TIBET JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE ON LADAKH

I am pleased to announce the publication of the latest edition of the Tibet Journal, which is devoted specifically to Ladakh and neighbouring regions.

The bibliographic details are: Tibet Journal Vol. 40 (2015), No. 2. Special Issue on Ladakh: Historical Perspectives and Social Change. Edited by John Bray, Petra Maurer and Andrea Butcher.

The volume contains a total of 11 papers on broadly ‘Tibetological’ themes, including the region’s political and religious history, contemporary development and social issues, and Ladakhi understandings of colour. Most of the papers were presented at the 16^th international conference of the International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS) in Heidelberg in April 2013, together with two additional contributions from Rob Linrothe and Nawang Jinpa.

How to order

The journal is available from the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala as well as Tibet House in Lodhi Road, New Delhi.

It is possible to order individual copies by sending an e-mail to Biblia Impex in New Delhi at contact@bibliaimpex.com. The price is Rs275 per copy, including registered local shipping, for sales within India. The international price is USD24.00, including airmail postage. It is possible to pay by PayPal.

Contents

1. “The History of the dGe lugs pa in the Nubra Valley” by Christian Faggionato.

2. “Site Unseen: Approaching a Royal Buddhist Monument of Zangskar (Western Himalayas)” by Rob Linrothe.

3. “Isn’t Life Miserable? The Youth of the Yogin Ngawang Tshering from Ladakh” by Petra Maurer.

4. “Why did Tibet and Ladakh Clash in the 17^th Century? Rethinking the Background to the ‘Mongol War’ in Ngari (1679-1684)” by Nawang Jinpa.

5. “A Himalayan Encounter: Lama Lobsang Chospel and Heinrich August Jäschke” by John Bray.

6. “Specialized Vocations in mid-20^th Century Ladakh” by Janet Rizvi.

7. “‘The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same’: Idioms of House Society in the Leh Area (Ladakh)” by Sophie Day.

8. “Ceremonial Activities in Development. The Spiritual ‘Problems’ for Ladakh’s Secular Encounter” by Andrea Butcher.

9. “The Dalai Lama’s Visits to Zangskar in 1980, 1988 and 2009. Reflections on Social and Economic Change” by Salomé Deboos.

10. “The Shipki la and its Place in Crossborder Trade between India and Tibet” by Rafal Beszterda.

11. “Perceiving, Naming and Using Colours in Ladakh” by Pascale Dollfus.

John Bray

Third International Conference on Himalayan Studies, Będlewo (Poland), 27-30 April 2016

IALS member Rafaɫ Beszterda has issued a call for papers  for a conference on Current Himalayan Research: Challenges, Problems or Failures to be held at Będlewo (Poland) from 27-30 April 2016. The conference title is broad, designed to appeal to researchers from a variety of different disciplines and backgrounds.

This is the third of a series of small residential conferences that Rafaɫ has organised. I took part in the first of these in 2011. There were some 15 papers, so we had plenty of time to discuss them, and the presenters’ research interests stretched across the Himalayas from Ladakh to Sikkim and even as far as Amdo.

Będlewo is a former country house that once belonged to a Polish aristocrat, and particularly pleasant during the spring. It’s near Poznań, which itself is less than three hours’ by train from Berlin. The 2011 conference provided a relaxed opportunity to meet new people in convivial surroundings. I understand that the 2015 conference lived up to the same tradition, and I am sure that the 2016 one will as well.

Rafaɫ  is keen to confirm numbers, so please hurry to register your interest by writing an e-mail to him now! His address is: rbeszterda@gmail.com.

John Bray