NARA Masashi

Staff Members

NARA Masashi

Associate Professor
Center for Cultural Resource Studies

Research Specialization	Cultural Anthropology, Chinese Area Studies, Islamic Area Studies
Individual Research Projects	An Anthropological Study of Religions and Mobilities: A Case Study of Hui Muslims in Contemporary China

Academic Qualifications

B.A. University of Tsukuba. 2005
M.A. University of Tsukuba. 2008
Ph.D. University of Tsukuba. 2014

Research Interests

Change of Islamic Practices in Chinese Area, Autonomy for Minority Groups, the Religious and Public Sphere, Generation of the Religious through Mobilities

Current Research Topics

Relationship between the Religious and Mobilities

Research Keywords

China, Minority, Hui People, Muslim, Religion, Autonomy, State, Power, Public Sphere, Mobility, Tourism

Selected Publications

2016	“Islamic Movements” in Contemporary China: An Ethnography of Hui Muslims Surviving the Living with Difficulties (in Japanese). Tokyo: Fukyosha.
2015	Ethnic Minorities Living in “the Periphery”: The Politics of the Unity of the People in Contemporary China (in Japanese). Tokyo: Benseishuppan (co-edited with Mitsuo Sawai).
2014	Religiosity Going back and forth between “Huizu” and “Muslims”: A Case Study of Hui Society in Kunming, Yunnan Province (in Chinese). Anthropology of Religion 5: 324-340.
2013	Between Hanization and Islamic Revival: A Case Study of Islamic Missionary Activities Carried out by Hui Muslim Students in Yunnan Province, China (in Japanese). Religion & Society 19: 33-47.

Publications (English publications only)

2018	Autonomy in Movement: Informal Islamic Pedagogical Activities among Hui Muslims in China. Déjà Lu 6: 1-51.
2018	A Change in the Ethnicity/Religiosity of the Hui People and Tourism Development: A Case Study of Hui Muslim Society in Yunnan Province, China. Proceedings: International Symposium “Ethnicities in China and their Interaction with Global Society in the era of BELT and ROAD INITIATIVE”, 22-34.
2016	Islamic Revival through Entanglements of “the Religious” and “the Secular”: The Islamic Missionary Activity by Hui Muslims in Yunnan Province, China. In Zhenghe Forum: Connecting China and the Muslim World. Haiyun Ma and Chai Shaojin, Ngeow Chow Bing (eds.), pp.175-196, Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press.
2015	A Change in Religious Authority and the Dilemma of Ordinary Muslims: A Case Study of Hui Society in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. In Revisiting Colonial and Post-Colonial: Anthropological Studies of the Cultural Interface. Heung Wah Wong and Keiji Maegawa (eds.), pp.97-128. Los Angeles: Bridge21 Publications.
2013	Fragmented yet Associated: Waqf Activities in an Urban Hui Muslim Internet Community. Inter Faculty 4: 35-58.

Presentations

2018	“A Change in the Ethnicity/Religiosity of the Hui People and Tourism Development: A Case Study of Hui Muslim Society in Yunnan Province, China.” International Symposium “Ethnicities in China and their Interaction with Global Society in the era of BELT and ROAD INITIATIVE,” Waseda University, Japan, 4 November.
2017	“Relationships between Religiosity and Ethnicity of Hui Muslims: A Change in Textbooks of Islamic Education in Yunnan Province, China.” East Asian Anthropological Association Conference 2017, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 15 October.
2017	“Keep on Moving: Informal Islamic Pedagogical activities amongst Hui Muslims in Contemporary China.” Ethnographies of Islam in China, SOAS China Institute, United Kingdom, 28 March.
2016	“A Change in Inter-ethnic Relationships amongst Hui Muslims: Entanglements of Islamic Revival and Ethnic Tourism in Contemporary China.” The 19th Hokkaido University and Seoul National University Joint Symposium: Re-imagining East Asia in Tourism, Hokkaido University, Japan, 25 November.
2016	“Beyond the Concept of Religion through Fieldwork in Japan-China.” Post-Graduate Workshop on Academic Japanese Language Communication, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, 12 January.
2015	“Openness Through Purification: Islamic Revival amongst Hui Muslims in Yunnan Province, China.” XXI World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR), University of Erfurt, Germany, 25 August.
2015	“Islamic Revival through Entanglements of “the Religious” and “the Secular”: The Islamic Missionary Activity by Hui Muslims in Yunnan Province, China.” International Conference ”Reconnecting China with the Muslim World,” University of Malaya, Malaysia, 11 August.
2015	“Keeping Things Flowing: Where Autonomy Hides and Resides for Muslim Minorities in China.” «FRONTIÈRES ET MOBILITÉS DES HOMMES ET DES IDÉES EN ASIE» Premières Rencontres Nationales des Jeunes Chercheur.e.s en Études Asiatiques, Université de Bordeaux, France, 26 May.
2014	“Autonomy in movement: informal Islamic activities amongst Hui Muslims in China.” The International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) Inter-Congress 2014, Makuhari-Messe, Japan, 18 May.
2013	“Entanglements of “the Religious” and “the Secular”: A Case Study Hui Muslim Islamic Missionary Activities in Kunming, China.” The 5th Annual Postgraduate Student Forum on Asian Anthropology: “Conceptions, Perspectives and Debates,” Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 18 January.
2012	“Fragmented yet Associated: A Case Study of an Urban Hui Muslim Internet Community Centered in Yunnan Province, China.” East Asian Anthropological Association Conference 2012 “The World in East Asia/East Asia in the World,” Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 6 July.