Situating the Uyghurs Between China and Central Asia (Anthropology and Cultural History in Asia and the Indo-Pacific) - Softcover

Ildikó Bellér-Hann is Research Associate at the Centre for Oriental Studies, Martin Luther University, Germany. M. Cristina Cesàro is an Independent Scholar from Italy. Rachel Harris is Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK. Joanne Smith Finley is Lecturer in Chinese at Newcastle University, UK.

This splendid study of the Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living mostly in western China and Central Asia, is distinguished from other studies by its holistic approach. It examines Uyghur experience not only through politics and history, but with emphasis also on cultural matters like music and food. This is a major contribution to our understanding of these important people. Colin Mackerras, Griffith University, Australia 'Some of the best scholarship, from history and literature and music, to anthropology and sociology, is represented in this collection, which emerged from a conference at SOAS in 2002...the contributors are all experts in their various fields and are speaking largely to other specalists on the region. However, for one who knows a little about the region, it is a very worthwhile collection that provides insights into the current situation of the Uyghur from a determinedly disengaged scholarly stance...' The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology '...this collection provides students and scholars alike with a valuable introduction, and more, to the authors' multiple perspectives on the Uyghurs. Meanwhile, contributions by three Uyghur authors demonstrate the great progress that the volume has made in drawing together local scholars...a "must-read" and certainly one of the best publications on the Uyghurs in recent years.' The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 'Through twelve contributions, this well-organised volume, while examining different aspects of this complexity, maintains a consistent analysis on the paradoxical identity of the Uighur defined as "in-between-ness".' Central Eurasian Reader