Talk by Boram Shin, Jeonbuk National University, South Korea on Critical Story of Critical Minerals in Central Asia

Cambridge Central Asia Forum invites you to a talk by

Boram Shin, Jeonbuk National University, South Korea

on

‘Critical Story of critical minerals in Central Asia’

Date: 14 February

Time: 11am

In Person Venue: Room S1, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge

Online Zoom registration link: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/Vu0-L-UHQ5eiILMpKuPEtA

Everyone is welcome.

Abstract: This paper examines the role of critical minerals through a Eurasian historical lens. Contemporary discourse often presents “critical minerals” as a source of geopolitical rivalry, framing Central Asia and its mineral resources within a “modern Great Game” scenario. By tracing how Central Asia has utilized its mineral resources and developed relevant technologies from the Bronze Age through the Soviet period, this paper offers an alternative perspective. Rather than viewing critical minerals solely through the prism of competition, it highlights the region’s history of interconnected networks and integration, thereby reframing the narrative of mineral resources in Central Asia.

Biography: Prof Boram Shin is Associate Professor at the School of International Studies at Jeonbuk National University, South Korea. She received a PhD degree in Slavonic Studies from University of Cambridge with a dissertation that explored national identity construction in Uzbekistan through Soviet culture from the 1930s to the 1940s. Currently Prof Shin is working on Soviet and Central Asian cultural and science diplomacy during the Cold War.

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