The papers in this volume all result from field work in the Indian Himalayas and the TAR conducted by the Interdisciplinary Research Unit, Austrian Science Fund. While the research goals were established within the framework of transdisciplinary research, each scholar approaches scientific problems according to the methodologies associated with their respective disciplines: philology, philosophy, history, art history, linguistics, and anthropology. In the contribution published here, Steinkellner, Klimburg-Salter, Widorn, and Jahoda explicate the structure, methods, and advantages of transdisciplinary research. Lasic and Tauscher analyse two different philosophical questions on the basis of manuscripts from Tabo (Spiti) and Gondhla (Lahaul). Pasang Wangdu, Tropper and Ponweiser each examine a Buddhist monument from a different perspective: Keru (TAR), Wanla (Ladakh), and Tabo. Papa-Kalantari and Hein discuss respectively an iconographic problem and oral traditions from Spiti and upper Kinnaur.

This illustrated volume presents a wide variety of themes from the historical and modern periods of Bhutan, illustrating change and adaptation to new realities. Topics covered include the exploration of early history, Buddhism and the lives of Bhutanese Buddhist saints, the changing role of local, non-Buddhist religious practitioners in today’s society, traditional law and the emergence of a modern legal system, and the seasonal celebrations of an aristocratic family from central Bhutan. The book will be of special interest to students of early Tibetan history, legal history, comparative sociology and cultural anthropology of the Himalayan regions.

This volume provides essential readings in the emerging interdisciplinary field of Tibetan literary studies. Chapters range from discussions of individual contemporary texts to theoretical interventions in literary and Tibetan studies.

These essential readings in the emerging field of Tibetan literary studies offer specialists and non-specialists provocative new studies of contemporary Tibetan literature and criticism, ranging from discussions of individual works to theoretical interventions. The nature of Tibetan literature as both a regional voice within China and a transnational voice in the world is explored by L. Hartley on the relationship between the terms rtsom-rig, wen, and literature, F. Robin on historical fiction, L. Maconi on literature in the Yunnan Tibetan areas, T. Dhondup on Mongolian-Tibetan writers, J. Drakpa on poetic explication, P. Schiaffini on the creation of Tibetan subjectivities, F.X. Erhard on magical realism, and Gray Tuttle’s interview with writer and critic Pema Bhum.

Recent archaeological discoveries and scientific research especially focussed on western Tibet and the western Himalayas have resulted in a remarkable redefinition of the historical and cultural processes of the entire Indo-Tibetan civilisation. The present volume reflects these sometimes startling new insights for the first time, covering the wide time range from the Zhang zhung period up to the 20th century, spanning secular, religious and economic history, as well as art and archaeology.

This volume focuses on the interface between Mongolian and Tibetan cultures and aims to create a platform to encourage the development of new forms of scholarship across geographical and disciplinary boundaries. This forum lets new materials emerge and brings to the fore a variety of different approaches to studying Mongolian and Tibetan cultures and societies. The papers in this volume deal not only with the substantial Mongolian contribution to and engagement with Tibetan Buddhism, but also with multiple readings of shared history and religion, reconstruction of traditions, shifting ethnic boundaries and the broader political context of the Mongolian-Tibetan relationship.

This is the first major publication in the West to study modernity and its impact on contemporary Tibet. Based on field work by researchers from the fields of anthropology, sociology, environmental science, literature, art and linguistics, it presents essays on education, economics, childbirth, environment, caste, pop music, media and painting in Tibetan communities today. The findings emerge from studies carried out in Ladakh, Golok, Lhasa, Xining, Shigatse and other areas of the Tibetan world. It will provide important and sometimes surprising results for students of Tibet, China, Himalayan studies, as well as an important contribution to our understandings of modernity and development in the modern world.