Sociology Week: Interview with Nasima Abdulloeva

April 22, 2013

-Tell us please, why did you choose AUCA? And why Sociology?

AUCA was a “Dream University” for me since I was studying at high school, I remember my Mom always telling me about this University and she was always wishing that I would study here. I always tried to reach this goal and to do my best to get accepted to this University. It was one of the main achievements in my life that I am proud of! American University of Central Asia in my understanding gives me great opportunity to gain high quality education; it allows me to think outside the box. The professional teachers and great students motivate me to study hard and reach my career goals. I chose sociology as my major because I always wanted to work with people, to develop certain social projects and to study society in order to make changes that would improve the life of people, even if of a small group. I always wanted to have an exciting job; therefore sociology is perfect for me.

 

- Tell us about your favorite classes from sociology, why do you like it?

I would like to say that all the courses in our department are good in their own way; they teach different approaches and touch upon various issues. Personally I enjoyed very much the courses named “Identity and Differences”, “Social Stratification” and “Population and Development”. Identity and Difference gave me new insight into how our identities are formed and shaped, how we become who we are. This is a very unique course in the sense that there I studied my own identity. Moreover during Social Stratification and Population and Development we analyzed different social problems such as poverty, inequality in society and position of women in particular, population health and many other problems. So these courses are very practical and relevant to our own social context and reality.

 

-Did you participate in any projects, competitions or events from your department? If yes, could you please tell a little bit about it

Usually every year our department organizes 8^th of March- International Women’s Day, but this event is celebrated in a very unusual and I would say unique way by our department. Because this holiday is not only about congratulating women and giving them flowers, but it is about analyzing and rethinking the position of women in our society, in a way to shed light on various aspects of women’s life. This year it was very fun and I tried to participate and help in any way I could. There were various activities such as making “dolls”-to try to think outside the stereotypes. Besides that there were dances, music, live performances and many other entertaining activities. I believe that by organizing such events we can bring important issues into discussion and further take steps to empower women.

 

-Did you participate in any summer schools or trainings abroad?

I have participated in a conference in Turkey last year, which was called “1^st International Youth Movement”. This conference was directly linked to my field of study, because we tried to develop certain social and economic projects that would improve the livelihood of people in our countries. There were discussions about what social problems we face nowadays and possible ways to overcome them, by being active members of our society. Youth from around Eurasian and African continent gathered there, it was a valuable experience for me.

 

-What did your department give you?

Sociology taught me to look deeper into the origin of social phenomena, to question everything which enhances my understanding of the world around me. Thanks to our professors we developed new analytical and critical skills that help us to see the things that others would not usually notice. I started to think more deeply about society, about how everything works, to analyze things that I took for granted before. This is very valuable to me, because all these skills help me to be more reflexive and think outside the box. Sociology taught me to look deeper into the origin of social phenomena, to question everything which enhances my understanding of the world around me. 

 

- Who do you want to be after graduation? In what field are you going to work?

Right now I am thinking of continuing my education in the field of Social Work and Public Health. I am very passionate about this type of work, I like interacting with people, to see the results of my work and the help people can receive from such professionals. Therefore this type of degree will allow me to work both with individual cases and on a broader level, to develop certain social projects aiming at improving the health facilities or accommodations for people. It is a field with endless opportunities.

 

- All sociology students need to pass their internship as in other AUCA departments. What was your internship? What did you do? Was it interesting and helpful?

We had to pass two internships during these four years of study. Both times I was passing my internship in two organizations in Tajikistan, one of them was public organization called “Prizma”. During that time I was participating in their research which aimed at analyzing the facilities and services provided for people with HIV/AIDS. We took in-depth interviews with health professionals and visited different clinics in Dushanbe, where we asked about which services are provided to people with such diagnosis and how they are trying to deal with this problem in Tajikistan. The second time I passed my internship in an organization named as “International Organization for Migration in Tajikistan”. There I took part in research dealing with environmentally displaced people and their livelihood in new places. It is very important to note that both of these internships improved my research skills through taking interviews and by implementing my knowledge in the field. I would like to add that besides that I really started to see and study the problems Tajikistan is facing nowadays.

 

- Tell us about your senior thesis. Why did you choose this particular topic?

The topic of my senior thesis is about ethnic groups, particularly about Pamiris in Bishkek, which originally reside in Tajikistan. I look at which role ethnicity plays in peoples life, how ethnic groups try to organize different cultural events and keep their “ethnic traditions” in a foreign country. So in the scope of my research I look at different events that are organized specifically for members of this ethnic group. I investigated the purpose and importance of these events for the individual members. I choose this topic, because I think it is very relevant to our Central Asian countries, where after the collapse of Soviet Union, ethnicity has become a very important factor in certain political, economic and social domains.

 

-Your wishes and advises to future sociology students

I wish every future sociologist to be passionate about their profession, because I think that this field of study opens a whole new world of opportunities to us and it is much needed in modern time. I would also advise them to be open-minded and come out of their comfort zone. Moreover I think it is important to know that sociology is not an easy field of study, don’t expect it to be smooth and take it seriously, because this profession requires much dedication and hard work. Despite that it is a very interesting and fun field of study, because you study real world, you study yourself and people around you, the society. Sociology is always about thinking and analyzing, from my own experience I can say that these four years in the department of sociology were the most unforgettable and life changing. I express my deepest gratitude to all my professors at the Sociology department and to my amazing course mates who made these years memorable.

 

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