Thread by @GroseTimothy

This month’s spotlight is being sent not a moment too soon. So much attention is being directed at undeserving "scholarship" on the #Uyghur region, that groundbreaking work is (maybe) going unnoticed. Enter Sär Tynen @sbtynen, a post-doc @Akademie_ved_CR colorado.edu/geography/sara…

Tynen received their PhD in geography from the University of Colorado at Boulder and has published in several peer-reviewed journals including @Pol_Geog_Jl, @Geopolitics_Jl, @spaceandculture as well as edited volumes on urbanization Asia. Their book is under contract @ibtauris

I’ve been an admirer of Sär’s work for quite some time, but most recently read their 2020 @CA_Survey article “Dispossession and displacement of migrant workers: the impact of state terror and economic development on Uyghurs in urban Xinjiang” tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…

Tynen's sustained field work in the region (24 months from 2014 to 2017) is animated by thick description, grounded in mastery of theory, amplified by impressive language skills (Chinese and Uyghur), and remained empathetic to their interlocutors' traumatic experiences.

Specifically, this article brings shocking clarity to the dispossession (i.e. socio-economic realities/processes that strip identity) and displacement (i.e. physical relocation and part of dispossession p. 3) experienced by Uyghurs in their homeland.

Tynen’s central argument is powerful and convincing: “In addition to loss of land and livelihood, [Uyghurs] experience loss of personal autonomy and sovereignty over one’s own body, home, and family, a key goal of state territorial control” (2).

The dynamic interplay between dispossession and displacement is perhaps most apparent among rural Uyghurs who seek opportunities in Urumchi. Many of Tynen’s interlocutors left their hometowns behind them to escape invasive surveillance & tightening restrictions.

Yet, Uyghur migrants were unable to reap the benefits of urban “economic development.” In fact, a popular perception (not necessarily reality) among this group was that government takeover of local resources/markets has disproportionately benefited Han people (10).

This reality created a conundrum and deep despair among Uyghur migrants: Before Uyghur migrants were forced to leave in 2016-17, they were unwilling to return home because of increasing repression in rural areas. Here is an example of where Tynen’s brilliance shines...

...Tynen notes that their interlocutors never used the Uyghur term “to move” (kuchup kelmek) to describe relocation to the city; rather it was described as “to live and stay” (turup qalmaq) (p. 11). In other words, Uyghur migrants were describing a state of “suspension”.

The situation deteriorated even further. Tynen's fieldwork overlapped with the mass incarcerations of 2017 and they witnessed their interlocutors being swallowed up by the CCP’s police state.

In late May 2017, Tynen’s friend confided: “I have to go back to Kashgar now, or I’ll get arrested. They might arrest me or send me to ‘re-education’…I’m not going to call you”(16) Tynen never heard from their friend again.

In light of these experiences, Tynen concludes: “[Uyghur] belonging was based on institutional barriers and structural violence and inequalities based on class and race, not on attachment to place” (17).

You can learn more about Sär Tynen and their groundbreaking work at Tynen’s incredible personal site: sarahtynen.com. The name is one you will want to remember and follow.

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