The Third Space, Nomos and the Search for Identity in the Intellectual History of Kazakhstan (Based on the Early Works of O. O. Suleimenov)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.1.19Keywords:
third space, hybridity, intellectual history, nomadology, identity, Olzhas Suleimenov, Soviet KazakhstanAbstract
The article analyzes the early poetic works of the Kazakhstani poet O. Suleimenov within the frameworks of H. Bhabha’s theories of hybridity and the “third space”, as well as G. Deleuze’s and F. Guattari’s concepts of nomos and nomadology. The sources of the study are the poet’s works published in collections of poems and long poems in the 1960s.
It is noted that in Soviet Kazakhstan of this period culture had a heterogeneous, non-homogeneous hybrid character that incorporated different traditions. This contributed to the intensification of intellectual history and prompted engagement with philosophical questions and the search for both personal and collective identity. Such themes are vividly expressed in the early works of O. Suleimenov.
The poet employed a specific mechanism for constructing identity, appealing to the natural-geographical categories of being: the elements of terrestrial space (steppe, mountains, cities) and of the cosmos (Sun, Moon). Through these categories, as well as through recourse to history, the poet sought to comprehend and reflect upon the condition of hybridity and the place of Kazakh culture within it (more broadly, Turkic, Asian, formerly nomadic culture).
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Yerekesheva L. G. The Third Space, Nomos and the Search for Identity in the Intellectual History of Kazakhstan (Based on the Early Works of O. O. Suleimenov). New Research of Tuva, 2026, no. 1, pp. 345-366 (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.1.19
Author Biography
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Laura G. Yerekesheva Al-Farabi Kazakh National University; International Centre for Rapprochement of Cultures
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Research-Professor, Department of Middle East and South Asia, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University;
Leading Research Fellow, International Centre for Rapprochement of Cultures (UNESCO Category 2).
Postal addresses: 71 Al-Farabi Ave., 050040, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan; 120 Kunayeva St. 050010, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
Email: Laura.Yerekesheva@kaznu.edu.kz
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