The Eleventh Annual Conference of the Central and Inner Asia Seminar (CIAS 2005) was held in the Croft Chapter House, University College, University of Toronto on May 12-15, 2005. A copy of the program and abstracts can be found here (97 KB pdf file).
The theme this year was "Traders and Trade Routes of Central and Inner Asia: The Silk Road Then and Now". The region has been known throughout history for its trading culture. The "Silk Road", by which goods were transported overland between China and the Mediterranean, is the most famous trade route ever known. However, political conflicts have for many years bedeviled the prosperity of all concerned. As international trade and development return to Central Asia and Mongolia, so also does prosperity and, with it, renewed interest in history and cultural exchange.
A review of the conference can be found in pages 69-71 of the Central Eurasian Studies Review 5-1 (Winter 2006), available here in PDF format.
The proceedings of the conference will be published in Toronto Studies in Central and Inner Asia as Volume 8. Volume 7, the papers from CIAS 2004, are now available.
