American Academy of Religion
Tibetan and Himalayan Religions Group (THRG)

 

 

THRG Chronology of Panels 1993-present

2008 Chicago

Theme: The Uttaratantra Debate: Examining Competing Claims Regarding the Significance of the Uttaratantra in Classical Tibetan Buddhist Literature

Roger Jackson, Carleton College, Presiding

Tsering Wangchuk, University of Virginia, "Sentient Beings Do Not Have the Tathagata-essence: Dratsepa Rinchen Namgyal on the Uttaratantra"

Michael R. Sheehy, Jonang Foundation, "Is the Uttaratantra-sastra Really a Madhyamaka Text? Jo nang pa Understandings of Tibetan Buddhist Doxography and Historiography"

Yaroslav Komarovski, University of Wisconsin, Madison, "Shakya Chokden’s Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga"

Bo Jiang, Columbia University, "Rgyal-tshab's Doctrinal Classification of the Uttaratantra"

John J. Makransky, Boston College, Responding

Theme: Tibet and the West: Modern Intersections (Co-sponsored with the Buddhism in the West Consultation)

Frances Garrett, University of Toronto, Presiding

Jessica Falcone, Cornell University, "'Holy Objects, Batman!': Skepticism, Ambivalence, and Faith Regarding Sacred Objects amongst 'Western' Converts to Tibetan Buddhism"

Abraham Zablocki, Agnes Scott College, "After Protestant Buddhism: Beyond the Modern/Traditional Binary in Contemporary Buddhism"

Julie Regan, Harvard University, "A New Consideration of the Use of English in Contemporary South Asian-Tibetan Buddhism"

Katja Rakow, University of Heidelberg, "The Impact of Coincidence, Pragmatism, and Eclecticism in Transplanting and Adopting Tibetan Buddhism in the West"

2007 San Diego

Theme: Tibetan Religion in China: Past and Present

Kurtis Schaeffer, University of Virginia, Presiding

Sam van Schaik, British Library, "The Chinese Pilgrim's Passport: A 10th Century Sino-Tibetan Document from Amdo and Gansu"

Paul Nietupski, John Carroll University, "The Fourth Belmang: Bodhisattva, Estate Lord, Tibetan Militia Leader, and Chinese Government Official"

J.F. Marc des Jardins, Concordia University, "Bon Institutions in Contemporary Tibetan Territories and the Dynamics of Religious Authority"

Antonio Terrone, Leiden University, "The New Journey to the West: the Role of Chinese Devotees in the Development of Tibetan Buddhism in Eastern Tibet"

Gray Tuttle, Columbia University, Responding

Theme: Tibetan Lived Religion? (an entirely Tibet-focused panel sponsored by Anthropology of Religion Group)

Frances Garrett, University of Toronto, Presiding

Cameron David Warner, Harvard University, "Mimesis and Apotropaism: Devotion to Tibet's National Palladium"

Antonio Terrone, Leiden University, "Finding Buddhism in the 21st Century: Treasure Revelation and Religious Authority in Present-day Tibet"

Sarah Jacoby, Columbia University, "Being a Dakini in Contemporary Eastern Tibet"

Arthur McKeown, Harvard University, "Devotional Practices at Gyantse and Wutai Shan: Removing the Text from Translation"

Robert Orsi, Northwestern University, Responding

2006 Washington, DC

Theme: Transformations in Research and Teaching on Tibetan Buddhism with the Use of New Technologies 

John Dunne, Emory University, Presiding

Jacob Dalton, Yale University

Jose Cabezon, University of California at Santa Barbara

Georges Dreyfus, Williams College

Frances Garrett, University of Toronto

David Germano, University of Virginia

2005 Philadelphia

Theme: Person, Place, and Authority in Tibet

Benjamin Bogin, University of California, Berkeley, "The Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain: Visions of a Tantric Pure Land"

Derek Maher, East Carolina University, "The Second Panchen Lama (1663-1737) and the Leadership of Tibet"

Paul Nietupski, John Carroll University, "The Fifth Jamyang Shepa and the Labrang Nagpas: Religious Pluralism at Labrang"

Jann Ronis, University of Virginia, "The Publication of the Kanjur and Tenjur (1729-1744) in the Formulation of the Buddhist Kingdom of Derge in Eastern Tibet"

Andrew H. Quintman, University of Michigan, "Milarepa's Life on the Rocks: Transformations of Literature and Landscape in the Borderlands of Southern Tibet."

Theme: Dialogues and Debates on Tibetan Medicine, Healing, and Religion (co-sponsored by THRG and Religions, Medicines, and Healing Group)

Vesna Acimovic Wallace, University of California, Santa Barbara, Presiding

Alejandro Chaoul, Rice University

Frances Garrett, University of Toronto

Eric Jacobson, Harvard University

Ivette Vargas-O'Bryan, Austin College

2004 San Antonio

Theme: Authoritative Discourse in Tibetan Literary Production

Frances Garrett, University of Toronto, Presiding

Sam van Schaik, The British Library, "Oral Teachings and Written Texts: Transmission and Transformation in Dunhuang"

Holly Gayley, Harvard University, "The Divination of Female Agency in a Tibetan Hagiography"

Kurtis Schaeffer, University of Alabama, "Avalokiteshvara's Diary"

Cameron David Warner, "Divine Agency and Identity in the Biographies of Srong Btsan Sgam Po"

Janet Gyatso, Harvard University, Responding

Theme: Buddhism and Healing (co-sponsored by THRG and Buddhism Section)

Lori Meeks, University of Southern California, Presiding

David Drewes, Indiana University, "Medical Benefits of Mahayana Sutras"

Andrew Goble, University of Oregon, "What's Buddhist about Buddhist Medicine? The Case of Medieval Japan"

Janet Gyatso, Harvard University, "The Word of the Buddha and the Eye of the Scientist: Early Modern Debates in Tibet, 1550-1750"

Pamela Winfield, Meredith College, "Curing with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japan"

2003 Atlanta

Session I (A71): Lineage Construction in Tibet

Jacob Dalton, School of Oriental and African Studies. “Strategies of Lineage Construction in the Sutra Empowerment Tradition.”

Ronald M. Davidson, Fairfield University. “The Construction of Esoteric Indian Buddhist Lineages: The Case of the gSar-ma Translators.”

Frances Garrett, University of Toronto. “Reading Lineage in History: The Role of Illness in The Blue Annals.”

David Germano, University of Virginia. “The Construction of Lineages and Cosmological Narratives in Early Medieval Tibet: The rNying ma Creation of a Buddhist Vehicle Termed rDzogs Chen.”

T. Griffith Foulk, Sarah Lawrence College. Respondent.

Session II (A161): Women in Tibetan Religious Life: Histories and Contemporary Communities

Bryan Cuevas, Florida State University. “Tibetan Female Revenants.”

Robert Trent Pomplun, Loyola College. “Hell Hath No Fury: The Lady Tshe-ring Bkra-shis and the Death of Sde-srid Sangs-rgyas Rgya-mtsho.”

Alyson Prude, University of California Santa Barbara. “A Comparative Look at Himalayan Nunneries.”

Kurtis R. Schaeffer, University of Alabama. “A Royal Nun in Fifteenth-Century Tibet.”

Karma Lekshe Tsomo, University of San Diego. “Buddhism Women and Social Change in the Spiti Valley.”

2002 Toronto

Session I (A37): Religious Life in the Time of the Fifth Dalai Lama

Kurtis R. Schaeffer, University of Alabama. “Controlling Time and Space in Lhasa: The New Year and City Pilgrimage Routes under the Fifth Dalai Lama.”

Bryan Cuevas, Florida State University. “Religious Life in a Seventeenth-Century Tibetan Monastery.”

Jacob Dalton, University of Michigan. “Rnying-ma Politics in the Seventeenth Century.”

Trent Pomplun, Loyola College. “Tibetan Prophetic Literature in the Notizie Istoriche of Ippolito Desideri, S. J.”

Matthew Kapstein, University of Chicago. Respondent.

Session II (A128): The Tibetan Buddhist Encounter with Modernity

Gray Tuttle, Harvard University. “ Dharma Centers and Peace Rituals in Republican China (1914-1934): Tibetan Lamas Teach the First Wave of Chinese Laity.”

Yinong Zhang, Cornell University. “Renewing Religious Practice in a Tibetan Village of Post-Reformed China.”

Sharon J. Hepburn, Trent University. “Cultural Continuity and Change among Tamang Thangka Painters in the Kathmandu Valley.”

Abraham Zablocki, Cornell University. “Reformers vs. Traditionalists in Transnational Tibetan Buddhism.”

Georges Dreyfus, Williams College. Respondent.

2001 Denver

Session I (A130): Medicine and Buddhism in Indo-Tibetan Tradition

Stephen Jenkins, Humboldt State University. “Continuity and Contrast in Indian Buddhist Medical Metaphor and Practice.”

Frances M. Garrett, University of Virginia. “Becoming Human in Early Tibetan Scholasticism: Tibetan Embryology and the Intertwining of Medical and Religious Rhetoric.”

Janet Gyatso, Harvard University. “Ideology versus Empiricism in the Service of Gender Distinction: A Debate in Tibetan Medicine.”

Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Harvard University. “Textual Scholarship and Medical Learning in Tibet.”

Suzanne Mrozick, Western Michigan University. Respondent.

Session II (A223): Pilgrims and Pixels: Tibetan Buddhism in Traditional and Contemporary Academic Practice

Alexander C. McKay, University of London. “Will the Real Kailas Please Stand Up!: Towards a Theory of Himalayan Pilgrimage.”

Ivette Vargas-O’Bryan, Harvard University. “The Life and Fasting Ritual of dGe slong ma dPal mo: The Experiences of a Leper, Founder of Smyung Gnas, and Transmitter of Buddhist Teachings on Suffering and Renunciation in Tibetan Religious History.”

David Germano, University of Virginia. “Digital Library and the Study of Tibetan Buddhism.”

Alejandro Chaoul, Rice University. “The Magical Wheel: Mind-Body Relationship in the Bon Tradition and Its Applications in Today’s World.”

Eve. L. Mullen, Universitat Hamburg. “The Dalai Lama and Rangzen: Changing Symbols.”

2000 Nashville

Session I (A104): Buddhism between Tibet and Pre-Republican China

Matthew Kapstein, University of Chicago. “Mulian in the Land of Snows: Chinese Traditions of the Arhat Maudgalyayana and Their Legacy in Tibet.”

Rob Linrothe, Skidmore College. “The Commissioner’s Commissions: Late Thirteenth-Century Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist Art in Hangzhou under the Mongols.”

Karl Debreczeny, University of Chicago. “Sino-Tibetan Wallpainting at Daobaojigong.”

Paul Nietupski, John Carroll University. “rGya nag pa tshang ta Labrang Monastery.”

Session II (A181): Buddhism between Tibet and Republican China

Gray Tuttle, Harvard University. “Chinese Support for Modern Education in the Borderlands of Tibet: Shes rab rgya mtsho’s School in Rdo sbis, Qinghai.”

Zhihua Yao, Boston University. “Tibetan Learning in the Contemporary Chinese Yogacara School.

Robert Gimello, Harvard University. Respondent.

1999 Boston

Session I: Review of Donald S. Lopez, Jr.’s Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West.

David Germano, University of Virginia. “Encountering Tibet: The Ethics, Soteriology, and Creativity of Cross-Cultural Interpretation.”

Tsering Shakya. “Who Are the Prisoners?”

Robert A. F. Thurman, Columbia University. “Critical Reflections on Donald S. Lopez Jr.’s Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West.”

Donald S. Lopez, Jr., University of Virginia. Response.

Session II (A180): Tibetan Buddhism on the Borderlands

Bryan J. Cuevas, University of Virginia. “Notes for a History of the ‘Tibetan Book of the Dead’: Textual Transmission and Printing from Tibet to Bhutan.”

Gregory A. Hillis, University of Virginia. “In Exile from the Land of the Snows: kLong chen pa’s Sojourn in Bhutan and its Literary Impact.”

Paul Nietupski, John Carroll University. “Lamas and Literature in 20 th Century Labrang.”

Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Harvard University. “Patronage, Printing, and Tibetan Buddhist Literary Culture in Dolpo: The Life and Writings of Bstan ‘dzin ras pa, Founder of Shel Monastery.”

Gray Tuttle, Harvard University. “What Chinese Buddhists Wanted (and What they Got) From Tibetan Buddhism.”

1998 Orlando

Session I: Chapters in the History of Tibetan Religion

Session II: Competing Representations of Tibetan Religion

1997 San Francisco

Session I: The Controversy over the Deity Dorje Shugden

Donald S. Lopez, Jr.

Georges Dreyfus

?

Session II: Non-Buddhist Traditions in Tibet

Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Harvard University

Micheal Walter, Indiana University

?

1996 New Orleans

Session I: Tibetan Monastic Education

Elizabeth Napper, University of Hawaii. “Traditional Buddhist Education in Tibetan Nunneries.”

Georges Dreyfus, Williams College. “Debate and Commentary in Tibetan Monastic Education.”

Jules B. Levinson, Hamline University. “Monastic Education at Ngagyur Nyingma Institute.”

David Germano, University of Virginia. “Monastic Renewal in Eastern Tibet

Session II: Individual presentations by young researchers

1995 Philadelphia

Session I: Review of Geoffrey Samuel’s Civilized Shamans

Donald S. Lopez, Jr., University of Michigan

Richard Kohn, University of California, Berkely

Roger Jackson, Carleton College

Per Kvaerne, Oslo University

Session II: Vision and Revelation in Early Tibetan Buddhism

1994 Chicago

Session I: History of Tibetan and Himalayan Religious Studies

Session II: Methodological issues in Studying Tibetan and Himalayan Religions

 

Himalayan and Tibetan Religions Consultation

1993 Washington, D.C.

Session (A103): Tibetan Cultural Identities

David Germano, University of Virginia. “Nomadic Religiosity and the Myth of Legality: Early Tantric Thought, Narratives of the Past and Cultural Identity in Tibet.”

Ronald M. Davidson, Fairfield University. “The Synthesis of Lam-‘bras and Virupa’s Hagiography.”

Anne C. Klein, Rice University. “Stopping Hail: Religious and Social Dimensions of a Tibetan Ritual.”

Georges Dreyfus, Williams College. “Historiography in Tibet: A Rhetoric of Identity”