Learn about Tibetan and Himalayan politics and religion and the issues faced by communities in exile.
16
None
Tibetan, Nepali
English
Feb 4 – May 19
Nepal
India
Kathmandu
Identity & Human Resilience
Geopolitics & Power
The dynamics of Tibet and the Himalaya span from ancient times to the present day. Discover the history of the region’s border tensions, religious belief systems and politics. Learn about the Tibetan Government in Exile; CIA intervention in Tibet; the Dalai Lama and his Middle Way approach; negotiations with China; and human rights in Tibet. Spend six weeks in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital and home to a significant Tibetan exile community. Learn about the traditional system of Tibetan and Himalayan medicine, Sowa Rigpa, from an Amchi at his healing center on the valley’s periphery. Explore ancient pilgrimage routes and learn about the synchronicity between Buddhism and Hinduism in Nepal. Learn about intangible cultural heritage on a walk through Patan old town. Deconstruct popular myths about Tibet and the Himalayas and engage in discussions with local peers. Take a high-altitude trek to learn from mountain communities about the complexities of politics and identity in the borderlands. Learn Tibetan and choose to learn some bonus Nepali. Conduct independent field study or gain professional skills in an intercultural internship.
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Visit Tibetan(-oid/-ish) communities in Nepal outside the Kathmandu Valley and Tibetan settlements in India such as Bir, Darjeeling, Dharamsala, Kalimpong, Ladakh, or Mussorie. A high-altitude hike is usually required, so comfortable hiking shoes and appropriate clothing are strongly recommended. Appropriate camping gear can be acquired at affordable prices in Kathmandu.
SIT’s regional networks allow access to restricted regions, leading to a number of remarkable “firsts” for SIT students, who have brought back what appear to be the first-ever photos of saint, yogi, and poet Jetsun Milarepa’s birthplace, Kya-nak-tsa in Gungthang. Other students photographed a snow leopard in western Nepal.
Please note that SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, however, SIT may have to change or cancel programs.
Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:
The following syllabi are representative of this program. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of dynamic learning opportunities, actual course content will vary from term to term.
The syllabi can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.
Religious Change in Tibet and the Himalaya – syllabus
(ASIA3010 / 3 credits)
This course explores religious preferences among Himalayan peoples in the midst of the region’s colorful diversity. Tibetan Buddhism is examined in relation to the broader Tibetan(-oid/-ish) cultural sphere and civilization, incorporating but not limited to the realms of politics (including the “Tibet issue”) and of ritual. The course goes beyond the typical focus on Himalayan culture in terms exclusively of a core Tibetan Buddhism. Instead, students investigate varieties of beliefs and practices among different groups of people, e.g., other Buddhism(s) such as that of the Newars, the sole surviving continuous tradition of Indian Buddhism; Indian tantra; Hinduism in the Kathmandu Valley; Islam in Tibet and South Asia; and Bön and pre-Buddhist Himalayan traditions. Furthermore, the course assesses how emerging systems such as secularism and spiritual materialism, whether or not sprung from Communist ideologies, also play determining roles across the region.
The Politics of Tibetan and Himalayan Borders – syllabus
(ASIA3020 / 3 credits)
This course traces Tibetan history from current political dynamics back to ancient times. The course challenges the prevalent analysis of Tibetan(-oid/-ish) politics synchronically and in emic terms, disconnected from change, larger dynamics, and regional events. Individual political systems are examined, such as the Tibetan government in exile and the birth throes of the projected Nepalese constitution. This course also examines the politics inherent in processes of everyday life in an exile community, covering themes such as individual articulations of identity as well as the politics of language and of religious practice. Students examine politics on the geopolitical scale, including the significance of various regions in the Himalayas as well as the maneuvering between Asia’s giants, India and China. Through examination of current conditions in Tibet, students are asked to reflect on and reconceptualize ideas of power, autonomy, authority, and vulnerability on individual, group, and state levels.
Beginning Tibetan – syllabus
(TIBE1003 / 3 credits)
Intermediate Tibetan – syllabus
(TIBE2003 / 3 credits)
Advanced Tibetan – syllabus
(TIBE3003 / 3 credits)
Oral comprehension skills are emphasized, along with basic literacy. Formal classroom instruction plus one-on-one sessions with a language partner in Tibetan language are given daily during the program period in Kathmandu, with less formal instruction while on excursion. Based on in-country evaluation, including oral proficiency testing, students are placed in beginning, intermediate, or advanced classes. Optional Nepali language instruction is always provided, not least since students often wish to pursue Independent Study Projects in Nepali-speaking areas (much of the Himalayas including Sikkim/Darjeeling).
Field Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)
A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. Introduction to the Independent Study Project and Internship and Seminar. Material includes cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and refinement; appropriate methodologies; field study ethics and the World Learning / SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; maintaining a work journal; and twentieth-century ethnography.
In addition to taking the above courses, students will also need to enroll in one of the following two courses:
Independent Study Project
Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)
Conducted in Tibetan and Himalayan communities in Nepal, in Dharamsala, India (where there is a branch SIT program center and resident program assistant), or in another approved location appropriate to the project. Sample topic areas: the politics of language and education in Tibetan communities; reflections from former political prisoners; youth identity in the Tibetan diaspora; traditional Tibetan medicine; the reemergence of the Bön tradition; Tibetan Muslims; the economics of the Tibetan carpet industry in Nepal; the economy of Sherpas and mountaineering tourism; a case study of a traditional Buddhist college; nuns and Tibetan female mystics; the changing status of women in Buddhist monastic life; migration and Tibetan exile settlements.
Sample topics include:
Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects / undergraduate research.
OR
Internship and Seminar
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)
This seminar consists of a four-week internship with a local community organization, research organization, business, or international NGO. The aim of the internship is to enable the student to gain valuable experience and to enhance their skills in an international environment. Students will complete an internship and participate in a weekly seminar (typically conducted online), write progress reports, and submit a final paper and deliver a final presentation in which they process their learning experience A focus of the seminar, including the final paper and presentation, will be on linking internship learning with the program’s theme.
Sample internships:
Live with a host family in Kathmandu for six weeks, sharing in daily activities, larger family gatherings and cultural events. Through the homestay, you will have an opportunity to practice language skills and learn local manners, customs, and traditions. Students usually become very close with their homestay family.
Also, while on excursion, stay in high-altitude rural homes for a few days at a time, usually in groups of two or three.
Other accommodations include guesthouses, hostels, educational institutions, and/or small hotels. The group may camp on Himalayan treks.
Positions currently held by alumni of this program include:
Africa correspondent for TIME magazine
Senior director of Asia Programs at the World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC
LGBT rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, Berlin, Germany
Co-founder and volunteer coordinator at Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, Ladakh, India
Scholar of Buddhism in Tibet and the Himalaya and associate professor, Department of Religious Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT
SIT Study Abroad is committed to ensuring that international education is within reach for all students. We believe in the transformative power of immersive, intercultural experiences and are dedicated to supporting students in their educational journey.
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A critical step in preparing for your study abroad program is planning how you will maintain your health and wellbeing. Please review the following information carefully and contact [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
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Learn how the SIT Nepal learning center practices sustainability.
Ronan Wallace is the newest Alice Rowan Swanson Fellow. He plans to return to Nepal to document flooding impacts through 3D modeling and ethnographic interviews.
SIT Nepal alum Joshua Jacoves spent the fall 2022 semester in the mountains, jungles, and farms of Nepal, learning the Tibetan language and studying elephant tourism.
