Would you like to experience travel in cultural Tibet this summer? Consider this short-term abroad program:

Ethnicity, Identity and Social Change on China’s Cultural Frontiers
May 29th – June 18th, 2010

This one credit field research program focuses on the status of minority peoples in Mainland China during the country’s ongoing social, economic, and cultural changes. We will examine how non-Han citizens of China have been historically defined within the Chinese cultural world, both by state authorities and within popular culture, and how various groups react to and contest these perceptions. After this, we will turn to the large and growing Chinese domestic tourism industry centered on cultural border regions, and how encounters between Han tourists and minority peoples influence Han perceptions of non-Han peoples.
From May 30th until June 4th we will stay in Beijing, where we will visit cultural sites in and around the city such as the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. In addition, we will visit the National Minorities Institute and take part in discussions with Chinese scholars.
On Friday, june 4th we travel by overnight train to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province in Northwest China. We will then travel overland through the Amdo and Kham regions of historic Tibet. Our first stop will be the Tibetan pilgrimage town of Xiahe, site of Labrang Monastery, a key intellectual center for the Gelukpa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. We will then continue by road to the Tibetan towns of Langmusi and Songpan via Jiuzhaigou National Park. This journey will finish on June 16th at Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, in Southwest China. The group will return to Beijing by air and students will depart for the USA on Friday, June 18th.
A field research fee of approximately $2,,240 covers all lodging in China, local transportation in Beijing and in the field, rail and flight tickets within the country, admission fees to cultural sites, most meals, supplementary insurance, and all costs associated with the overland travel package. The Gansu and Sichuan field travel will include ‘rough’ portions at elevations of 10,000 feet in places, so participants should be in good physical condition.

Space is limited, so apply now!

For Information Contact: Dr. Robert Shepherd [Anthropology Department, The George Washington University in Washington, DC]; rshepher@gwu.edu