I’m very grateful to be joined in this episode by Darren Byler, lecturer in anthropology at the University of Washington. Darren’s research focuses on art and culture in Xinjiang and he’s done considerable field work in the region. He’s here to walk us quickly through Uyghur history, to talk about his own work in the region, and to give us a sense of the Chinese government’s campaign to stamp out Uyghur culture under the guise of “counter-terrorism.”

LINKS:

Darren has a website, “The Art of Life in Chinese Central Asia,” that covers art and politics in Northwest China and Central Asia and provides a digital home for Xinjiang artists to tell their stories and display their work. Check it out at LivingOtherwise.com.

Darren also writes a regular column on Xinjiang for supchina.com, which you can find here.

Finally, his recent Guardian piece on high-tech state surveillance in Xinjiang is here.

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