A Failure in ‘Designed Citizenship’: A Case Study in a Minority-Han Merger School in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

Abstract

Drawing upon the theses of State racism (Michel Foucault), homo sacer (Giorgio Agamben), and safe citizenship (Cynthia Weber), and fieldwork data collected from a multiethnic primary school in Xinjiang, this paper examines the way in which the state agencies of the local government, the school and mainstream citizens design citizenship for Uyghurs, and how Uyghurs interpret and act upon their citizenship. The findings show why, and how, designed citizenship by the mainstream system for Uyghurs has failed to produce a desirably productive force for the prosperity of both the Uyghur community and society at large. The findings require reconsideration of what could be a win-win citizenship for both the state and the citizen.

Developing Theory, Analysis and Strategies to Reduce Educational Disadvantage among Chinese Rural Female Students

“…In general, Han is not only in a leading position with 91.51% of population (National Bureau of Statistics, 2011), but also in other fields, such as economy, culture and education. The term minority has long related to peripheral, barbarian, inferior, backward and distrusted (Yi 2008(Yi ,2016Yang, 2014). For national integration and the disadvantaged position of ethnic minority groups, the government has introduced some polices and regulations to reduce the education gap between Han and ethnic minorities.…”