WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: This workshop offers a practical introduction to archival research in Central Asia, with a focus on understanding how documentation is organized, accessed, and used for scholarly work. Students will gain familiarity with the types of materials available across various archives, libraries, and private collections, including those related to soviet politics, communist institutions, culture, religion, and social life in the 19th and 20th centuries.
We will explore how to navigate archival systems, including classification methods, finding aids, and catalogues. Participants will also be introduced to complementary resources such as private holdings, digital platforms, and social media channels that can support and expand their research. Special attention will be given to state libraries that house rare publications and printed materials relevant to regional studies.
The session will cover access procedures, restrictions, and institutional protocols, as well as common pitfalls in working with archival guides. We will also discuss the range of languages and scripts students may encounter in these collections, and how to prepare for linguistic and logistical challenges.
In the final portion, participants will be invited to share their research interests and receive feedback on how to identify and approach relevant collections. Through hands-on engagement with examples of archival guides and selected documents, students will develop a clearer sense of how to begin structuring their own searches and working with materials both within Central Asia and in international repositories.
BIOGRAPHY: Zayra Badillo Castro holds a Ph.D. in History from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and an M.A. in International Studies and Diplomacy. She is also a 2x alumna of CESSI, having studied Uzbek (’17) and Tajik (’21). Her research examines social organizations and neighborhood politics in both old towns and newly built residential areas during the modernization projects that transformed Central Asian cities after the 1950s. She focuses in particular on the debates between local authorities in Soviet Uzbekistan and Moscow over how to integrate cultural practices and traditional urban forms into these state-led development efforts.
She has conducted archival research in Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, supported by fellowships including FLAS for the study of Uzbek and Tajik languages, and Title VIII for the Study of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. She has held research positions at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Moscow State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Kennan Institute, and was most recently a guest researcher at the Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Uppsala University.
Badillo Castro is currently a professor of social sciences at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. In addition to her academic work, she hosts New Books Network en español, where she interviews authors of recent publications on Asia and the Middle East. She also regularly contributes to Latin American media, including NTN24, Bloomberg TV, BBC Mundo, and France 24, offering analysis on international affairs and regional geopolitics.