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Lecturer(s)
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Lavička Martin, Bc. M.A., Ph.D.
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Muhetaer Mukaidaisi, MA
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Course content
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1. Theoretical Framework: Center, Periphery, and Borders 2. The Historical Formation of China's Peripheries 3. The Concept of a "Multiethnic Nation-State with Chinese Characteristics" 4. Governing the Peripheries - Autonomy, Law, and the Institutional Framework 5. Xinjiang - Colonization, Securitization, and the Digital State 6. Tibet - Autonomy, Religion, and Identity 7. Inner Mongolia - Language Policy and Sinicization 8. Yunnan and the Southwestern Periphery - State Power, Local Societies, and Borderlands 9. Religious Peripheries - Hui, Muslim Communities, and the Regulation of Islam 10. Hong Kong - Autonomy, Protests, and the "One Country, Two Systems" Model 11. Taiwan - From an Imperial Periphery to a Geopolitical Flashpoint 12. New Forms of Peripheries - Digital Peripheries, Infrastructure, and Global Projects
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lecture, Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming)
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Learning outcomes
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The course focuses on the dynamics of relations between the center and the peripheries in the People's Republic of China as well as in earlier state formations (e.g., the Qing Empire). Its aim is to show how the Chinese state shapes, administers, and controls its geographical, ethnic, cultural, and political peripheries, while also illustrating how these peripheries, in turn, influence state policy, identity, and international relations. The course interweaves theories of center-periphery relations, the concept of borders and borderlands, regional ethnography, colonialism, issues of sovereignty, policies toward ethnic and religious minorities, and contemporary tools of so-called digital governance. Students will engage not only with specific policies but also with the narratives, discourses, and the various ways in which local actors actively participate in shaping developments.
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Prerequisites
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Advanced level of English is expected
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Written exam, Student performance
To obtain the course credit, students must participate actively in class, regularly study the assigned readings, and complete a mid-term test that assesses their understanding of key concepts, theoretical frameworks, and historical contexts. The course requirements also include an individual or pair presentation focused on a selected case study of one of China's peripheries, accompanied by a brief written summary. The course concludes with a final exam.
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Recommended literature
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David Tobin. (2020). Securing China?s Northwest Frontier: Identity and Insecurity in Xinjiang. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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He Ming, David C. Lewis. (2020). Ethnicity and Religion in Southwest China. London: Routledge.
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James A. Millward. (2007). Eurasian crossroads: a history of Xinjiang. New York: Columbia University Press.
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Trine Brox, Ildikó Bellér-Hann. (2014). On the Fringes of the Harmonious Society. Copenhagen: NIAS Press.
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Xiaowei Zhang. (2015). Ethnicity in China: a critical introduction. NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
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