In this presentation, Ibrar Bhatt delves into the intricate connections between the literacies of religious practice, food heritage, and artistic expression within Sino-Muslim communities in Mainland China. Drawing from a comprehensive data set of images, artefacts and interviews obtained through a study of Sino-Muslim heritage literacy (funded by the Leverhulme Trust), he examines semiotic material prevalent in Sino-Muslim daily life and heritage practice, such as restaurant signage, religious education, and artwork. He discusses 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, he illustrates how Sino-Muslim heritage is expressed, constructed, and remembered through various intertwined spheres of social activity. As Ibrar is currently engaged in field work in Hong Kong SAR for a project funded by the British Academy, he concludes with further insights on how heritage literacy intersects with commercial conditions and population flows. This, he argues, emphasises the significance of heritage literacy as an important field of study in the context of Hong Kong SAR and the Greater Bay Area.

Note: This is a hybrid event.

Join us in person at the Language Commons Room 3019, HKUST (North Gate > Lift 2 to 3/F)

Can't make it in person? Register here and join us on Zoom! 
https://hkust.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwld--tqzwiEtOhFJINCymj-Xt9gLAiNI9J

Ibrar Bhatt is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences. Education & Social Work at Queen's University Belfast. He has active research interests in literacy studies, linguistic ethnography, and contemporary digital epistemologies. Between 2021-2023 he was a recipient of a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for a study on heritage literacy in China, which involved collaboration with a team across provinces including Ningxia, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Jilin, and Yunnan. He has many published research articles on similar subjects as well.