Kyrgyz Education Ministry Endorses UCA’s Humanities Anthology for University Students

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic issued a decree recommending the use of the University of Central Asia’s Aga Khan Humanities Project’s (AKHP) “Introduction to the Humanities” anthology in Kyrgyz and Russian as a learning manual for university students. This new edition, published in 2023, has been meticulously updated to include additional materials from the local Central Asian context, enriching academic discourse with regional perspectives.

The anthology is part of a larger series of eight collections, each accompanied by comprehensive teachers’ manuals, covering various humanities subjects. These resources are currently being taught in more than 60 academic institutions across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The interdisciplinary curriculum of these courses draws on a rich array of readings from literature, history, social sciences, music, architecture, drama, poetry, folklore, and relevant aspects of the natural sciences concerning human origins and consciousness.

The courses emphasise critical thinking by presenting students with questions rather than definitive answers. This pedagogical approach promotes a deep understanding of texts, enhances academic writing and oral expression skills, and encourages students to identify issues, develop perspectives, and appreciate diverse viewpoints.

AKHP plans to continue its mission of enhancing humanities education by reviewing, updating, and translating its anthologies. Over the next five years, one anthology per year will be revised and translated into Tajik, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz.