140153 PS Clans and Cloisters: Visions of Community in Tibetan Historical Literature (2018W)

This course addresses the various ways in which different communities and social formations have been depicted in historical Tibetan literature. In what ways were literary narratives used to help orient, consolidate, and legitimize specific social groups? To this end, we will look at various types of primary sources, ranging from materials that represent spiritually defined communities, such as monasteries, to genealogical documents that depict purportedly biogenetic groups, such as clans and ethnic groups. A number of these materials will be studied in the original Tibetan.
Naturally, such texts often depict communities in an idealized manner, presenting them as neatly organized and cohesive groups; as clean-cut lineages; or as ancient formations. In doing so, texts may incorporate invented traditions while also omitting any aspects that are deemed unflattering or irrelevant. The narrative format of such texts, too, can decisively shape the way in which history and communal cohesion is framed. As case studies, we will analyze a master's hagiography to study communities that could form around a Buddhist teacher, as well as a genealogy of the ruling house of Phag-mo-gru.
We will consider the various pitfalls and potentials of these materials, in an attempt to answer how and to what degree we can use such texts for the study of social history. How can we incorporate other sources and relevant theory to place such materials in their proper context, and to what degree can we rely on the available literature to address historical social dynamics? What social functions did these texts fulfill?
Formal participation in this course requires regular attendance and active participation. This includes preparation of reading materials (60% of evaluation) as well as a presentation at some point during the course (40%), both of which need to be concluded satisfactorily. During the semester, students will be guided in using and incorporating new methodological skills to digitally process and present textual data, which may include the creation of network visualizations, kinship diagrams, or cartographic mapping.