B. In recent years, both the U.S. government and the Chinese Government have emphasized the connection between Islam and political militancy, bringing together the American concern about Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and other militant organizations and the Chinese concern about Uyghur separatism. Yet it is abundantly clear that not all Muslims are militants (and of course only a small minority of militants are terrorists, and not all Muslim militants use Islam as the primary basis for their militancy. Examining the propaganda from various East Turkistani websites on the Muslims in China links page, consider how important religion is in their appeal to their followers and sympathizers. What does this tell us about the connection between religion and militancy in the Islamic world? What does it tell us about China's nationality policy? And what does it tell us about the relationship between the U.S. and China?

C. You are reading and hearing in this unit about how the Chinese state has been trying to sendentize Kazak nomads through a series of policies based on the idea that nomadic pastoralism is backward, inefficient, and environmentally harmful. You have already read about similar policies with regard to the Mongol Pastoralists in the previous unit of this class. Yet there seems to be good evidence that these policies do not stop environmental change, and do not necessarily improve the lives of the herders. What is it about the Chinese government's philosophy that makes it impossible for nomads to exist long term in China? Why does the government insist that sedentization is the proper course for peoples such as Kazaks and Mongols?

D. Looking at the various oppositional websites on the Xinjiang and Islam links page, and then looking at the official Chinese government site on the Uyghurs, you might feel like you were reading about two different planets. The one is full of occupation, oppression, slaughter, and misery, while the other is full of construction, education, culture, and song. Both are full of facts, as well. Using the readings on Uyghur politics and society from Bovingdon and Millward, as well as Dautcher's account of everyday life in Down a Narrow Road, show how these two views of Xinjiang/East Turkistan could in fact be describing not only the same planet, but the same region. Finally, use this case study to reflect on what my friend Edgar Winans used to call "The Law of Colonial Ingratitude," which states that in colonial situations, even good works like eradicating disease, educating children, building roads, etc., tend to be unappreciated.

E. Dautcher's Down a Narrow Road is, among other things, a testament to the importance of urban landscape, in the form of the mehelle, or neighborhod to Uyghur people. Now, as described in this New York Times article, and in this longer, translated account from Zhou Yu, plus a NYT update, the PRC government is knocking down many of the mehelle in old Kashgar and replacing them with a combination of modern planned architecture and replicas of traditional buildings. In light of Dautcher's work and what else you know about Uyghurs' relationships with the Chinese state, how do you expect this is going to be received by Kashgar people? Do you think that the adverse reaction by Western tourists and preservationists is, as the Chinese government claims, just a kind of Orientalist longing to keep Uyghurs poor, backward, and photogenic? Would there be a way to go about preserving these historical cityscapes while still modernizing them? Is there a way to do that without creating something that is in fact a working museum?

General guidelines for essays
All essays should be submitted by email to the instructor by 5:00 p.m. on the posted due date. Essays that are submitted late on the due date will be graded down one notch (e.g. A- to B+ or B to B-); essays that come in after the due date will be graded down two notches (e.g. A to B+ or B+ to B-). Essays will be returned with extensive comments by one week from the announced due date and time.

Essays should be between 1500 and 2000 words in length, not counting bibliographic references. You may use any style (footnotes, endnotes, or embedded author and date) for references, as long as it is clear where you have gotten your information. Quotations should always be referenced, as should any information that is taken explicitly from a given source.