A China Scholar’s Rendezvous with Islam

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This talk is based on an essay for the upcoming issue of Asian American Matters: A New York Anthology, published by AAARI, discussing the necessary convergence of Islamic Studies and Asian studies. Prof. Ming Xia will elaborate on his own personal and intellectual journey as a China scholar, discovering how Islam has become so essential to understanding conflict and cooperation in China and the East Asian region. Prof. Xia will also propose an Asian perspective in looking at the securitization of Islamic issues in the West and contemplate on some suggestions for solving the so-called clashes of civilizations.

Author Bio

Ming Xia is a Professor of Political Science at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, and a doctoral faculty member at the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Xia previously taught at Fudan University (1988-1991) and served as a residential research fellow at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at George Washington University (2003), and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (2004). At the National University of Singapore, he worked as a visiting research fellow (2004) and a senior visiting research fellow (2011) at the East Asian Institute, and a visiting senior research fellow (2012) at the Asian Research Institute. Dr. Xia’s research interests include political governance and transition in China, organized crime, international political economy, globalization, Asian women in politics, and a comparison of China and India.