Introductory Topics in Asian Languages and Cultures (290-0-20)

Topic

Imagining Tibet

Instructors

Tsering Samdrup
847/467-4419
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall 4-437
Office Hours: varies by quarter, please contact instructor

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-425: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

AY 25-26. Imagining Tibet
This course introduces the constructions and imaginations of Tibet through various representations produced across time by Westerners, Chinese, and Tibetans themselves, each offering different understandings of Tibet. From the early modern period onward, Tibet entered consciousness of outsiders through representations in literary works, and more recently through modern media such as film and the visual arts. However, a monolithic portrayal of Tibet remains prevalent even today, both in public discourse and among expert audiences. This course examines the diversity and contested nature of Tibet, Tibetan people, culture, and language by complicating the various constructions that have emerged and emerging among Tibetans, Westerners, and Chinese.
In this class, students will be introduced to popular literary works and scholarly writings and will analyze paintings and films to explore how different people have imagined Tibetan people, land, and culture across time and space. Readings for the class include, but are not limited to, the scholarly works of Donald Lopez Jr., Martin Brauen, Tsering Shakya, Clare Harris, Fen Lin, Orville Schell, Peter Bishop, Gang Yue, Dibyesh Anand, and others on the Western, Chinese, and Tibetan imagination of Tibet(s), as well as excerpts from literary works such as Seven Years in Tibet, Lost Horizon, The Third Eye, and more, supplemented with occasional screenings of Chinese and Western films about Tibet. Finally, to incorporate Tibetan voices and Tibetan self-representation, we will read scholarly works and literary and biographical writings by Tibetans, and screen films made by Tibetans after the turn of the 21st century.

Teaching Method

Seminar and lecture

Evaluation Method

Participation
Leading discussions
Weekly reading responses
Term papers

Class Materials (Required)

Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West by Donald Lopez Jr. -(ISBN-13: ‎978-0226493114)
The Myth of Shangri-La: Tibet, Travel Writing and the Western Creation of Sacred Landscape by Peter Bishop (ISBN: 0-485-11369-4)

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area