Gulnar E. Yulghun
Dr. Gulnar Eziz Yulghun has held the position of Preceptor at Harvard University since January 2020, where she instructs courses in Chaghatay (Eastern Middle Turkic, 14th to 20th century) and Uyghur (Southeastern Turkic) languages. She gained her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Kansas, where she also served as a Research and Teaching Assistant specializing in both Uyghur and Chaghatay languages.
Dr. Yulghun’s academic pursuits reside at the intersection of language, literature, and digital humanities, with a particular focus on Uyghur and other Turkic languages. Her principal research centers on the examination of complex predicates in Turkic languages, with an emphasis on syntax and semantics. Additionally, she investigates verb typology across Turkic languages, exploring both historical and contemporary contexts.
As a specialist in the teaching of less commonly taught languages, Dr. Yulghun has made substantial contributions to the scholarly understanding of Uyghur language structures, syntax, and cultural heritage throughout her academic career.
Projects:
“Amplifying Voices: Uyghur Rap as Cultural Resistance, Linguistic Innovation, and Digital Storytelling”, funded by the Provostial Fund for the Art and Humanities. Fall 2025. The resulting outputs—including an academic StoryMap (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8615f4573d4c4233b842bdabeb6eed8a) essay and an interactive lyric learning concept (https://yanmayugen.github.io/rappaper/)—demonstrate how youth culture preserves heritage while navigating complex transnational identity landscapes.
Publications:
Transactions in Xinjiang: Cultural, Socio-economic and Historical Sources on the Chinese Western Regions (1750–1976), based on papers presented at an international workshop held at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin from 16 to 18 July 2025. (https://repository.crossasia.org/receive/crossasia_mods_00000713)