Negotiating Inseparability in China: The Xinjiang Class and the Dynamics of Uyghur Identity

Timothy Gross

ISBN 10: 9888528092 / ISBN 13: 9789888528097

Published by Hong Kong Univiersity Press, 2020

About this Item

THERE ARE NO TARIFFS OR CUSTOMS DUTIES ON BOOKS. This is the first book length study of the Xinjiang Class. Based on a longitudinal field research between 2006 to 2017, a period in which Grose spoke with over sixty graduates of the boarding school program, the book offers an assessment of the effectiveness of program in meeting its political goals and a detailed picture of the dynamics of Uyghur identity. The experiences of Uyghur graduates of the Xinjiang Class reveal how young, educated Uyghurs strategically and selectively embrace elements of the corporate Chinese Zhonghua minzu identity in order to stretch the boundaries of a collective Uyghur identity. This identity is expressed through renewed efforts to practice Islam, the insistence on speaking Uyghur, and the reluctance to befriend Han classmates. Excellent condition with no annotations . strong and bright.

Seller Inventory # 445684

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Negotiating Inseparability in China: The Xinjiang Class and the Dynamics of Uyghur Identity
• Publisher: Hong Kong Univiersity Press
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9888528092
• ISBN 13: 9789888528097
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

This is the first book-length study of graduates from the Xinjiang Class, a program that funds senior high school–aged students from Xinjiang, mostly ethnic Uyghur, to attend a four-year course in predominately Han-populated cities in eastern and coastal China. Based on longitudinal field research, Negotiating Inseparability in China: The Xinjiang Class and the Dynamics of Uyghur Identity offers a detailed picture of the multilayered identities of contemporary Uyghur youth and an assessment of the effectiveness of this program in meeting its political goals. The experiences of Xinjiang Class graduates reveal how young, educated Uyghurs strategically and selectively embrace elements of the corporate Chinese Zhonghua minzu identity in order to stretch the boundaries of a nonstate-defined Uyghur identity. Timothy Grose also argues that the impositions of Chinese Mandarin and secular Chinese Communist Party (CCP) values over ethnic minority languages and religion, and physically displacing young Uyghurs from their neighbourhood and cultural environment do not lead to ethnic assimilation, as the CCP apparently expects. Despite pressure from state authorities to urge Xinjiang Class graduates to return after their formal education, the majority of the graduates choose to remain in inner China or to use their Xinjiang Class education as a springboard to seek global citizenship based upon membership in a transnational Islamic community. For those who return to Xinjiang, contrary to the political goal of the program, few intend to serve the CCP, their country, or even their hometown. Instead, their homecomings are marred by disappointment, frustration, and discontent.

About the Author

Timothy Grose is an associate professor of China studies at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.