anderson at the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College on 20 September 2016.
Counter-violence Narratives
Professor Marsden spoke at a panel entitled Counter-violence Narratives at the 5th Herat Security Dialogue organised by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies held in Herat, Afghanistan on 14-15th October 2016
More information:
Global Traders in a Chinese International City
Professor Marsden presented a paper entitled Global Traders in a Chinese International City: Ethnographic Perspectives from Afghan Trading Networks on October 4th 2016 at the Koc Sociology seminar, Koc University, Istanbul.
More information: Koc Sociology Talks: Global Traders in a Chinese International City - Ethographic Perspectives from Afghan trading networks
Silk Roads Again: Afghan Traders across Ocean, Land and Sea
Professor Marsden
Professor Marsden presented a paper on 24th September entitled 'Afghan Traders across Ocean, Land and Sea' at the Silk Roads Again: Revisoiting Roads Connection Eurasia conference. The conference was held at the President Hotel in Seoul and organised by the Asia Pacific Research Centre (Hanyang University) and the Korean Association for Central Asian Studies.
Silk Roads Again - poster with programme [PDF 3.91MB]
ERASMUS agreement to promote staff and student mobility
The School of Global Studies (University of Sussex) and the Cross-Cultural Studies Unit at the Department of Regional Studies ToRS (University of Copenhagen) have signed an ERASMUS agreement to promote staff and student mobility. A key intellectual aim of the agreement is to foster cooperation in the study and teaching of the so-called 'Silk Road', both in terms of its historical and contemporary manifestations. The collaboration arises out of the TRODITIES project that is directed by Professor Magnus Marsden, and funded by an ERC advanced grant. A team of scholars, including Dr Vera Skivrskaja based at ToRs, is exploring the socio-economic dynamics of Yiwu, an international trade city in China's Zhejiang Province, and documenting its significance for modern Eurasian trade networks and routes. Both the Cross-Cultural Studies Unit and ToRs more generally are home to regional specialists with expertise directly relevant for to the study of the Silk Road. It is also anticipated that the agreement will facilitate cooperation with Danish scholars working on the Middle East, China, Modern India, Russian Studies , and religion more generally. The University of Sussex Asia Centre was established in 2015 and aims to promote the study of Asian connections, circulations, and comparisons.
The European Experts and Professors jointly study “The Phenomenon of Yiwu”
On May 25, "China's internationalized city Yiwu: integrity, goods and international trader" project started in Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College. The Municipal Standing Committee member, the vice mayor Xiong Tao attended the launching event.
Reports of TRODITIES opening ceremony
TRODITIES opening ceremony on Yiwu Commercial and Industrial College website
TRODITIES opening ceremony reported in Yiwu local newspaper
Yiwu Launch Meeting description by Yiwu TV station
On the 25th May, the project entitled “Yiwu: Trust, Global Traders and Commodities in a Chinese International City” held its opening meeting at the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College.
The principal host of the project is the School of Global Studies of University of Sussex Asia Centre. Consortium Members include University of Cambridge (UK), Royal Holloway College, University of London (UK) and University of Copenhagen (Denmark).
This project is to provide an internationally comparative and connective investigation of the significance of Yiwu to the global commodity trade in low-grade goods. It will be conducted along two dimensions. One is the cross national trading activities; another is the overseas markets of the exported Yiwu goods and the role of global traders in connecting Yiwu and the world. Mr. Xiong Tao, the standing committee member of Yiwu Committee of CPC and deputy mayor of Yiwu Municipal People’s Government, attended the launch meeting.
The TRODITIES project held its official opening meeting at the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College
Wednesday May 25th 2016
Yiwu city’s Party Secretary Mr Sheng Qiuping and deputy mayor Mr. Xiong Tao were able to join conference attendees for a lunch meeting at the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College. The meeting was also attended by representatives of both of the project’s partners in China: Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College and the China International Electronic Commerce Centre.
TRODITIES project enters into collaborative partnership with China International Electronic Commerce Centre (CIECC)
The School of Global Studies (University of Sussex) and the China International Electronic Commerce Centre have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of developing a collaborative relationship between members of the TRODITIES research team, and staff and experts at the Centre. The China International Electronic Commerce Center (CIECC) is an government agency operating under the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, that develops electronic information projects. In order to enhance this collaboration two staff members of the CIECC have kindly agreed to sit on the advisory board of the TRODITIES project, as well as on the international advisory board of the Sussex Asia Centre.
TRODITIES project enters into collaborative partnership with Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College
The University of Sussex and the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of developing a collaborative relationship between members of the TRODITIES research team, and staff and students at the College. In order to enhance this collaboration two staff members of the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College have kindly agreed to sit on the advisory board of the TRODITIES project, as well as on the international advisory board of the Sussex Asia Centre.
Trade and Traders from an Ethno-cultural Perspective
TRODITIES team members Magnus Marsden, Vera Skvirskaja, and Diana Ibanez Tirado will travel to St Petersburg to talk about the project at a conference entitled 'Trade and Traders from an Ethno-cultural Perspective' to be held at the Russian Ethnographic Museum. They will also introduce the key aims of the project to an audience of scholars at The European University of St Petersburg, and to colleagues at the Higher School of Economics.
An Anthropological Life in the Heart of Asia
Magnus Marsden presents a lecture:
'An Anthropological Life in the Heart of Asia' at the Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College.
Real Estate Speculation at a Frontier of Capitalism
Seminar by Professor Caroline Humphrey (University of Cambridge)
Thursday 26th November 15:30-17:30 C333 Arts C, University of Sussex
Download the poster: Real Estate Speculation at a Frontier of Capitalism [PDF 6.79MB]
