Tuesday, 02 Nov 2021
Mecca and the Hajj under Quarantine from Cholera to COVID-19
In light of our current global crisis with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its role in Saudi Arabia's difficult decision to dramatically restrict hajj, umrah, and tourism travel in 2020 and 2021, the relevance of Mecca's pandemic past raises urgent new questions for understanding the present and future of pilgrimage management and even wider questions of mass mobility, tourism, travel restrictions, and border management.
Thursday, 04 Nov 2021
Minorities Report: Indigenous Peoples in Socialist and Post-Socialist China
What are "indigenous peoples" in China, and what are their worlds like? How did the Ming and Qing states manage non-Han indigenous peoples through the native hereditary chieftain system (known as the tusi system)? How did the socialist state create a nation of 56 nationalities, and what were its policies towards so-called "minority nationalities?" Erik Mueggler, University of Michigan, will deliver the Phi Beta Kappa Lecture.