Events

Past Event

Regional Differences in Tibetan Language and Education Policies in the People's Republic of China, 2008-present

November 18, 2021
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
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Online

Moderator: Lauran Hartley, Director, Modern Tibetan Studies Program (MTSP)

Discussant: Pema Bhum, The Latse Project  

With extensive fieldwork experience in Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces, conducted during 2017-2021, Dr. Jia Luo brings training in the sociology of education and sociolinguistics to better understand the current situation of Tibetan medium instruction. He offers both a critical and personal perspective to this important issue which intersects with socio-economic realities, national priorities, and local practices.  Due to the COVID pandemic, Dr. Jia Luo was unable to return to the US in 2020 and used the opportunity to conduct fieldwork on regional differences in the implementation of minority language laws in Tibetan-area primary and middle-schools. His talk will highlight his findings.

Dr. Jia Luo is the author of Social Structuration in Tibetan Society: Education, Society, and Spirituality (Lexington Books, 2021). He received his PhD from the University of Toronto, and was awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) Fellowship for his research entitled “Culturally-Relevant Education for Minority and Rural Villages in Asia.” From 2017-2020, he was appointed Full Professor at the Institute for Studies in Education (ISE) at Yunnan Normal University. He also taught previously in the Department of Tibetan Language and Culture at the Northwest University for Nationalities (1995-2004) in Lanzhou.  Dr. Jia Luo's research interests cover educational sociology; structuration theory; Tibetan Buddhism in society; mother-tongue language policy; indigenous knowledge in curriculum; social-cultural reproduction; sociology of spirituality; and multilingualism in Asia. 

Contact Information

Lauran Hartley