As recent research in the field of "Borderland Studies" has shown, borderlands are not only marginal and peripheral zones but can be seen as zones of special interaction, potentials and conflict. Focusing on the extended Himalayan region, the purpose of this workshop is to discuss the diversity of methodological and theoretical concepts concerning the perception of ‘borderlands’ as it is used in different disciplines with background in area studies, cultural, political and social sciences.
Through various case-studies the contributions will illustrate the diversity of human and institutional responses to the transformative changes in the Himalayan borderlands. The topics presented include, e.g, transformations in cultural and religious practices, ethnic mobilization, conflict, marginalization, and environmental concerns across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
10:00 – 10:15 Welcome and Introduction: Martin Gaenszle (CIRDIS, University of Vienna)
10:15 – 10:45 Wolfram Schaffer (Development Studies, University of Vienna): Alternative Development Paradigms and Democratisation in Bhutan and Mongolia
10:45 – 11:15 Ben Hillman (Australian National University): China‘s Ethnic Policies and Ethnic Security in Tibet
coffee break
11:30 – 12:00 Mélanie Vandenhelsken (CIRDIS, University of Vienna): The Sikkim-Nepal Border: a Political Border Among the Sikkimese Limbus
12:00 – 12:30 Guntram Hazod (IKGA/ISA, Austrian Academy of Sciences) The 'Xianbei Context' in the Tibetan Tumulus Tradition (4th - 10th Century)
12:30 – 13:00 Discussion led by Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik (Sinology, University of Vienna)
lunch break
14:00 – 16:00 Round table with presentations by:
Ute Wallenböck (Sinology, University of Vienna): Mongol Power at the Sino-Tibetan Borderland in the Past and Present
Reinier Langelaar (IKGA, Austrian Academy of Sciences): Modernity and the Future of Village-Level Support Networks in the North-Eastern Tibetan Borderlands (Eastern Qinghai, China)
Filippo Brambilla (ISTB, University of Vienna): The Resilience of the Jo nang Tradition Across Time and Borders
Jürgen David (ISTB, University of Vienna): Transformations in an Himalayan Pilgrimage Center