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2009 marks the tenth anniversary of our Inner Asia journal, the leading international English language voice articulating scholarly research into the history, politics, economies and cultures of the often ignored but increasingly important Inner Asia region. Edited at the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit (MIASU), Cambridge, the journal’s emphasis is on the social sciences, humanities and cultural studies. As a refereed journal, published twice a year, it is committed to supporting publication of original research at the highest academic standards.
Supporting the journal is a growing Inner Asia monograph series which this year will see publication of the long-awaited two-volume history of Mongolia, edited by David Sneath and Christopher Kaplonksi, as well as important studies on concepts of geneology, kinship and ‘tribalism’ in the Kyrgyz Republic, and Darhad shaman power in contemporary Mongolia.
In addition, we celebrate publication this year of the first volume of Alexander Vovin’s new translation of Japan’s literary epic, the Man’yōshū. This is one of those rare publishing moments when the anticipated long-term significance of the work can be justifiably recorded ahead of publication. Unlike previous ‘free’ translations, the author seeks to preserve the flavour, sounds and semantics of the original poems, supported by kana transliteration, romanization, glossing and commentary. Beginning with publication of Volume 15 because of its critical linguistic characteristics that assist understanding of the complete anthology, the 20 volumes will be published over time and will mark the life-work of the author, who is also the Editor of our highly regarded Languages of Asia series. |
