Abstract
How does remoteness emerge from the very connections envisioned to unmake it? And how do connections arise from remoteness? In this talk, I address these questions by taking remoteness and connectivity not as opposites but as entangled forces that condition each other. To explore this evolving nexus, I focus on provisions: the notion of provision denotes, at once, a foresight or visions of a better future, a rule or law, and supplies coming in from the outside. Looking into three junctures of cutting connections and forging ties in the Tajik Pamirs-the Soviet system of Moscow Provisioning, wayfaring Pajero drivers, and international trophy hunting-I show how provisions (of all three kinds) were instrumental in shaping the repeating return of remoteness in the region.
Video
A recording of the lecture can be found here.
