Ethnicity in China lunchtime talk by the Confucius Institute

26 Apr 2011

On Tuesday 3 May (12.30pm-1.30pm) at The Manchester Museum

Confucius Institute China talk: ethnicity in China
With Dr Elena Barabantseva, The University of Manchester

Until recently, the People’s Republic of China has been largely perceived and studied as an ethnically homogenous society. With the recent ethnic clashes in Xinjiang in 2009 and in Tibetan areas in 2008, ethnic diversity and ethnic relations in China have been increasingly high on the political agenda of China's leadership and captured the attention of the audiences worldwide.

However, popular accounts rarely take notice of China's ethnicities beyond the Tibetans and Uyghurs. If they do, the Uyghur and Tibetan cases often serve as the lenses for perceiving other ethnic minorities' lives in China. The prevailing popular accounts present ethnic minorities as suppressed and marginalized people who struggle to express their non-mainstream identities beyond the child-like or rebellious portrayals imposed on them by the Chinese state.

In contrast, this talk will highlight some of the many complex facets of ethnic relations in China which often remain unaccounted for in the Western public discourse.

Part of a series of talks by The Confucius Institute in partnership with The Manchester Museum. Part of the Museum’s China: Journey to the East exhibition.

Book on 0161 275 2648, free, adults and older children

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