2020-2021 Courses
Fall 2020
GU4017: ETHNOGRAPHY AND REPRESENTATION IN TIBET
Faculty: Eveline Washul
This course introduces contemporary Tibetan society through the lens of anthropology and how various representations have produced different understandings of Tibet within China and beyond.
GU4312: TIBETAN SACRED SPACE IN COMPARATIVE CONTEXTS
Faculty: Gray Tuttle
Through interdisciplinary theoretical approaches (mostly in the fields of religion, anthropology, literature, and history), this course engages the genre of writing about sacred space in Tibetan Buddhist culture, addressing the micro (built environment) and macro (natural environment) levels of this important sphere of Tibetan literature. Through Tibetan pilgrimage accounts, place (monasteries, temples, etc) based guidebooks, geographically focused biographies, and pictorial representations of place, the class will consider questions about how place-writing overlaps with religious practice, politics, and history. For comparative purposes, we will read place based writing from Western and other Asian authors, for instance accounts of the guidebooks to and inscriptions at Christian churches, raising questions about the cultural relativity of what makes up sacred space.
GU4410: TIBETAN MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS
Faculty: Gray Tuttle
Through interdisciplinary theoretical approaches (mostly in the fields of religion, anthropology, and history), this course examines THE key institution in Tibetan culture, namely monasteries. We will address the monastery from many different angles, from the physical infrastructure and soteriological justification to its governing documents as well as economic and educational roles.
UN1410: FIRST YEAR CLASSICAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Sonam Tsering
This is an introductory course and no previous knowledge is required. It focuses on developing basic reading and translation skills. Students are also introduced to classical Tibetan through selected readings and guest lectures.
UN 1600: FIRST YEAR MODERN COLLOQUIAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Sonam Tsering
This is an introductory course and no previous knowledge is required. It focuses on developing
basic abilities to speak as well as to read and write in modern Tibetan. Students are
also introduced to modern Tibetan studies through selected readings and guest lectures.
UN2412: SECOND YEAR CLASSICAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Konchog Tseten
This is the second year in the Classical Tibetan language progression. Students will work with faculty to read classical Tibetan texts from various genres and learn to read a variety of classical Tibetan scripts and seals. Prior completion of UN1410: First Year Classical Tibetan or the equivalent required.
UN2603: SECOND YEAR MODERN COLLOQUIAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Sonam Tsering
Completion of UN 1600: First Year Modern Colloquial Tibetan or the equivalent required.
UN 2710: ADVANCED LITERARY TIBETAN
Faculty: Pema Bhum
This two-semester class is designed to assist students who already have the equivalent of at least two-years of Classical Tibetan language study. The course is intended to build on this foundation so that students gain greater proficiency in reading a variety of classical Tibetan writing styles and genres, including texts relevant to their research.
The course readings will focus primarily on texts written during the Ganden Phodrang period up through the 19th century. Over the two semesters, the class will cover three sets of materials: 1) famous or otherwise influential classical works (mostly historical, some literary); 2) important historical texts that have come to light in recent years but are scarcely known in western scholarship; and 3) classical language texts that support the research needs of the enrolled students. Classical Tibetan grammar and other conventions will be identified and discussed in the course of the readings.
UN3611: THIRD YEAR MODERN COLLOQUIAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Sonam Tsering
For those whose knowledge is equivalent to a student who’s completed the Second Year course. The course develops students’ reading comprehension skills through reading selected modern Tibetan literature. Tibetan is used as the medium of instruction and interaction to develop oral fluency and proficiency.
Spring 2021
UN1365: INTRODUCTION TO EAST ASIAN CIVILIZATIONS: TIBET
Faculty: Patrick Booz (See course on Vergil.)
This course seeks to introduce the sweep of Tibetan civilization and its history from its earliest recorded origins to the present. The course examines what civilizational forces shaped Tibet, especially the contributions of Indian Buddhism, sciences and literature, but also Chinese statecraft and sciences. Alongside the chronological history of Tibet, we will explore aspects of social life and culture.
GU4700: THE RISE OF MODERN TIBET: 1600-1913
Faculty: Gray Tuttle (See course on Vergil.)
Designed for students interested in gaining a broad view of Tibetan history from the 1600 to 1913, class cover the institutional history of major Tibetan state structures and their rivals in the Tibetan borderlands. The three main themes we will examine are the cosmopolitan aspects of Tibetan culture, the central role of Buddhist religion in Tibet, and the social and economic world.
GU4712: LOCAL HISTORY IN TIBET
Faculty: Gray Tuttle (See course on Vergil.)
Tibetan culture covers an area roughly the size of Western Europe, yet most regions have not been the subject of sustained historical study. This course is designed for students interested in studying approaches to local history that attempt to ask large questions of relatively small places. Historiographic works from Tibetan studies (where they exist) will be examined in comparison with approaches drawn mainly from European and Chinese studies, as well as theories drawn from North/South American and Southeast Asian contexts. Given the centrality of Buddhist monasteries to Tibetan history (as “urban” centers, banks, governments, educational institutions, etc.) much of the course will deal with these.
GU4729: AMDO: THE TIBETAN, CHINESE, MONGOLIAN, AND MUSLIM INTERFACE
Faculty: Marnyi Gyatso (See course on Vergil.)
This course examines the social and political changes of Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian and Muslim groups in the northern and eastern Tibetan Plateau from the 13th century to the 20th century. It also provides an overview of the complex interactions between the ethnically diverse regional powers in Amdo and the China-based states.
GU4813: TIBET'S RELATIONS WITH CHINA
Faculty: Eveline Washul (See course on Vergil.)
From the 7th to 9th centuries A.D., the Tibetan Empire rose and fell as a major power vying with the Turks, Arabs, and Chinese for control over strategic routes between Asia and Europe known as the Silk Road. This course is an introduction to this early period of Tibetan history, covering its religion, politics, and administration, with an emphasis on its relations with China.
UN1410: FIRST YEAR CLASSICAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Sonam Tsering (See course on Vergil.)
This is an introductory course and no previous knowledge is required. It focuses on developing basic reading and translation skills.Students are also introduced to classical Tibetan through selected readings and guest lectures.
UN 1601: FIRST YEAR MODERN COLLOQUIAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Sonam Tsering (See course on Vergil.)
This is an introductory course and no previous knowledge is required. It focuses on developing basic reading and translation skills. Students are also introduced to classical Tibetan through selected readings and guest lectures.
UN2413: SECOND YEAR CLASSICAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Konchog Tseten (See course on Vergil.)
This is the second year in the Classical Tibetan language progression. Students will work with faculty to read classical Tibetan texts from various genres and learn to read a variety of classical Tibetan scripts and seals. Prior completion of UN1410: First Year Classical Tibetan or the equivalent required.
UN2604: SECOND YEAR MODERN COLLOQUIAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Sonam Tsering (See course on Vergil.)
Completion of UN 1600: First Year Modern Colloquial Tibetan or the equivalent required.
UN 2711: ADVANCED LITERARY TIBETAN
Faculty: Pema Bhum (See course on Vergil.)This two-semester class is designed to assist students who already have the equivalent of at least two-years of Classical Tibetan language study. The course is intended to build on this foundation so that students gain greater proficiency in reading a variety of classical Tibetan writing styles and genres, including texts relevant to their research.
The course readings will focus primarily on texts written during the Ganden Phodrang period up through the 19th century. Over the two semesters, the class will cover three sets of materials: 1) famous or otherwise influential classical works (mostly historical, some literary); 2) important historical texts that have come to light in recent years but are scarcely known in western scholarship; and 3) classical language texts that support the research needs of the enrolled students. Classical Tibetan grammar and other conventions will be identified and discussed in the course of the readings.
UN3612: THIRD YEAR MODERN COLLOQUIAL TIBETAN
Faculty: Sonam Tsering (See course on Vergil.)
For those whose knowledge is equivalent to a student who’s completed the Second Year course. The course develops students’ reading comprehension skills through reading selected modern Tibetan literature. Tibetan is used as the medium of instruction and interaction to develop oral fluency and proficiency.
Note: Course offerings and any sample syllabi are subject to change. For full course meeting and registration information, please see Columbia Vergil.