ABSTRACT

This issue is dedicated to the question of how research on technology and its inherent temporality and materiality can enhance our understanding of geography, culture and history in Central Asia. The articles provide fresh ideas on Central Asia as a region by unpacking the “hard” infrastructural base of its cultural, social, and economic geography. They offer a more inclusive view on Central Asian landscapes, focusing on permanent material structures and vernacular practices that are often overlooked in conventional historiography and social studies research. Finally, they explore how research on technology both supports and challenges the primacy of political history in defining the historical periods and legacies of Central Asia. The papers cover about 150 years of history, with case studies on what are today Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Mongolia. This introductory essay summarizes their key insights, situating them in a wider debate on technology in and beyond Central Asia.

摘要

本期致力于研究技术及其内在的时间性和物质性如何能够增强我们对中亚地理、文化和历史的理解。这些文章通过解开其文化、社会和经济地理的“硬”基础设施基础，为作为一个地区的中亚提供了新的想法。他们对中亚景观提供了更具包容性的观点，重点关注在传统史学和社会研究研究中经常被忽视的永久性物质结构和本土实践。最后，他们探讨了技术研究如何支持和挑战政治史在定义中亚历史时期和遗产方面的首要地位。这些论文涵盖了大约 150 年的历史，案例研究了今天的哈萨克斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、和蒙古。这篇介绍性文章总结了他们的主要见解，将他们置于关于中亚内外技术的更广泛辩论中。