This seminar surveys the history of the Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim community of about eleven million living mostly in northwest China. The course draws on a wide range of scholarship on Uyghur history, culture, and religion in order to offer a broad overview of Uyghur history from ancient times to the present. Students will encounter numerous native voices directly through translations of Uyghur literature and historical materials. Through discussion, readings, and written work building to a final paper, students will come to understand Uyghur history in contexts ranging from ancient nomadic empires to twentieth-century Communism.
