Thursday, Febuary 21th, 3:30pm
Thomson 317
University of Washington

James A. Millward is Associate Professor of History in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His teaching and research has focused on the relations and linkages between China and Inner Asia, particularly the Xinjiang region (his recent book, /Eurasian Crossroads/, is a history of Chinese Central Asia). Currently he is at work on a world history of stringed instruments, from earliest origins to the globalization of the guitar.

In this talk, Millward provides a broad perspective on the history and current affairs of the region known as Xinjiang or Chinese Central Asia, touching on three themes: the role of geography and the environment; the region's broader linkages to Eurasian centers; and the changing modes of political and social identity embraced by the region's inhabitants. While Xinjiang is often considered a remote, peripheral place, Millward shows how its history has in fact been defined by its connectedness and communications between the Mediterranean basin, India, China and the world.