The Department of Central Eurasian Studies recently participated in IU’s First Thursdays event on the Fine Arts Plaza. First Thursdays showcase the diversity of arts and humanities at IU Bloomington and offer a welcoming environment for students, faculty, staff, and community members to explore new creative outlets.
On April 2, we hosted London-based Uyghur poet Aziz Isa Elkun, author of Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghur Prisoners in China (Hertfordshire Press, 2025). Elkun, a member of English PEN and PEN America and President of the Uyghur PEN Centre, engaged with faculty and students throughout the day.
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, the Association of Central Eurasian Students (ACES), the graduate student organization of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS), successfully hosted the 32nd Annual ACES Conference at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University Bloomington, in a hybrid format.
On February 27th, the annual Estonian Evening brought together faculty, students and guests to celebrate the 108th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia (Feb. 24) and the ongoing Year of the Estonian Book. Organized by IU Baltic and Finnish Studies Association and IU Estonian students, with sponsorship of CEUS and IAUNRC, and under the leadership of CEUS' Dr. Piibi-Kai Kivik, our Senior Lecturer for Estonian, the evening featured poetry recitals, music, traditional Estonian food and conversations.
The Hungarian Cultural Association, with the support of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, hosted a Farsang (Spring Welcoming Carnival) on February 27 at the Monroe County Public Library Southwest Branch Teaching Kitchen, under the leadership of our Hungarian FLTA, Henriett Papp.
On Monday, February 23, 2026, IU held a celebration to mark Tibetan Losar (New Year), the year of the fire horse, which fell on February 18 this year.
The Mongolian Lunar New Year (Tsagaan Sar) celebration, organized annually by the Mongolia Society at Indiana University, the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, the Mongolian Student Association at IU, and the Bloomington Mongolian Community, was held on February 14 at the Ferguson International Center.
CEUS Department Winter Reception
The CEUS Department recently hosted a winter reception celebrating a year of hard work and community.
The Hungarian Studies faculty and students of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies have recently hosted a festive Mikulás Nap celebration, bringing the warmth of this beloved Hungarian tradition of the holidays to our campus.
CEUS Graduate Student Lunch Series
The CEUS Department has recently launched a Graduate Student Lunch Series, a joint initiative between the CEUS Department chair and the CEUS graduate student body. These lunches will take place about three times per semester at local restaurants and are intended to provide an informal setting for conversation, feedback, and crucially, connection among graduate students and between them and faculty, with each instantiation involving a different CEUS faculty member.
From Indiana to Kazakhstan: Jonathan Caldes on language, law, and cultural immersion
Senior Jonathan Caldes spent summer 2025 interning at Zan Hub LLP in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he translated legal documents and led seminars on business language—all in Kazakh. Caldes credits the experience with deepening his regional expertise and pushing his language skills to new heights.
Islamic Central Asia – New Directions in the Study of Its History
On November 13, 2025, the centenary of the late Professor Yuri Bregel’s birth, dozens of faculty, students, CEUS alumni, and Yuri’s family members convened in Bloomington. The international workshop – on new directions in the study of Islamic Central Asia – was organized by Professor Ron Sela (CEUS) and the Islamic Studies Program.
30th Mid-Continental Phonetics and Phonology Conference (MidPhon30)
Faculty in the Department of Linguistics recently worked with the Department of Second Language Studies and the Hamilton-Luger School to host MidPhon30, the 30th anniversary meeting of this workshop, which started in the 1990’s as a joint meeting between Indiana University and Ohio State University, and then the University of Illinois.
Fall faculty updates: New hires and promotions at the Hamilton Lugar School
The Hamilton Lugar School is welcoming nine new faculty and celebrating six colleagues who recently received promotion or tenure.
On April 17-19, 2025 the Tibetan language program of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies presented a celebration of Tibetan Calligraphy day, featuring invited guests Pema Bhum, Kristina Dy-Liacco, and Jamyang Dorjee Chakrishar.
New Mongolian Studies fund to support Indiana University students and faculty
Through a generous endowed gift from Pamela Slutz, the Indiana University (IU) Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies has established the Dr. John Gombojab Hangin Mongolian Studies Support Fund. The fund will be dedicated to advancing Mongolian Studies by supporting research and teaching initiatives by faculty and students, both graduate and undergraduate, in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University.
On Friday, March 31, 2024, the annual Navruz celebration, organized by the Navruz Student Association (NSA), was held in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies (HLS).
The Department of Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS), along with the Mongolia Society and the Mongolian community and students in Bloomington, has celebrated Tsagaan sar (White Moon), the Mongolian Lunar New Year, as per tradition this past week.
CEUS is accepting applications for a Visiting Lecturer of Persian Language
CEUS is accepting applications for a Visiting Lecturer of Persian Language
A complex array of individual responses to the abuse of power by the state is represented in this book in three horrific episodes in the history of East-Central Europe. The three events followed each other within a span of about ten years: the deportation and murder of Hungarian Jews in Nazi death and labor camps; the Arrow Cross terrorist rule in Budapest; and finally the Stalinist terror in Hungary and East-Central Europe.
A new book titled "Designing Effective Language Learning Materials for Less Commonly Taught Languages", by Öner Özçelik (Associate Professor & Chair of Central Eurasian Studies) and Amber K. Kent (Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region) was recently published by Georgetown University Press in August 2023.
Christopher Beckwith’s new book titled “The Scythian Empire by Christopher Beckwith”
A new book titled "The Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China" by Christopher Beckwith, Distinguished Professor of Central Eurasian Studies at IU, will be available from Princeton University Press in January, 2023.
Our first ever short-term study abroad trip to Uzbekistan
Our first ever short-term study abroad trip to Uzbekistan, led by Marianne Kamp and Malik Hodjaev.
Jamsheed Choksy elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest and most prestigious honorary societies in the United States, has elected three Indiana University faculty members -- Jamsheed K. Choksy, Lynda F. Delph and Elisabeth A. Lloyd -- to its ranks in its latest class of honorees.
CEUS Chair’s message about Professor Kara
It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that I inform you of the death of our beloved colleague and esteemed Professor György Kara, who passed away on April 16th after his health suddenly deteriorated.
HLS In Memory of Professor György Kara
The Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies is saddened by the loss of Indiana University Professor György Kara, a linguist and Professor in the School’s Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS) department. Professor Kara was an internationally respected scholar in his field and an unrivaled leader in the study of the languages, cultures, and religious beliefs of Mongolia and Inner Asia. Kara has published more than 400 works in 10 languages, and his many books and articles are considered to have laid the groundwork for Mongolian studies.
Congratulations to CEUS Ph.D student Yiming Hu!
Congratulations to CEUS Ph.D student Yiming Hu for being awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Research Fellowship for 2022-2023!
The space between Germany and Russia was the cradle of two world wars and the Cold War. Today it is the focal point of international conflict again. Europe is living a moment reminiscent to the period before 1914, which eventually led to a complete overhaul of European order.
Kathryn Graber wins honorable mention for the Davis Center Book Prize in Political and Social Studies for an outstanding monograph on Russia, Eurasia, or Eastern Europe in anthropology, political science, sociology, or geograph. See the full list of awardees here.
CEUS welcomes Ambassador Dr. Feisal Amin Rasoul Istrabadi to its faculty
The Department of Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS) welcomes Ambassador Dr. Feisal Amin Rasoul Istrabadi to its faculty with tenure as Professor of Central Eurasian Studies and as the Michael A. and Laurie Burns McRobbie Professor in Global Strategic Studies.
$1.5M grant will endow professorship in Silk Road studies at Hamilton Lugar School
The Indiana University Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies will receive $1.5 million from the Tang Research Foundation to endow a professorship in Silk Road studies. Established in the school's Department of Central Eurasian Studies, the professorship honors the foundation's former president, the late Roger E. Covey.
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