UVa Divisions Affiliated with Tibetan Studies

Center for South Asian Studies
Introduction:
sm-1center-for-south-asianThe Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Virginia is an interdisciplinary center that coordinates and promotes the study of South Asia – its diverse peoples, languages, cultures, religions, and history. Coordinating academic studies, outreach programs, and research relating to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibetan areas of China, the Center offers a wide range of courses in South Asia’s languages and disciplines, a comprehensive library, as well as educational and cultural programs in the community. Read more…
Department of Anthropology
Introduction:
sm-2department-of-anthropolThe Department is committed to the study of global and historical cultural diversity. In socio-cultural anthropology and folklore its strengths lie in the study of Africa, the Caribbean, China and Taiwan, the Himalayas, Indonesia, the Pacific (Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia), South Asia, the Andes, and contemporary Canada and the United States. In archaeology, particular strengths are in the Eastern and Southwestern United States, East and West Africa, and the Near East. In linguistics, the Anthropology Department has special strengths in East Africa, Central America, the Middle East, and New Guinea. Over the last decade, students of the department have extended its research interests to Australia, Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, the former Soviet Union, and inner Asia. Read more…
Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Introduction:
sm-3east-asia-centerThe Department of East Asia Languages, Literatures, and Cultures is home to the University’s expanding programs in East Asia, including China, Japan, and Korea. It offers strong programs in language instruction and literature in addition to a broad range of instruction in the cultures of the region. It is home to the University’s Tibetan language programs during the academic year and in the summer. Read more…
Department of Religious Studies
Introduction:
sm-4religious-studiesThe Department of Religious Studies is engaged in the analysis and interpretation of those dimensions of human experience and expressions of human culture commonly called “religious.” This is a multi-disciplinary effort devoted to a wide range of phenomena: myth, symbol, and ritual; the genesis and interpretation of religious texts; the formation, history, and character of religious communities; traditions of religious belief and practice; the role of religion in society and culture; religious ethics, philosophy of religion, and religion and the arts. The department is well equipped for the intensive study of the five major world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism), as well as area studies in religion (African, American, South and East Asian, and Middle Eastern). Tibetan Buddhism is one of the department’s major focuses, and has produced scores of graduate students since the 1970s. Read more…
East Asia Center
Introduction:
sm-5-eacThe East Asia Center was founded in 1975 to provide a forum for faculty and student interest in East and Southeast Asia. The Center is an interdisciplinary organization of faculty, each of whom is a full member of an academic department such as Anthropology or History. Asia-related courses are taught as part of the various departmental curricula. The Center administers the interdisciplinary MA and MBA/MA degree programs in Asian Studies, encourages and coordinates Asia-related activities, especially the lecture series, and administers a travel grant program for student and faculty travel to Asia. The Master of Arts Program is designed for students who want multi-disciplinary exposure to East Asia at the graduate level and also competence in an East Asian language. The range of possible specialty tracks within the program extends from modern and contemporary China or Japan to the East Asian religious traditions. Read more…
Institute of Advanced Technology in the Humanities
Introduction:
sm-6-iathIATH is a research unit of the University of Virginia whose goal is to explore and develop information technology as a tool for scholarly humanities research. To that end, IATH provides its fellows with consulting, technical support, applications development, and networked publishing facilities. It also cultivates partnerships and participates in humanities computing initiatives with libraries, publishers, information technology companies, scholarly organizations, and other groups residing at the intersection of computers and cultural heritage. The research projects, essays, and documentation presented by IATH are the products of a unique collaboration between humanities and computer science research faculty, computer professionals, student assistants and project managers, and library faculty and staff. IATH has twice named Tibetan scholars as its chosen fellow, and has been a crucial support in the ongoing building of the Tibetan and Himalayan Library. Read more…
International Studies Office
Introduction:
sm-7-isoThe International Studies Office (ISO) is a University-wide resource that supports UVa’s international mission by developing and coordinating activities and services designed to create and enhance a globally aware, culturally diverse education and research environment. The area of international studies is crucial to the fulfillment of Thomas Jefferson’s vision of UVa as a symbol of superior intellectual enterprise and accomplishment for women and men around the world. Read more…
Tibetan & Himalayan Library
Introduction:
thl-frontpageThe Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) is a publisher of websites, information services, and networking facilities relating to the Tibetan plateau and southern Himalayan regions. THL promotes the integration of knowledge and community across the divides of academic disciplines, the historical and the contemporary, the religious and the secular, the global and the local. In addition to more typical academic projects, THL promotes participatory knowledge that is created by and benefits local communities, while including contributors from all walks of life around the world. Data includes text, audio-video, images, maps, immersive objects, reference works, and interpretative essays. THL’s knowledge and technology are provided free of charge, and are built collaboratively by hundreds of people across the world who share this vision. We also have sister initiatives built by and for the communities in this region – the Tibetan Community Library and the Bhutan National Digital Library. Read more…
UVa Library
Introduction:
sm-9-uvalThe University Libraries have over five-million books and over fifty-thousand journal and newspaper subscriptions, housed in fifteen libraries or available online in Virgo, the Library’s catalog. In addition to its impressive collections, the UVa Library has been a world leader in digital innovation over the last two decades, including its support of a wide range of renowned faculty projects, as well as its famed work at creating the FEDORA digital library infrastructure system. The Library’s Tibetan and Himalayan collection is one of the world’s greatest collections of Tibetan literature, and it has also been the primary support for the development of the Tibetan and Himalayan Library.
Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics
Introduction:
sm-10-wwdpThe Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics supports research and honors teaching that develop a critical understanding of national and international politics. Its distinguished faculty members seek to instill in their students a theoretical and practical appreciation of the ideas, institutions, and history that shape political life. The Department celebrates methodological pluralism: it seeks to promote an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of different methodologies so that students can evaluate and select the approaches most suited to exploring the research questions in which they are interested. The faculty and students approach these questions through a rich variety of topics, including democratization; liberalism and its critics; race, gender, and ethnicity; political economy; and the role of human rights international affairs. Read more…