IBRAR BHATT & HENG WANG: A Semiotics of Muslimness in China

The Manchester China Institute (MCI)promotes excellence in China studies at the University of Manchester. MCI hosts in-person talks, workshops, and roundtables, and well as webinars with a global reach. Our public events are free and open to all. The University of Manchester is committed to academic independence and thefreedom of speech. The views speakers present are entirely their own, and do not represent those of the University of Manchester or the Manchester China Institute and its directors.

Manchester China Institute

In this in-person talk, Dr Ibrar Bhatt and Heng Wang explore the semiotic heritage of Sino-Muslim communities in China.

Oddfellows Hall (Boardroom)

In this presentation, we delve into the intricate connections between the literacies of religious practice, food heritage, and artistic expression within Sino-Muslim communities in China. Drawing from a comprehensive data set obtained through a study of Sino-Muslim heritage literacy (funded by the Leverhulme Trust), we examine semiotic material prevalent in Sino-Muslim daily life and heritage practice, such as restaurant signage, religious practice, and art work. Additionally, we complement this with insights from interviews with Sino-Muslims about their heritage. Our aim is to understand how signs of ‘Muslimness’ are displayed and manipulated in both nuanced and diverse ways, with respect to their ties to heritage and religion. Through a commitment to everyday heritage literacy, we illustrate how Sino-Muslim heritage is expressed, constructed, and remembered through various intertwined spheres of social activity.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS<a href="https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/ibrar-bhatt" title="https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/ibrar-bhatt" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dr Ibrar Bhatt</a> is Senior Lecturer in Education &amp; Applied Linguistics at Queen’s University Belfast (Northern Ireland, UK). His research interests encompass literacy studies, education, and contemporary digital epistemologies. Between 2021-2023 he was the recipient of a research fellowship funded by the Leverhulme Trust for a study on Sino-Muslim heritage literacy in China. He is author of ‘A Semiotics of Muslimness’ published by Cambridge University Press.

Heng Wang was a researcher on the Sino-Muslim heritage literacy project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust. She is also a teacher of Chinese language and classical Chinese dance, and works at the Chinese Community School in Belfast (Northern Ireland). She holds a Master’s in TESOL &amp; Applied Linguistics, and in her spare time she studies Chinese-Islamic calligraphy and Islamic Theology.

ABOUT THE ORGANISERS<a href="https://www.mci.manchester.ac.uk/" title="https://www.mci.manchester.ac.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Manchester China Institute (MCI)</a> promotes multidisciplinary research, teaching and programming with impact beyond academia, seeking to remedy class, racial, gender, and other inequalities, and to improve mutual understanding in UK-China relations. The MCI is based at the University of Manchester.

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