This past spring I was invited to give the keynote address at the Annual Central Eurasian Studies Conference at the University of Indiana. In my talk, Even Unto China: Interpreting Islam in Dialogue, I tried to address some of the difficult theoretical issues that arise in examining cultures in contact, and especially within Islamic Studies. Notions of center and periphery, influence and exchange, authentic and derivative, etc. all need to be addressed in complex ways when dealing with pluralistic societies.

Anyway, John Dechant, PhD graduate in Islamic Studies from IU, created these wonderful posters for the event. My favorite one posted at the top of this post is an image of the Huasi Gongbei 华寺拱北, the mosque and mausoleum complex of Sufi master Ma Laichi 馬來遲 (1673–1753).