16th IALS Conference - Call for Papers

Call for Papers (Abstract submission by: 10. September 2012) 

"Society and Environment in Ladakh: Historical Perspectives and Recent Dynamics" 16th Colloquium of the International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS) Heidelberg, Germany, 17-20. April 2013  Download full Call for Papers document (pdf)

The 16th Colloquium of the International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS) will take place at the Department of Geography, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, Germany, from 17-20. April 2013. Under the overarching topic "Society and Environment in Ladakh: Historical Perspectives and Recent Dynamics", senior scientists, young researchers and practitioners are invited to discuss different topics related to Ladakh and its neighbouring mountain regions. 

Following the tradition of the IALS, the conference has an explicitly interdisciplinary character. We therefore encourage participants from different scientific fields to submit an abstract. 

Possible focus areas for individual sessions include: 

• Political and religious history
• Cultural and social change
• Rural livelihoods and economic change
• Heritage and conservation
• Health and nutrition
• Climate change and adaptation
• Development interventions

Additional information on registration, travel grants, updates on field trips, accommodation, and the conference programme will be posted on the Conference pages of the IALS website as details are finalised. 

Any queries should be directed to Conference Convenor 

Juliane Dame. Email: ials2013@sai.uni-heidelberg.de

Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia - third edition
now avaliable with a 25% discount from flipkart

http://www.flipkart.com/ladakh-0198079419/p/9780198079415?pid=9780198079415&ref=d76cc403-3056-4515-8cb8-f0417465292f

'Retaining the basic information from the original, this revised and updated third edition documents the changes and transformations that Ladakh has witnessed since 1996. From the region’s history to its importance as a confluence of various cultures and traditions to a detailed analysis of social, political and economic shifts before and after the Kargil war-it presents a deeply informed account of Ladakh and its people, permeated, moreover, by a radiant affection for them.

Scholarly yet lively, the value of this book, widely recognized as a one-stop reference on the region, is enhanced by the author’s recent research into contemporary realities.'

Czech-Indian educational project exhibition held

STATE TIMES NEWS www.statetimes.in/news/czech-indian-educational-project-exhibition-held/

LEH: The opening ceremony of the exhibition of a project called La Ngonpo, a three-year Czech-Indian Educational Project, was held on Friday in the Auditorium of Lamdon Senior Secondary School, Leh. Besides hundreds of students several dignitaries including from participating educational institutions and NGOs also witnessed the programme.

Exhibition featured examples of works by students and photographs reflecting and documenting the process of the project. Visual and literary works of Czech and Ladakhi students which have been developed in joint ‘e-lessons’ conducted during the period of three years according to the methodological handbook La Ngonpo were also exhibited.

A documentary movie that describe the real yet different lives of two students living in two different parts of the world – the Czech Republic and Ladakh in India, was screened. A colourful cultural programme by students of different participating schools was also presented.

The Project Coordinator, Romana Vylitova said that the exhibition was organised to enable participants to see what students have learned and done through this project.

“There are six participating schools now. If others are interested they can also join the project,” Vylitova invited other institutions to join the project.

Moravian Mission School, SECMOL, Druk Padma White Lotus School, Ladakh Public School and Lamdon Model Senior Secondary School are the Leh based participating institutions from India, said Vylitova. The international educational project La Ngonpo focuses on multicultural and global education for pupils and students aged 12 to 16 years. Since 2010 the project has been in operation in India (in Leh-Ladakh) and Czech Republic.

However, it can be joined by schools anywhere in the world. According to the organisers the project enables students to learn about themselves and their environment as well as about their peers from another country.

“La Ngonpo” are Ladakhi words meaning “the blue pass”. “Mountain passes used to symbolize the possibility to meet on the other side of the range; for us, the pass is represented by the web portal,” the project believes.

Some of the group might like to know that Beyond Bokhara, Garry Alder's biography of William Moorcroft---who spent 2 years in Ladakh, 1820--22, & wrote what is still one of the best accounts of the region---is now republished. The book isn't available on Flipkart, but can be ordered from the publishers, Low Price Publications, New Delhi. Website is www.Lppindia.com; e-mail info@Lppindia.com. (Thanks Janet)

SAARC Cultural Centre has announce the SAARC International Conference on Archaeology of Buddhism Recent Discoveries in South Asia (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 22-24 August 2012)
http://www.saarcculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=163:saarc-international-seminar-on-archaeology-of-buddhism&catid=43:announcements&Itemid=92

The Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation and International Association of Ladakh Studies Research Workshop

On Friday, 22^ndJune 2012 Dr Sonam Wangchok, Secretary of the Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation and of International Association of Ladakh Studies (IALS) hosted a workshop at Lonpo House Lecture Hall, Leh Palace for Ladakhi youth who are interested in undertaking research in Ladakh. The aim of the workshop was to introduce potential students to the various research methods and research projects currently taking place in Ladakh, and to discuss how the IALS can assist young Ladakhi researchers in supporting and publicising their work. Ph.D Fellows and Anthropologist Elizabeth Lane Williams-Oerberg (Aarhus University, Denmark) and Andrea Butcher (University of Aberdeen, Scotland) presented their research projects and discussed the experience of preparing for research in Ladakh. Following the presentations the floor was opened to questions and a discussion regarding what assistance aspiring researchers need to get started with their projects, where to find information about previous and current research, and who to contact for assistance. The following bullet points are the recommendations for assistance the students requested:

Ø  IALS/HCHF to showcase all the different research in Ladakh and who is working on what.

Ø  Directory of researchers and their topics or specialities

Ø  Create a library or catalogue of bibliographies for previous research in Ladakh, organised by discipline.

Ø  Partnerships between Foreign and Ladakhi students

Ø  Directory of Ladakhi students willing to work as interpreters.

Ø  Notice board for Ph.D and research opportunities outside India.

Ø  Electronic access to academic journals. (Digital Himalaya and other websites can be accessed on the IALS website.)

Ø  Awareness workshops to be held in other parts of Ladakh and Zangskar to give awareness to Ladakhi youth of the IALS and research opportunities.

Ø  IALS or research forum Facebook page.

Ø  Recruit students returning from university to give advice about research for young Ladakhis

Ø  Organise a pool of educated research students to act as tourist guides and give information for tourists.

Ø  Send research to others in similar fields and obtain feedback.

Ø  Encourage young researchers to publish essays in Ladakh Studies journal.

Ø  Organise a two-day workshop to introduce students to research methods

Ø  Have a dedicated student webpage on the IALS website for information on research protects, opportunities, publications, and seminars.

Answering the points Dr Sonam Wangchok introduced the restarting of IALS blog (http://ladakhstudies.blogspot.co.uk/) and encouraged research students to see IALS website (www.ladakhstudies.org) and HCHF website (www.heritagehimalaya.org) for resources and latest information related to researches, books and events. At the same time he strongly supports the idea of awareness workshops in other parts of Ladakh.

Elizabeth Lane Williams-Oerberg advised of electronic sources of data already available for students, Digital Himalaya (www.digitalhimalaya) and facebook group “books on ladakh and more... " 

Change of date

As LBA youth is organizing two days workshop on 23rd and 24th, we have preponed  IALS workshop to 22nd June, 2012 at 2.30 pm at Lonpo House. 

Research Sharing & Interactive Workshop

International Association for Ladakh Studies in collaboration with Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation-HCHF is organizing half day interactive workshop for students, researchers and people interested in Ladakh studies on 22nd June, 2012 at 2.30 pm at Lonpo House, Near Leh Palace. Elizabeth Williams Oerberg and   Andrea Butcher (IALS Members) have kindly agreed to share their research experiences. 

 Elizabeth Williams Oerberg is  a Ph.D student from Aarhus University, Section for Anthropology, Department of Society and Culture and has been doing research in Ladakh for last two years on "The transmission of Global Buddhism among Ladakhi student migrants in Delhi".

Andrea Butcher is a student of Anthropology of Religion at the University of Aberdeen and has been doing research in Ladakh since 2009 on “The impact of Tibetan Buddhist thought upon lay and monastic development ethics and practice in Ladakh”.

Interested participants are requested to register their name at HCHF office at Lonpo House. Lonpo House is situated near Leh Palace and can be reached from the Leh Palace parking area or via the footpath that links the main market with Leh Palace.

16th IALS Conference, Heidelberg, Germany, 17.-20. April 2013

We are pleased to invite you to the 16^th Conference of the International Association for Ladakh Studies which will be held at the South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, from 17 to 20 April 2013. We wish to keep it an interdisciplinary and fruitful event with scholars, scientists and experts from different fields.

We look forward to welcoming as many participants as possible in Heidelberg next spring. The call for papers and further information on fees, grants and organizational details will be put on the IALS website in the following weeks, so please visit the Heidelberg Conference page for updates.

With best wishes from Heidelberg,

Juliane Dame

Restarting the IALS Blog

Aside from the post 'Nineteenth century photographs of Ladakh' (which graced the first incarnation of this blog) the Ladakh Studies blog is being restarted. This page now replaces the old news page that was part of the IALS website ladakhstudies.org

News relating to the IALS and its members will continue to form the foundation of this blog; in many ways this page will become a notice board for the Association. We'll post members' news, details of events that our members may find interesting, research updates, reviews, conference updates, and topical issues being discussed by the Association. We'll also post items such as the 'Nineteenth century photographs of Ladakh'. Over time our authors will increase in number and we hope our readership will too, with both members and non members of the IALS visiting this site.

If you have any comments on how to improve the site we would like to hear from you, and likewise, if you have any content that may be of interest to members of the IALS then please contact one of the blog hosts.

Nineteenth century photographs of Ladakh

Students of Ladakh might be interested to browse through the British Library online gallery.

This contains a selection of the library’s collection of photographs and drawings, including a number of images of Ladakh. Among my own favourites is a photograph of Leh bazaar taken in 1873 by Francis Edward Chapman who was a member of the Forsyth exhibition to Yarkand. Chapman’s photographs are included in Sir Douglas Forsyth’s published account, Report of a Missionto Yarkund in 1873 (Calcutta, 1875). However, the web version is clearer than the originals and, if you click on ‘interactive zoomable image’, you can see a magnified version of sections of the photograph, making it possible to look at individual buildings in some detail.

Other notable images on the site include drawings based on sketches by Dr Henry Cayley, who was the first British official posted to Ladakh in the late 1860s. One example is a drawing of Hemis monastery. The drawings appear to be ‘second hand’ in that they were evidently prepared by Stanley Leighton on the basis of Cayley’s sketches. However, they look as though they are broadly accurate, and record the the architectural details of buildings that have been greatly changed, or no longer survive.

The online gallery presents no more than a small percentage of the British Library’s overall collection of images. The full catalogue specifically of the India Office collection of photographs, prints and drawings within the British Library is available here. The collection is in principle open to all researchers, but it is necessary to apply for a British Library card and to make an appointment in advance.

John Bray