Anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas (L48 3051)

Prof. Geoff Childs
Dept. of Anthropology
McMillan Hall 330
Phone: 935-9429
E-Mail: gchilds@artsci.wustl.edu

Course Description
Anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas provides an overview of the people who inhabit one of the most remote and fascinating corners of the earth.  Few places manage to generate so much interest – or so much controversy.  The intent of this course is to explore Tibetan societies from anthropological and historical viewpoints, and to move beyond mere descriptive accounts of Tibetan societies by situating the analysis in reference to the politics of ethnic representation.  In order to accomplish this objective the course is divided into three parts.

Part 1, dedicated to providing contextual background, is a brief survey of Tibetan history and religion.  Special attention is paid to the unique social structures that emerged through the convergence of religion, politics, and economics.  Part 1 concludes with a look at gender and religion, in particular the role of nuns in Tibetan society.  Readings for this section include both Western academic perspectives and indigenous Tibetan literature.

Part 2 centers on the ethnography of Nubri, an ethnically Tibetan enclave in the highlands of Nepal.  The main reading is a soon-to-be published book by Prof. Childs in which he investigates the life course of ordinary and extraordinary villagers through tales from the past and present.  Each stage of the life course (e.g., birth, adolescence, marriage, old age, death) is explored through the eyes of Tibetans themselves so that students gain an “insider’s” perspective on what it is like to live in such a society.  Part 2 concludes with a look at how Tibetan societies are changing through increasing contact with international tourists and mountain climbers.

Part 3 focuses on the politics of ethnicity.  According to conflicting perspectives, modern Tibet is either a land where cultural genocide is underway, or a place that has been uplifted from a barbarous serf system to socialist equity.  Traditional Tibet is alternately depicted as a “land of mystery and imagination” where spiritual pursuits were given precedence over material concerns, or as a feudal theocracy where religion was used as a tool to manipulate the will of the people.  For those who advocate the former viewpoint Tibetans were peaceful followers of Buddhist principles and careful stewards of their pristine environment; for those who advocate the latter viewpoint old Tibet was a hell on earth.  Readings from both sides of the political spectrum are used to show how images of an ethnic “other” are motivated by various political concerns and moral prerogatives. 

In this course students can expect to gain an appreciation for Tibetan culture as well as an understanding of how history, religion, and politics contribute toward the construction of contemporary portrayals of Tibetans and their society.  Students who take this course will further their analytical ability to comprehend the root causes of ethnic conflicts throughout the world.
 
Readings
Although this is an anthropology course, not all of the assigned readings are written by members of this academic discipline.  We will also read studies by religious specialists, historians, travelers, and by Tibetan intellectuals from the past and present.  I will provide background information on the scholars and the significance of their work prior to each assigned reading.  The assignments provide contextual information for understanding the lectures, so reading in a timely manner is essential.  The attached page entitled “Schedule of Readings and Exams” let’s you know the date by which each reading should be completed.  Those readings that are optional are marked as such and are intended for students who wish to explore a particular issue in more depth.

Readings include three books, two of which (Goldstein 1997; Rinpoche and Cutillo 1995) are available at the bookstore and one of which (Childs 2004) will be available as a photocopy (details forthcoming).  All other readings are available through ERes (see attached list for precise citations). 

Books:

Childs, Geoff. 2004. Tibetan Diary: From Birth to Death and Beyond in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Goldstein, Melvyn C. 1997. The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Rinpoche, Lama Kunga and Brian Cutillo (transl.). 1995. Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet’s Beloved Saint, Milarepa. Boston: Wisdom Publications.

ERes (in alphabetical order by author):

Adams, Vincanne. 1996. Karaoke as Modern Lhasa, Tibet: Western Encounters with Cultural Politics. Cultural Anthropology 11(4):510-546.

Anon. 1992. Record of Human Rights in Tibet. Beijing: New Star Publishers.

Atisha, Tenzin. n.d. The Tibetan Approach to Ecology. www.tibet.com.

Burgess, Adrian and Alan Burgess. 1994. The Burgess Book of Lies. Seattle: Cloudcap (“Death of a Sherpa: To a Lost Friend” and “Sherpa Friends”, pp.405-412; pp.421-430).

Cabezon, Jose Ignacio. 1990. Tibetan Language. In White Lotus: An Introduction to Tibetan Culture. C. Elchert and P. Sugden (eds.), 155-158. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications.

Childs, Geoff. n.d. Culture Change in the Name of Cultural Preservation. Himalayan Research Bulletin 22(2).  Special Issue on Tibetan Peoples and Landscapes (forthcoming).

Chophel, Norbu. 1984. Tibetan Superstitions Regarding Childbirth. Tibetan Medicine 7:25-29.

Diemberger, Hildegard. 1993. Gangla Tsechu, Beyul Khenbalung: Pilgrimage to Hidden Valleys, Sacred Mountains and Springs of Life Water in Southern Tibet and Eastern Nepal. In Anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas. C.a.M.B. Ramble, ed. Pp. 60-72. Zurich: Ethnological Museum of the University of Zurich.

Dorje, Rinchen. 1997a. Uncle Tompa as a Young Monk. In Tales of Uncle Tompa: The  Legendary Rascal of Tibet, 17-18. Barrytown: Station Hill Arts.

Dorje, Rinchen. 1997b. Uncle Tompa Reads Holy Scripture. In Tales of Uncle Tompa: The Legendary Rascal of Tibet, 39-41. Barrytown: Station Hill Arts.

Dorje, Rinchen. 1997c. Uncle Tompa Sells Penises at the Nunnery. In Tales of Uncle Tompa:The Legendary Rascal of Tibet, 23-29. Barrytown: Station Hill Arts.

Dudjom Rinpoche. 1991. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History. Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein, transl. Boston: Wisdom Publications (“Introduction” and “The Three Ancestral Religious Kings”, pp.507-522).

Fisher, James. 1990. Sherpas: Reflections on Change in Himalayan Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press (“A Torrent of Tourists”, pp. 108-152).
Goldstein, Melvyn. 1987. When Brothers Share a Wife. Natural History 96(3).

Goldstein, Melvyn C. 1989. A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State. Berkeley: University of California Press (“Introduction”, pp.1-37).

Goldstein, Melvyn C. 1990. Religious Conflict in the Traditional Tibetan State. In Reflections on Tibetan Culture: Essays in Memory of T.V. Wylie, eds. L. Epstein and R. Sherburne, 231-247. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen.

Gutschow, Kim. 2001. The Women Who Refuse to Be Exchanged: Nuns in Zangskar, Northwest India. In Celibacy, Culture, and Society: The Anthropology of Sexual Abstinence, eds. E. Sobo and S. Bell, 47-64. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Gyaltsen, Sakyapa Sonam. 1996. The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet’s Golden Age. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications (“The Descent of the Tibetan Race from a Monkey and a Rock-Ogress, pp.75-79).

Havnevik, Hanna. 1989. Tibetan Buddhist Nuns: History, Cultural Norms and Social Reality.  Oslo: Norwegian University Press (“Cultural Norms and Social Reality”, pp.127-186).

Havnevik, Hanna. 1994. The Role of Nuns in Contemporary Tibet. In Resistance and Reform in Tibet, eds. Robert Barnett and Shirin Akiner, 259-266. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Heberer, Thomas. 2001. Old Tibet a Hell on Earth? The Myth of Tibet and Tibetans in Chinese Art and Propaganda. In Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, eds. T. Dodin and H. Räther, 111-150. Boston: Wisdom.

Huber, Toni. 1997a. Guidebook to Lapchi. In Religions of Tibet in Practice, ed. D. Lopez, 120-134. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Huber, Toni. 1997b. Green Tibetans: A Brief Social History. In Tibetan Culture in the Diaspora, ed. Frank J. Korom, 103-119. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Huber, Toni. 1999. The Cult of Pure Crystal Mountain: Popular Pilgrimage and Visionary Landscape in Southeast Tibet. New York: Oxford University Press (“Tibetan Pilgrimage: Concepts and Practice”, pp.10-20).

Huber, Toni. 2001. Shangri-la in Exile: Representations of Tibetan Identity and Transnational Culture. In Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, eds. T. Dodin and H. Räther, 357-372. Boston: Wisdom.

Jest, Corneille. 1991. Settlements in Dolpo. In Man and His House in the Himalayas, ed. G. Toffin, 193-207. New Delhi: Sterling.

Levine, Nancy E. 1981. The Theory of Rus: Kinship, Descent, and Status in a Tibetan Society. In Asian Highland Societies in Anthropological Perspective, ed. Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf, 52-78. New Delhi: Sterling.

Levine, Nancy E. 1987. Differential Child Care in Three Tibetan Communities: Beyond Son Preference. Population and Development Review 13(2): 281-304.

Lopez, Donald S. 1997. Mindfulness of Death. In Religions of Tibet in Practice, ed. D. Lopez, 421-441. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Lopez, Donald S. 1998. Prisoners of Shangri-La. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (“(Introduction”, pp. 1-13).

Macdonald, Alexander. 1973. The Lama and the General. Kailash 1(3): 225-236.

McGuckin, Eric. 1996. Serious Fun in Shangri-la: Tourism, Gender, and Interethnic Relations in a Tibetan Refugee Settlement. In Anthropology for a Small Planet, ed. M. Anthony, 92-109. Naugatuck: Brandywine Press.

McLagan, Meg. 1997. Mystical Visions in Manhattan: Deploying Culture in the Year of Tibet. In Tibetan Culture in the Diaspora, ed. Frank J. Korom, 69-89. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Monnier, Michel-Acatl. 1993. Talks with Lhasang Tsering. Lungta 7:32-37.

Mullen, Glenn H. 1998. Living in the Face of Death: The Tibetan Tradition. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications (“A Conversation with an Old Man”, pp.89-100).

Norberg-Hodge, Helena. 2001. Tibetan Culture As a Model of Ecological Sustainability. In Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, eds. T. Dodin and H. Räther, 331-338. Boston: Wisdom.

Norbu, Dawa. 1997. Tibet: The Road Ahead. New Delhi: HarperCollins (“Shangri-la is Shattered, pp.95-112).

Norbu, Jamyang. 2001. Behind the Lost Horizon: Demystifying Tibet. In Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, eds. T. Dodin and H. Räther, 373-378. Boston: Wisdom.

Powers, John. 1995. Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications (“Buddhism in India” and “Some Important Buddhist Doctrines”, pp.23-69).

Shakya, Tsering. 1993. Whither the Tsampa Eaters? Himal 6(5): 8-11.

Sangay, Thubten. 1984a. Tibetan Traditions of Childbirth and Childcare. Tibetan Medicine 7:3-24.

Sangay, Thubten. 1984b. Tibetan Ritual for the Dead. Tibetan Medicine 7:30-40.

Sperling, Elliot. 2001. “Orientalism” and Aspects of Violence in the Tibetan Tradition. In Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, eds. T. Dodin and H. Räther, 317-330. Boston: Wisdom.
   
Templeman, David. 1990. Tibetan Literature. In White Lotus: An Introduction to Tibetan Culture. C. Elchert and P. Sugden (eds.), 159-169. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications.

Thurman, Robert. 1990. Tibetan Buddhist Monasticism and Intellectual Culture. In White Lotus: An Introduction to Tibetan Culture. C. Elchert and P. Sugden (eds.), 107-114. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications.

Thurman, Robert. 1999. Worlds of Transformation. In Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, eds. M. Rhie and R. Thurman, 12-44. New York: Tibet House.