In this lecture, Dr Sultanova will trace the influence of Islam and Sufism on poetry and music performed by women in Central Asia. Alongside its role in the development of Islamic thought, philosophy and science, Central Asia was the place where four of the twelve main Sufi orders were founded. Dr Sultanova will examine the historical and cultural background, in addition to the role of women as producers and performers, as well as mystics.

Speaker: Dr Razia Sultanova is currently a Research Fellow at Cambridge Muslim College. She has studied and worked at both the Tashkent and Moscow State Conservatories and worked at the Russian Institute of Art Studies in Moscow. In 1994 she moved to reside in the UK and work at the University of London and since 2008 has worked at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of four books and five edited volumes (in Russian, French and English) on Central Asian gender, religion and music. She has been a visiting Professor at Moscow State Conservatory (Russia), at the Kazakh National University of Arts (Nur-Sultan), and at the Khoja Ahmet Yassawi Kazakh-Turkish University (Kazakhstan/Turkey).

Venue: Cambridge Muslim College, 14 St. Paul’s Road, Cambridge, CB1 2EZ

Date: 5 February 2020, 6 – 7:30pm

This event is free to attend and no prior registration is required.