Chinese ethnic minorities, followed by an overview of the Tibetan issue

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 Chinese ethnic minorities

Throughout China’s history, its ethnic minorities, known as shaoshu minzu (少数民族) have vacillated between integration and independence with respect to the national power centre. During the 1950s, the new government under Mao Zedong undertook an ethnic classification and gave 55 groups national minority status. The integration of minorities and the promotion of their distinct traits have, on the whole, put minorities in a difficult situation within the Chinese nation. Considered to be part of the Chinese state, they are still used for comparitive purposes to define Han Chinese as more civilized and advanced.

Lecturer:

Jean Michaud
Professor
Department of Anthropology
Université Laval

Mandatory readings:

 TAPP, Nicholas, (2002). “In Defence of the Archaic: A Reconsideration of the 1950s Ethnic Classification Project in China”, Asian Ethnicity 3, no. 1, pp. 63–84.

 MICHAUD, Jean, (2006). "Introduction" in Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.

 MACKERRAS, Colin, (2003). “Ethnic Minorities in China”, in Ethnicity in Asia, ed. C. MacKerras. London: Routledge Curzon, pp.15-47.

 The Tibetan issue

The debate about Tibet is becoming more and more black and white: we choose sides even before discussion has begun, siding either with Beijing or Dharamsala. The intersection between these two positions is almost non-existent, with the divergent standpoints quickly descending into competition for the legitimacy of one’s own version of history and current affairs, full of emotions, indignation and accusations. Both sides have little doubt about their opinions. Yet for the following questions, the answers may not be as simple as one imagines. Why has Tibet become an issue? Was Tibet independent before 1951? What caused the revolt in 1959? Why is there no country that recognizes Tibet as a sovereign state? What are the consequences of the pro-Tibet demonstrations prior to the Beijing Olympics? What will be the future of the Tibetan cause after the death of the Dalai Lama?

Lecturer:

Zhiming Chen
Assistant professor
Department of Political Science
Université de Montréal

Mandatory readings:

 GOLDSTEIN, Melvyn C., (1999). The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet and the Dalai Lama. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.