R Steenberg
Biographic Data
| ID | 40999 |
|---|---|
| NAME | R Steenberg |
| GIVEN NAMES | R |
| FAMILY NAME | Steenberg |
| SIGNATURE | STEENBERG R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Copenhagen |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4156-9415 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Dancing, singing, and ethnography as political acts
Alignment and Alienation
Uyghur marriages in Xinjiang in the 2010s have been characterised by various, sometimes seemingly contradictory trends of modernisation, such as monetisation, simplification, emphasis on ethnic symbolism, displays of piety and the active integration of both Turkish, Western and Chinese elements. This article views these trends as complex, inter-related reactions to the region’s socio-economic transformations and political campaigns. It analyses h…
Introduction. Narratives from Xinjiang
This special issue of ‘Voiced and Voiceless in Xinjiang’ explores the construction of historical and cultural narratives as a complex field of interaction between representatives of the state and minority elites in Chinese Central Asia, with a particular focus on the region known since 1955 as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It shows how narratives, situated in their broader social, political and economic contexts, have been used in div…
Uyghur customs
This article traces the development of the modern concept of ‘Uyghur customs’ in Xinjiang, its rise to popularity in the 1980s-2010s and its demise after 2016. It argues that a certain modern notion of customs took shape in Xinjiang within the frame of modernization policies and the strengthening of formal bureaucracy. This notion, built on ideas introduced in the early twentieth century, defined customs as being distinct from politics, religion …
Document the quotidian transformations of the pandemic
The formal side of informality
This article approaches ‘informal’ modes of organization among Uyghur bazaar traders in Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan in a complex context of increasing state regulatory measures and strong social networks. It captures this organization as a ‘formal side of informality’. The practices comprising it are deemed ‘informal’ from a state-centred perspective, as they are not regulated by the state law or bureaucracy, but they still display a non-state formal…
Development for all? State schemes, security, and marginalization in Kashgar, Xinjiang
The past decade of development schemes has been experienced very differently by various groups within the city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The recent exacerbation of social inequalities, stratification, and tensions in Kashgar is a structural consequence of two phases of government policies: an accelerated formalization of the economy and remodelling of the city-scape as part of modernistic development implemente…
The art of not seeing like a state. On the ideology of “informality”
The concept of “informality” was introduced by anthropologist Keith Hart in the 1970s to point to the economic significance of unregistered labour practices in Ghana. It constitutes an attempt to create a dialogue between anthropology’s local perspective and the state-centered theoretical framework of established social science and economics models derived primarily from the study and common sense of modern, Western society. The concept of “infor…
Embedded rubber sandals
How does a group of Uyghur traders from a village in Atush (Xinjiang, China) end up with a stock of unsellable rubber sandals in Kadamjay (Batken, Kyrgyzstan), and why don’t they compete according to market principles? This article explores the social investments of the traders and their families, and reveals their behaviour to be rational, both economically and socially. It illuminates the business and daily life of Uyghur traders in southern Ky…
The art of not seeing like a state. On the ideology of “informality
The concept of “informality” was introduced by anthropologist Keith Hart in the 1970s to point to the economic significance of unregistered labour practices in Ghana. It constitutes an attempt to create a dialogue between anthropology’s local perspective and the state-centered theoretical framework of established social science and economics models derived primarily from the study and common sense of modern, Western society. The concept of “infor…
Development for all? State schemes, security, and marginalization in Kashgar, Xinjiang
The past decade of development schemes has been experienced very differently by various groups within the city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The recent exacerbation of social inequalities, stratification, and tensions in Kashgar is a structural consequence of two phases of government policies: an accelerated formalization of the economy and remodelling of the city-scape as part of modernistic development implemente…
The art of not seeing like a state. On the ideology of “informality
The concept of “informality” was introduced by anthropologist Keith Hart in the 1970s to point to the economic significance of unregistered labour practices in Ghana. It constitutes an attempt to create a dialogue between anthropology’s local perspective and the state-centered theoretical framework of established social science and economics models derived primarily from the study and common sense of modern, Western society. The concept of “infor…
Embedded rubber sandals
How does a group of Uyghur traders from a village in Atush (Xinjiang, China) end up with a stock of unsellable rubber sandals in Kadamjay (Batken, Kyrgyzstan), and why don’t they compete according to market principles? This article explores the social investments of the traders and their families, and reveals their behaviour to be rational, both economically and socially. It illuminates the business and daily life of Uyghur traders in southern Ky…
Introduction. Narratives from Xinjiang
This special issue of ‘Voiced and Voiceless in Xinjiang’ explores the construction of historical and cultural narratives as a complex field of interaction between representatives of the state and minority elites in Chinese Central Asia, with a particular focus on the region known since 1955 as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It shows how narratives, situated in their broader social, political and economic contexts, have been used in div…
Uyghur customs
This article traces the development of the modern concept of ‘Uyghur customs’ in Xinjiang, its rise to popularity in the 1980s-2010s and its demise after 2016. It argues that a certain modern notion of customs took shape in Xinjiang within the frame of modernization policies and the strengthening of formal bureaucracy. This notion, built on ideas introduced in the early twentieth century, defined customs as being distinct from politics, religion …
The formal side of informality
This article approaches ‘informal’ modes of organization among Uyghur bazaar traders in Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan in a complex context of increasing state regulatory measures and strong social networks. It captures this organization as a ‘formal side of informality’. The practices comprising it are deemed ‘informal’ from a state-centred perspective, as they are not regulated by the state law or bureaucracy, but they still display a non-state formal…
Embedded rubber sandals
How does a group of Uyghur traders from a village in Atush (Xinjiang, China) end up with a stock of unsellable rubber sandals in Kadamjay (Batken, Kyrgyzstan), and why don’t they compete according to market principles? This article explores the social investments of the traders and their families, and reveals their behaviour to be rational, both economically and socially. It illuminates the business and daily life of Uyghur traders in southern Ky…
The art of not seeing like a state. On the ideology of “informality
The concept of “informality” was introduced by anthropologist Keith Hart in the 1970s to point to the economic significance of unregistered labour practices in Ghana. It constitutes an attempt to create a dialogue between anthropology’s local perspective and the state-centered theoretical framework of established social science and economics models derived primarily from the study and common sense of modern, Western society. The concept of “infor…
The art of not seeing like a state. On the ideology of “informality”
The concept of “informality” was introduced by anthropologist Keith Hart in the 1970s to point to the economic significance of unregistered labour practices in Ghana. It constitutes an attempt to create a dialogue between anthropology’s local perspective and the state-centered theoretical framework of established social science and economics models derived primarily from the study and common sense of modern, Western society. The concept of “infor…
Development for all? State schemes, security, and marginalization in Kashgar, Xinjiang
The past decade of development schemes has been experienced very differently by various groups within the city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The recent exacerbation of social inequalities, stratification, and tensions in Kashgar is a structural consequence of two phases of government policies: an accelerated formalization of the economy and remodelling of the city-scape as part of modernistic development implemente…
Document the quotidian transformations of the pandemic
The formal side of informality
This article approaches ‘informal’ modes of organization among Uyghur bazaar traders in Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan in a complex context of increasing state regulatory measures and strong social networks. It captures this organization as a ‘formal side of informality’. The practices comprising it are deemed ‘informal’ from a state-centred perspective, as they are not regulated by the state law or bureaucracy, but they still display a non-state formal…
Alignment and Alienation
Uyghur marriages in Xinjiang in the 2010s have been characterised by various, sometimes seemingly contradictory trends of modernisation, such as monetisation, simplification, emphasis on ethnic symbolism, displays of piety and the active integration of both Turkish, Western and Chinese elements. This article views these trends as complex, inter-related reactions to the region’s socio-economic transformations and political campaigns. It analyses h…
Introduction. Narratives from Xinjiang
This special issue of ‘Voiced and Voiceless in Xinjiang’ explores the construction of historical and cultural narratives as a complex field of interaction between representatives of the state and minority elites in Chinese Central Asia, with a particular focus on the region known since 1955 as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It shows how narratives, situated in their broader social, political and economic contexts, have been used in div…
Uyghur customs
This article traces the development of the modern concept of ‘Uyghur customs’ in Xinjiang, its rise to popularity in the 1980s-2010s and its demise after 2016. It argues that a certain modern notion of customs took shape in Xinjiang within the frame of modernization policies and the strengthening of formal bureaucracy. This notion, built on ideas introduced in the early twentieth century, defined customs as being distinct from politics, religion …
Dancing, singing, and ethnography as political acts
Political science (9 works) · Law (8 works) · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Politics (6 works) · Economics (5 works) · Geography (5 works) · Law (5 works) · Philippine History and Culture (4 works) · State (computer science (4 works)