The Renat Maps

The following link redirects to my first entry in a new column hosted by the Central Eurasian Studies Society. The … More

Tense Decisions

By Michael Writing is very difficult. Writing will be very difficult. Writing has been very difficult. The English language allows … More

Maintaining concentration is a problem on more than one level when writing my dissertation. I cannot know how widely spread … More

Johan Gustaf Renat (1682-1744) was an amazing historical figure, a Swedish man with an uncanny skill for survival in strange … More

Traditions, in my experience, are crafted. Which is to say that they do not arise spontaneously out of the thin … More

Previously I wrote that I would use the blog for writing practice, more specifically for writing things outside the scope … More

“Why are you studying the history of the Kazakhs?” I have heard this question many times and it deserves a … More

On a handful of occasions, I have encountered an interesting phenomenon in conversation with some citizens of the Republic of … More

This post is perhaps more rambling than some… I have several areas where my hobbies and my academic interests intersect. … More