"When They Come For Your Identity: The Ongoing Destruction of Living and Historical Heritage in the Uyghur Region, China"

Since 2017, a cultural genocide is unfolding in Western China. This illustrated lecture reveals the staggering scope: The living, historical, and archaeological heritage of the Uyghurs, the Kazakhs and other indigenous peoples is being systematically demolished. Pilgrimage sites and houses of worship are razed, historical cemeteries obliterated (one dating to 960AD), indigenous architecture destroyed -- even home interior decoration is forcibly torn down. Native cultural and religious practices are forbidden; hundreds of native artists, poets, musicians, and academics have been disappeared into concentration camps, alongside hundreds of thousands of other innocent people. This presentation focuses on the material destruction, and places it in the context of the unfolding genocide.

I also discuss how the campaign relates to the legal constraints of the 1948 U.N. Genocide Convention (from which cultural genocide was dropped, due to objections from the former colonial powers), and to China's current commitments to cultural heritage protection as a human right, as defined in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2018 -- the closest we have to a legal writ against cultural genocide. I also look briefly at how the new Chinese state program of accelerated, forced cultural assimilation is being expanded to Tibetans and other non-Chinese peoples ruled by China.

About the speaker:

Magnus Fiskesjö is an associate professor of anthropology and core faculty member of the Cornell Institute of Archaeology & Material Studies (CIAMS). Professor Fiskesjö's research concerns ethnic relations and political anthropology in China and Southeast Asia. He is affiliated with the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies as a steering committee and/or core faculty member of the Judith Reppy Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, the East Asia Program and the Southeast Asia Program.

In Genetic Afterlives: Black Jewish Indigeneity in South Africa, Noah Tamarkin considers new ways to think about belonging that can acknowledge the importance of historical and sacred ties to land without valorizing autochthony, borders, or other technologies of exclusion.

Tamarkin will join a panel of anthropology professors from around the country to discuss his recently published book, which analyzes the Lemba people of South Africa and illustrates how they have given their own meanings to the results of DNA tests and employed them to manage competing claims of Jewish ethnic and religious identity, African indigeneity, and South African citizenship.

Noah Tamarkin, Author of Genetic Afterlives, Cornell UniversityYulia Egorova, Durham UniversityJonathan Marks, UNC CharlotteKaren-Sue Taussig, University of MinnesotaRayna Rapp, New York UniversityCasey Golomski, University of New HampshireJ. Lorand Matory, Duke UniversityKimberly Arkin, Boston UniversityJonathan Boyarin, Cornell UniversityModerator: Juno Parreñas, Cornell UniversityThis talk is part of Reimagining Citizenship, a speaker series by Cornell Migrations.

Co-sponsored by the Cornell Departments of Anthropology and Science & Technology Studies, Africana Studies & Research Center. Hosted by eCornell.

A Webinar Sponsored by The Levinson China & Asia-Pacific Studies Program

Issues in African Development Special Topic Seminar Series (CRP 4770/6770) - Fall 2020 Theme: Environment, Sustainability and Health Challenges in Africa: Managing Human-Nature Interactions. Issues in African Development Seminar Series examines critical concerns in contemporary Africa using a different theme each semester. The seminars provide a forum for participants to explore alternative perspectives and exchange ideas. They are also a focal activity for students and faculty interested in African development. In addition, prepares students for higher level courses on African economic, social and political development. The presentations are designed for students who are interested in development, Africa’s place in global studies, want to know about the peoples, cultures and societies that call Africa home, and explore development theories and alternate viewpoints on development.

Issues in African Development Special Topic Seminar Series (CRP 4770/6770) - Fall 2020 Theme: Environment, Sustainability and Health Challenges in Africa: Managing Human-Nature Interactions. Issues in African Development Seminar Series examines critical concerns in contemporary Africa using a different theme each semester. The seminars provide a forum for participants to explore alternative perspectives and exchange ideas. They are also a focal activity for students and faculty interested in African development. In addition, prepares students for higher level courses on African economic, social and political development. The presentations are designed for students who are interested in development, Africa’s place in global studies, want to know about the peoples, cultures and societies that call Africa home, and explore development theories and alternate viewpoints on development.

Please join us for a virtual talk by Matthew D. Milligan, Visiting Assistant Professor at Trinity University. Professor Milligan researches Indian and Sri Lankan religious history, focusing on the social and economic history of religions in these regions. A specialist in epigraphy and material culture, Milligan reads Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit material cultural sources together with canonical and non-canonical religious literature.

This event is funded by the GPSA and generously co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies, the Department of History, the Religious Studies Program, the South Asia Program and the Southeast Asia Program. All are welcome to attend: please register through CampusGroups to receive the Zoom link.

Please contact Bruno at bms297@cornell.edu for any special arrangements you may require in order to attend this event.