DIGITALIZATION OF EASTERN MANUSCRIPTS OF KAZAKHSTAN AND REINTERPRETATION OF THE WRITTEN HERITAGE OF CENTRAL ASIA

Abstract

The interest of scholars and practitioners in digital transformations in the study of written heritage in post-Soviet countries is driven by the active implementation of digitalization in many areas of public life and the colossal changes it brings. Digital technologies are changing not only the forms and nature of traditional activities but also established visions, guidelines, and assessments of existing knowledge, experience, and traditions.

The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of digitalization on the state of Kazakhstan’s manuscript and archival collections, and, in particular, on the evolving interpretation of the historical and cultural heritage of the Central Asian region. Digital practices are actively being introduced into this field, but a theoretical justification for these processes has not yet been fully provided.

The object of this study is texts in Eastern (Oriental) languages that illuminate the interactions between representatives of Islamic culture and medieval scholarship within the region, as well as later sources reporting on historical events, political figures, and other components of historical memory in Kazakhstan.

The subject of the study is the direct processes of digitalization of archival and manuscript materials, the difficulties and risks in their implementation. The study utilizes an interdisciplinary approach, employing qualitative institutional analysis of archival systems with different document processing models, and textual and quantitative analysis of the collection of Eastern literature. The macro-textual analysis method shifted attention from traditional semantic analysis to the functions and context of document creation. A study of the legal and regulatory frameworks and state digitalization programs of the Republic of Kazakhstan provided insight into the new strategy and infrastructure for transforming archival and manuscript collections and their functions. International scholarly literature on critical archival studies provided key theories and ideas for reassessing the activities of these structures in the context of nation-building and the formation of national identity in the post-Soviet space.

The authors concluded that methodological pluralism in the process of digital centralization is necessary to maintain a balance between interpretations of the shared intellectual heritage of Central Asia and the national history of Kazakhstan.

Keywords: written heritage, manuscripts in Eastern languages, digitalization, intellectual environment, historical memory, reinterpretation, Kazakhstan.