Introductory Topics in Asian Languages and Cultures (290-0-21)

Topic

Intro to Contemporary Tibetan Literature

Instructors

Antonio Terrone
847/467-1636
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall #4-439
Office Hours: times vary by quarter, please contact instructor

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-343: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

AY 25-26 This course explores Tibetan literature beginning in the 1950s when Tibet became part of the newly established People's Republic of China and especially in the 1980s after the end of the Cultural Revolution and the first decade of economic reforms. Despite literary production before the 1950s was largely religious in nature, since the mid-1900s Tibetan writers have embraced fiction and poetry in new ways to reflect on life, rapidly changing worldviews, and critiques of the past as well as the present. This course will introduce students to a number of modern and contemporary Tibetan literary works, mostly secular in nature, including novels, short stories, and, and poetry in English translation, as well as academic studies and scholarly analysis of modern Tibetan literature.

Learning Objectives

developing analytical skills, understanding the cultural and political context, and exploring the literary reflection of changing worldviews.

Teaching Method

Lectures and discussion

Evaluation Method

Participation, response papers, in-class presentations, and term paper

Class Materials (Required)

Tsering Döndrup, The Handsome Monk and Other Stories. Columbia University Press, 2019 ISBN 978-0231190237

Tsering Döndrup, The Red Wind Howls: A Novel. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2025 ISBN 978-0231213738

Tenzin Deckie. Old Demons, New Deities. 21 Short Stories from Tibet. OR Books, 2017 ISBN 978-1944869519

Pema Tseden. Enticement: Stories of Tibet. State University of New York Press, 2018 ISBN 978-1438474267

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area