People, Place, Race, and Nation in Xinjiang, China: Territories of Identity

This book explores how banal racism underpins ideas of self and other, assimilation and modernisation in Xinjiang, China, and postcolonial perspectives on ethnicity, nation, and race. It focuses on how ethnic difference is writ through everyday life, such as who one trusts, what one eats, where one shops, and what time one's clocks are set to. It also unpacks how discourses of Chinese nationalism romanticise empire and promote racialised ways of thinking about Chineseness, how cultural assimilation is being justified through the rhetoric of modernisation, how Islamic sites and Uyghur culture are being secularised and commodified for tourist consumption, and how Uyghur and Han perspectives, including of each other, give insight into the diversity of opinions within both groups.

Format: Hardback
Length: 353 pages
Publication date: 15 November 2022
Publisher: Springer Verlag, Singapore

In a groundbreaking work that draws on interviews with both Uyghurs and Han in Xinjiang, China, and postcolonial perspectives on ethnicity, nation, and race, this book delves into the intricate ways in which banal forms of racism underpin notions of self and other, assimilation, and modernisation in this restive region.

The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) use of forced internment in "re-education camps" and its relentless campaign of cultural assimilation have received widespread international condemnation. Within this broader context, this book takes a closer look at how ethnic difference is woven into the fabric of everyday life. It explores the choices individuals make about whom they trust, what they eat, where they shop, and even the time they set their clocks to, considering that Xinjiang is one of the few places where different ethnic groups follow distinct time zones.

In addition to chapters that examine the coercive "re-education campaign" and the devastating Ürümchi Riots in 2009, this book also uncovers how discourses of Chinese nationalism romanticise empire and perpetuate racialised ways of thinking about Chineseness. It sheds light on how cultural assimilation ("Sinicisation") is being justified through the rhetoric of "modernisation," how Islamic sites and Uyghur culture are being secularised and commodified for tourist consumption, and how Uyghur and Han perspectives, including those of each other, provide valuable insights into the diversity of opinions within both groups.

Drawing on many years of living and working in China, as well as extensive fieldwork and interviews conducted specifically in Xinjiang, this book offers valuable insights to a wide range of readers interested in the region, Uyghur and Han identity, ethnic/national identities in contemporary China, and racisms in non-western contexts.

Weight: 611g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789811937750
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022