A most interesting book has recently been published on the history of the Province of Xinjiang. When I was in the seminar, the Uyghurs were a minority group in China which interested me. Now , my sister has purchased the book for my personal reading. Eurasian Crossroads:AHistory of Xinjiang by James A. Millward. Millward, a professor of history of Georgetown University conducts a comprehensive study of Xinjiang including its geography and prehistory.Xinjiang as most of you know was the center of the Silk Road.( It was favorably review in the NY Review .) In addition to the Uyghurs, other groups include Kazakhs, Kirghiz, and the Uzbeks. Most of the population is non-Han, and mostly Muslim but in the past they were members of a least six religions.
Again, this is a trove for minority relations and lesson study. When studying minority relations in this setting it provides a whole new perspective on group and minority relations. Furthermore, it dispels China as a homogenous population and counry.