Propaganda

In the West, the Uyghur people are a scarcely known ethnic group. Located in the Xinjiang region of far west China, this primarily Islamic minority is increasingly misunderstood. As geopolitics continue to intertwine and fearfully react to the exploits of extremist, terrorists groups such as ISIS, it is crucial that misunderstandings of little-known peoples be clarified. This unit attempts to address both the cultural richness and current challenges of the Uyghur people.

In this lesson, students will learn about China’s systematic repression of the Uighurs, and why the State Department recently labeled it “genocide.” Then they will consider what the U.S. and the world should do next.

This document is a one-week lesson plan consisting of five one-hour lessons on the history of Uyghurs and East Turkistan, and on the modern-day repression campaign being perpetrated against Uyghurs in China by the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).