Just yesterday, I was flipping through an old photocopy of Dr. Jay Dautcher’s Berkeley PhD dissertation in Anthropology, “Folklore and identity in a Uighur community in Xinjiang China”. It’s an excellent read, and it’s based on, I would say, by far the most extensive and perceptive ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Xinjiang by a non-native scholar of which I am aware. The dissertation concerns, broadly, life in a Uyghur mähällä “neighborhood” in Ghulja, with a special focus on social organization. Alongside detailed discussion of topics ranging from family life to magical practices, Dautcher picks out the marketplace as not only a locus of everyday interaction for male members of the community, the place where people meet people, but as the engine of social change, as well. All in all, it is a remarkable piece of anthropological research and a must-read for anyone who honestly wants to understand Uyghur culture and society.
I would go into greater detail, but, as I found out just today, you will soon be able to read it yourself. Dr. Dautcher’s dissertation will soon appear in print under the title Down a Narrow Road: Identity and Masculinity in a Uyghur Community in Xinjiang China. The book, published by Harvard University’s Asia Center, will be released on 15 March. In the meantime, you can pre-order it on Amazon or from Harvard University Press.
You can count on seeing a review on this site sometime late next month.
Update: This book has a website!
