Greater Tibet

Reviews / Votes

One of the most insightful and extensive academic publications on the theme of Tibet this year, Greater Tibet explores notions of borders, identity and culture, spanning a region far larger than current political parameters. Inspired by a panel held at the thirteenth meeting of the International Association of Tibet Studies in Ulaan Baatar during 2013, and derived from the extensive knowledge of Tibet-related experts, Klieger has brought together a fascinating publication and a must-read for academics and enthusiasts alike. * Tibet Foundation Newsletter * This fascinating collection of studies ranges in geographical scope and temporal depth to demonstrate the value of using the concept of a Greater Tibet to challenge academic and political narratives on what constitutes a nation or state, and to shed light on how people living at the social, economic, and political margins of powerful states navigate complex issues of identity. -- Geoff Childs, Washington University Christiaan Klieger has succeeded in placing the Tibetan civilizational world at the center, thereby countering decades of political propaganda that relegated the Tibetan nation to the periphery of 'Chinese' empires and states. The diversity of approaches to and understandings of Tibet-in that nation's broadest cultural, religious, ethnic, and historical imaginings-reflected in this volume, challenges the often one-dimensional characterizations of Tibet in history and in the present. -- Michael C. Van Walt van Praag, Sapienza University of Rome This volume is an invaluable introduction to new approaches to the study of 'Tibet' in the widest sense of the word. By adopting a borderlands perspective and conducting research in regions ranging from Mongolia to Myanmar, Buryatia to Bhutan, the contributors address the question: 'Where does Tibet begin and end'? Their answers provide an important corrective to narrower and politicized definitions generated both in the past and the present. -- Clare Harris, University of Oxford