This course explores issues of ethnic and national identity in the context of the social ecology of the Chinese state, both past and present. It focuses on the material and social relationships that have shaped perceptions of, and interactions between, cultural groups in China and along its frontiers. Drawing on case studies from the Himalayan plateau, Yunnan highlands, Inner Asian steppes, Taiwan, and elsewhere, students examine how sustenance strategies, economic organization, and political administration have influenced the construct of ethnic identity. This course is offered as both AAS 379 and ANT 379.