Message from the editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of IICAS

Message from the editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of IICAS

Message from the editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of IICAS

14/07 2020

Message from the editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of IICAS

Nowadays, a range of online and paper-based journals devoted to the study of Central Asia are published in the world. They are mainly published by universities and academic institutions in English and Russian, being the most convenient languages for a sufficiently large community of several generations of researchers professionally involved in the study of this region of the planet. Already for 15 years now, the Bulletin of IICAS has taken a rather modest place in the list of such scientific publications: for various reasons, the journal was unable to gain popularity and recognition from the audience it is designed for. Awareness of this fact prompted the management of IICAS to temporarily suspend its release and rebrand the journal so that it would better meet modern requirements of scientific publications (in particular, recognition of its articles by such leading scientometric databases as the Russian Science Citation Index/RSCI, Scopus, the Web of Science), as well as would expand the journal’s thematic range based on the interdisciplinary research of existing problems and trends in the Central Asian studies.

Presently, the journal will be equally focused on studying the past, as well as on comprehending the modernity. However, without knowledge of history, it is impossible to talk about the current challenges of the region’s culture, therefore the traditional section of articles on historical sciences shall be preserved, but it will be supplemented with original texts on cultural studies and sociology of culture, linguistic and religious aspects of life of the Central Asian nations, the functioning of architecture, fine arts, and other types of art creativity. The editorial board also plans to release special issues dedicated to specific topics of relevance – not only directly related to the activities of the IICAS, but also dictated by certain ideas and directions of modern public thought.    

Such specificity of the journal necessitates the involvement as authors of representatives of the international expert and analytical community, who know the region well within their competence. We will try to reflect a wide variety of opinions of different experts, so that our reader gets a comprehensive idea of ​​the subject of one’s interest and, above all, on discussion issues. The list of new thematic sections includes not only the publication of the results of specific studies in the above-mentioned disciplines, but also the debates, criticism, and bibliography of new sources. Such approach will allow users to track and evaluate the most important topics that constantly appear in the field of studying the history and contemporary culture of the Central Asian countries.

How successfully we will achieve the stated goals largely depends on the activity of our potential authors – not only reputable scientists, but also young scholars starting their journey in science and ready to participate in the development of the global knowledge system.

Ruslan Muradov,

Editor-in-Chief

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