Roxann Prazniak is Associate Professor of History at the Robert D. Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon. She is the author of "Dialogues Across Civilizations: Sketches in World History from the Chinese and European Experiences" and "Of Camel Kings and Other Things: Rural Rebels Against Modernity in Late Qing China." Her current book-in-progress is "Sudden Appearances: Artistic Departures in Mongol Eurasia."