Events at The University of Manchester
  • University home
  • Events
  • Home
  • Exhibitions
  • Conferences
  • Lectures and seminars
  • Performances
  • Events for prospective students
  • Family events
  • All Events

Rian Thum - Chinese Islams: Real, Invented, and Aspirational

image
Dates:16 November 2021
Times:12:30 - 13:30
What is it:Webinar
Organiser:Manchester China Institute
How much:Free
Speaker:Rian Thum
See travel and contact information
Add to your calendar

More information

  • Eventbrite Registration

Other events

  • In category "Webinar"
  • By Manchester China Institute

Senior Lecturer in East Asian Studies, Rian Thum will be exploring the interpenetration of China and the Muslim World in this online talk.

For different reasons, both scholars and Chinese state authorities have been attracted to the idea of a uniquely Chinese Islam, said to be forged in relative isolation and characterized by a Confucianization of Islamic teachings. The Chinese state has recently enshrined this type of Islam as the only acceptable form, removing “foreign” domes from mosques and placing non-Han Muslims in internment camps. But to what extent has such a separate, “Sinicized”, Islam ever existed?

This talk examines the roots of the Sinicization theory in Anglophone scholarship and scrutinizes its claims through the example of Muslim reading communities in Yunnan at the turn of the 20th century, where the famous “Sinicized” texts circulated alongside Persian and Arabic works of the sort that the Chinese government is attempting to erase today.

Price: Free

Speaker

Rian Thum

Role: Senior Lecturer in East Asian History

Organisation: University of Manchester

Biography: Rian Thum is a specialist in the history and anthropology of Muslims in China at the University of Manchester, where he is a Senior Lecturer. His book, The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History, argues for the central role of sacred sites and local Islamic texts in the maintenance of Uyghur identity. Thum is Associate Editor of the Journal of Asian Studies and a former fellow of the National Humanities Center and the American Council of Learned Societies. In addition to his academic publications, Thum’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and The Nation. Thum’s current book project, Islamic China, is a re-examination of Chinese Islam that takes full account of the numerous Persian and Arabic sources that Chinese-speaking Muslims have used and written.

Travel and Contact Information

Find event

 

Share / follow event

Contact us

  • +44 (0) 161 306 6000

Find us

The University of Manchester
Oxford Rd
Manchester
M13 9PL
UK

Connect with the University

  • Facebook page for The University of Manchester
  • Twitter page for The University of Manchester
  • YouTube page for The University of Manchester
  • Google+ page for The University of Manchester
  • Pinterest page for The University of Manchester

  • Privacy /
  • Copyright notice /
  • Accessibility /
  • Freedom of information /
  • Charitable status /
  • Royal Charter Number: RC000797
  • Close menu
  • Home
    • Featured events
    • Today's events
    • The Whitworth events
    • Manchester Museum events
    • Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre events
    • Martin Harris Centre events
    • The John Rylands Library events
    • Exhibitions
    • Conferences
    • Lectures and seminars
    • Performances
    • Events for prospective students
    • Family events
    • All events