Professor of the University of Washington (USA) Marina Tolmachyova transferred valuable books from her personal collection to the KazNU’s library.

The American scientist arrived at our University on «Fulbright» program to the Department of «World History, Historiography and Source Study». For four months, she has delivered a lecture course on «Eurasia in the Context of World History» for first-year undergraduate historians.

Among the transmitted rare editions are monographs on world history, history and culture of Eurasia and the Middle East, and scientific collections, including Professor’s publications. For example, the publication of the chronicle of the pre-colonial period of the East African city Pat (in present-day Kenya), which it translated into English from the Swahali language. Of interest is the article by Marina Alexandrovna about the greatest traveler of the Middle Ages, Ibn Battuta (XIV century), included in collective monographs on the History of the Medieval East.

The collection also has the latest editions, including translations into Russian of medieval Arabic novellas and poetry. Scientific publications about prominent Russian Orientalists are of great importance among the books donated by the Professor. Her personal choice was the book by Jacob Kumok about her great-grandfather, Alexander Petrovich Karpinsky, the first elected President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (later the USSR Academy of Sciences), known as the «Father of Russian Geology». Books on the history and culture of Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, where Professor Tolmachyova worked for more than four years, are also useful for students of humanities.

In addition, she handed over to the University Library a collection of 200 American films «Hollywood classics». At the ceremony, Marina Alexandrovna highlighted that the films will help the teachers and students of KazNU to improve their English language, and study the history of the film industry and introduce them to the screen versions of the works of foreign classics of literature as well.

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