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The Tibetan Graduates Studies Seminar (TGSS) is a weekly series of colloquia and guest lectures at the Oriental Institute.
The intended purpose of the TGSS is to give MPhil and DPhil candidates a platform to present their work-in-progress and receive feedback from staff and affiliated scholars of the field.
Additionally, the weekly time slot will also allow visiting scholars to present their current research.
They are provided with the opportunity to engage in similar ways with both students and fellows of the Tibetan Studies department.
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| # | Episode Title | Description | People | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medicine Mountains along the Himalayas: Healing, Trade, and Ecology | The Greater Himalayas extend through many different kinds of community. This lecture considers several ‘medicine mountains’, particular mountains that fold society and ecology together, and explores them as a comparative category | Will Tuladhar-Douglas | 25 May 2021 | |
| 2 | Why Go on Pilgrimage? Geomancy and the Transformational Powers of Sacred Places in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon | This presentation considers the association between pilgrimage and healing in Tibet through an exploration of the process whereby natural sites are imbued with meaning | Charles Ramble | 25 May 2021 | |
| 3 | Reading khrims Between the Lines: The Rise of Legality in 13th Century Central Tibet | Daniel introduces us to the term khrims and loosk at the “rise of legality” in 13th century Central Tibet. | Daniel Wojahn | 25 May 2021 | |
| 4 | Virūpa is Virūpākṣa: Towards an Indo-Tibetan Siddha Corpus | Westin Harris opens the dialogue between Tibetan, Nāth and Yoga studies centred around the figure of Virūpa | Westin Lee Harris | 12 May 2021 | |
| 5 | Buddhism and Gender Perspectives in Sikkim: Historical and Contemporary Approaches | The talk explores the historical and contemporary influence of women in Sikkim from a Buddhist perspective | Marlene Erschbamer | 10 May 2021 | |
| 6 | Connections in the Making and Meaning of the Art of Bhutan and Tibet in the 17 th and 18 th Centuries: A Study of the Wall Paintings at Tango Monastery | Pu Lan discusses her PhD project, which explores the 17th-century Monastery of Tango and how it illustrates the development of wall painting technology in Bhutan | Pu Lan | 31 Mar 2021 | |
| 7 | The Geluk Domestication of Tantra | Brenton Sullivan presents his new book "Building a Religious Empire: Tibetan Buddhism, Bureaucracy, and the Rise of the Gelukpa" and discuss the third chapter, "Institutionalizing Tantra", in more detail | Brenton Sullivan | 31 Mar 2021 | |
| 8 | The Mongolian Kanjur - Should Tibetologists Care? | Kirill Alekseev presents his latest research on the Mongolian Kanjur and its ramifications in Tibetan Studies | Kirill Alekseev | 16 Mar 2021 | |
| 9 | Layers of Protection: Everyday Life with Empowered Objects | In her talk, Inger Vasstveit discusses “empowered objects” - small Buddhist objects that people wear on their person - in relation to the broader socio-political and cosmological environment in India | Inger Vasstveit | 02 Mar 2021 | |
| 10 | Death by Poisoning: Cautionary Narratives and Inter-Ethnic Accusations in Contemporary Sikkim | Kikee Bhutia talks about the contemporary discourses around ‘othering’ in Sikkim and analyse the region’s inter-ethnic challenges | Kikee Bhutia | 04 Feb 2021 | |
| 11 | Fervent admiration and devotion: Exploring devotional literature in the collected works of the 3rd Dodrupchen | Renée Ford's introduction to the devotional literature in the collected works of the 3rd Dodrupchen composed in admiration of his late teacher Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. | Renée Ford | 02 Feb 2021 | |
| 12 | The Role of Prophecies in the Construction of the Geluk Tradition | In this talk, Michael Ium explores the role of prophecies in the legitimation and construction of the Geluk tradition. | Michael Ium | 03 Dec 2020 | |
| 13 | Liu pin fo lou (Building of Six Classes of Sutra and Tantra), the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon in the Forbidden City | Ziyi Shao takes us to the reign of the Qianlong Emperor and will show us around the Fan hua lou (Hall of Buddhist Efflorescence), one of the most complex and prominent Buddhist monuments in the Forbidden city | Ziyi Shao | 26 Nov 2020 | |
| 14 | Culture of Emotions: Uses and Interpretations of Musical Heritage in the Tibetan Refugee Community of Dharamsala | Chloé Lukasiewicz talk on the significance of music in the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala, India | Chloé Lankiewicz | 19 Nov 2020 | |
| 15 | Buddhism and the Rise of ‘the Tibetans’ (bod pa): Religion, Myth and the Promotion of Ethnicity in the Pre-modern Period | Apropos 'the Tibetans': Reinier Langelaar's talk focuses on the mythical origins and the promotion of ethnicity in historical Tibet | Reinier Langelaar | 05 Nov 2020 | |
| 16 | Human Remains in Tibetan Material Religion: An object centered approach | Ayesha Fuentes shares a unique and interdisciplinary insight into art conservation of human remains in Tibetan material religion | Ayesha Fuentes | 29 Oct 2020 | |
| 17 | Sacred Trash, Trash Talks, And Personhood | Bo Wang discussing the practice of depositing garments as offerings to sacred mountains in Eastern Tibet | Bo Wang | 29 Oct 2020 | |
| 18 | The First Tibetan Block Print: The Khara-Khoto Collection of Precious Dhāraṇīs with the Emperor's Postscript | Alla Sizova discusses the role of translation activities in the spread of Buddhism in the 12th century and outlines the extent of Tibetan influence on the Tangut culture. | Alla A. Sizova | 15 Oct 2020 | |
| 19 | Fictional Facts or Factual Fiction? The Social Reality behind Kha stag ʼDzam yag’s "Diary" and Lhag pa Don grub’s "Life of a mule driver" | Fictional Facts or Factual Fiction? Lucia Galli's talk on self-representation and the social reality behind two Tibetan memoirs | Lucia Galli | 04 Jun 2020 | |
| 20 | The Nechung Oracle and the Construction of Identity in the Tibetan Diaspora | The Oracle in Exile: Pema Choedon's talk on the Nechung Oracle and identity construction in the Tibetan Diaspora | Pema Choedon | 28 May 2020 | |
| 21 | The Mortality of the Dalai Lama and its Scriptural Sources: A Study in Tibetan Buddhist Political Theology | I am currently focusing on the problem of the Dalai Lama’s mortality that is, the question of how to come to terms with his suffering and death, in light of the association between Tibetan kingship and the deity Avalokiteśvara. | Ian MacCormack | 21 May 2020 | |
| 22 | Preliminary Practices: Bloody Knees, Calloused Palms and the Transformative Nature of Women’s Labor | The Preliminary Practices not only initiate practitioners into a specific tradition, but also more fundamentally, into Vajrayana Buddhism as it is practiced in contemporary Tibet. | Kati Fitzgerald | 14 May 2020 | |
| 23 | Creative Commons | Writing about the Nechung Oracle | Christopher Bell's talk about oracles, protector deities, and other mysteries | Christopher Bell | 07 May 2020 |
| 24 | Creative Commons | The sku bla of the Tibetan emperors and its metamorphosis in Yungdrung Bön | In the late 12th century Yungdrung Bön text Grags pa gling grags a deity that has a special relationship to the Tibetan ruler plays a prominent part in the narrative of the Tibetan kings. | Per Kværne | 30 Apr 2020 |