Ethnicity, Culture, and Politics: The Case of Tibet

3 units

Geographic and political isolation, awe-inspiring landscape, and an esoteric religion have contributed to Tibet's image as a place of mystery. In the 1950s, Tibet made a dramatic entrance in the modern world when China reasserted a long-standing claim of dominion. Thousands of Tibetans were led by the Dalai Lama to exile in India and Nepal. Political chaos followed, with Tibetan exiles and the Chinese state making counter-claims in a global propaganda war. This course will use the case-study of Tibet to provide students with a perspective on historical and current inter-ethnic conflicts Students will consider the ways in which rafe and ethnicity are not politically neutral concepts, but can be used to justify completely different political arguments and actions. The course will be of interest to students who plan to take additional work in political science or anthropology, or who have an interest in concepts of ethnic identity or in the history, politics, and religions of Central Asia.