The Miami University Tibetan Studies Semester Program
 Miami University's Semester Program in Dharamsala, India is structured to offer students a unique opportunity to live and study in a rich and complex cross-cultural setting for one semester. Using social science methodologies and anthropological knowledge, students will learn applied research methods. They will learn how to utilize a global and holistic approach in their studies in an effort to find solutions to current practical problems and concerns that confront the local Tibetan community. Dharamsala offers a microcosm of research possibilities that will allow students to develop their research skills with applications in a variety of contexts, disciplines, and communities in the United States and abroad.
During their semester-long stay, students will live and attend classes at Sarah Campus of The Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. They will also have a chance to experience the daily life of the Tibetan community at Dharamsala.  As researchers, interns, or volunteer workers, students will have occasion to interact with Tibetan college students, physicians and medical researchers, members of the Tibetan parliament and cabinet ministers, lawyers, religious scholars, linguists, historians, monks, and heads of various NGOs. Students will also have opportunities to attend religious ceremonies and teachings by the Dalai Lama. They will experience and engage in the challenges and possibilities that confront the Tibetan community, which is striving to preserve traditional cultural values and identity in the context of globalization.
The courses will be specifically tailored to meet the objectives of an applied program. They will provide students with an understanding of applied methodologies and critical thinking skills as students conduct independent field research on one of the following areas:
- medicine and public health
- law
- human rights and social justice
- diaspora and refugee studies
- education
- the media
- business
- environmental management
- community- and international development
- the arts
Location
 Located in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains in northern India, Dharamsala is the residence of the Dalai Lama, who is the leader of the Tibetan people and the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile. With numerous Buddhist temples, monasteries, and leading meditation teachers in residence, Dharamsala attracts thousands of visitors, pilgrims, world leaders, celebrities, as well as university students and scholars of Tibetan Buddhism, who come to hear the Dalai Lama's annual public teachings and to conduct research.
The semester long program will be offered in cooperation with several affiliate Institutions of Higher Education in Dharamsala. The program coordinators work in close cooperation with several major institutions and organizations in Dharamsala:
The Institute of Buddhist Dialectics (IBD), established by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1973 – this Institute is the most prestigious center for advanced Buddhist studies and practice. IBD provides teachers and lecturers for our program.
 The Tibetan Medical Institute, established in 1961 - the Tibetan Medical Institute's objective is to preserve the ancient cultural heritage of traditional Tibetan medicine. Leading Tibetan physicians from the Tibetan Medical Institute offer classes for Miami University students.
The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) was formed in the year 1959 to preserve and promote traditional performing arts of Tibet including Tibetan opera, folk songs and dance. Our students have the opportunity to explore this aspect of Tibetan culture because of our program connections with TIPA.
The Department of Education, Tibetan Central Administration International Relations, and Tibetan Central Administration
Media in the Tibetan Central Administration. These institutions offer our students opportunities to engage in a wide range of research topics and internships.
Other Important Connections: We have an on-going relationship with the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Norbulingka Institute for the Preservation of Tibetan Culture, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, Tibetan Children's Village, and numerous monastic institutions
 Faculty
Courses and guest lectures in the field school are taught by leading scholars, researchers and cabinet members in the Tibetan government in exile. Our students are thus exposed to the most renowned and leading Tibetan intellectual figures. The principal faculty members from Miami University's Department of Anthropology will be Dr. Deborah Akers and Dr. H. Sidky.
Course Offerings
Students may enroll in the following courses to fulfil a number of Miami University requirements.
This program will fulfil the following Miami University requirements:
- A complete thematic sequence for non-anthropology majors
- Electives and methods requirements in anthropology
- Intensive Hindi, Chinese, and Tibetan languages
Thematic Sequence
 ATH 308A People and Culture of South Asia (3 credits)
This course introduces the student to the great diversity of human cultures in South Asia. We shall examine how people from different cultural settings organize their economic, social, and political lives, how they order their symbolic universe, and attempt to solve universal human problems.The course is intended to provide the student with a broader perspective on humanity, and enable a better understanding of other people's beliefs and customs. The student will be taught to view other societies holistically, comparatively, and relativistically. A holistic perspective involves the attempt to explore the interrelatedness between the customs and beliefs of a particular people. A comparative perspective means that any attempts at understanding humanity must include information from a wide range of human ways of life. A relativistic perspective involves an attempt to understand people‘s behavior on their own terms, not those of the anthropologist‘s own culture.
ATH 426A Ethnographic Field Methods (3-16 credits)
This course examines qualitative methods used in social science field research in indigenous communities. Topics include research proposal development, participant-observation, field interviews, data collection and analysis, and ethical aspects of conducting social science research. Students will produce a research paper based on applied research on a current issue or problem in the Tibetan community.
ATH 411A Applied Anthropology: Contemporary Problems in Tibetan Society (3 credits)
This class provides a framework for the application of anthropological knowledge to address current practical problems and concerns of the Tibetan community. Students will incorporate materials covered in this class into their research projects. Students are shown how applied approaches may be used while working with non-profit institutions and governmental agencies to plan, implement, and evaluate programs services, policies, and laws. This course provides the historical and cultural background to the contemporary issues facing the Tibetan community in exile. Topics include religion, philosophy, politics, government and law, exile and diaspora, environment, education, human rights and social justice, the media, and community development.
Electives
ATH 390S Tibetan Medicine: Perspectives on Disease, Health, Body and Mind (3 credits)
The course offers an in-depth look of the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of Tibetan medicine, a traditional system for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease that has been in practice for over 2500 years. Students will learn about mind-body healing, meditation techniques, and the role of deep meditative states on health and illness as a contrasting model to the western biomedical scientific paradigm.
health related projects.
ATH 390R Tibetan Buddhism and Philosophy (3 credits)
 Languages
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ATH 390T Introductory Mandarin (3 credits)
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ATH 390U Intermediate Mandarin (3 credits)
- ATH 390V Advanced Mandarin (3 credits)
- ATH 390W Introductory Hindi (3 credits)
- ATH 390X Intermediate Hindi (3 credits)
- ATH 390Y Advanced Hindi (3 credits)
- ATH390Z Intensive Tibetan (3-16 credits)
Credit / No Credit
Students cannot take any course for credit/no credit.
Disability Accommodation
If you anticipate the need for classroom accommodations for a disability while studying abroad, you need to notify the appropriate university office as soon as your application for study abroad is approved. For Learning Disabilities and/or Attention Deficit Disorder contact The Rinella Center 14 CAB 529-8741. For Physical or Other Disabilities contact Disability Resources contact 19 CAB 529-1541.
Program Schedule
Sept 3 - December 2, 2009
Orientation: Bangkok, Thailand
September 3: Arrive Bangkok (Thai dinner show at Silom Village )
September 4: Orientation & Bangkok site-seeing: Rural Klong Tour visit to Grand Palace
September 5: Ayutthaya visit to Buddhist temple ruins in former capital
September 6: Orientation and free day shopping
Arrival New Delhi
September 7: Fly to Delhi (details TBA)
September 8: Visit to Tibetan Reception Center, Bodh Vihar. Lunch at Karims
 Arrival Dharamsala- Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Sarah campus
September 9: 6:00 am jeeps leave for Dharamsala.
6:00 pm arrive at Sarah College for dinner. Check in with Tibetan roommates.
September 10: Campus orientation and welcome evening
September 11: Classes begin.
September 12: Field Trip: McLeod Ganj; Main temple, Linkhor and IBD; reception and lunch IBD
September 13: Free day
Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Sarah campus
September 15-17: Teaching by HH Dalai Lama (general Buddhist teaching, no text)
September 14-18: classes
September 19: Field trip: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives and CTA complex; Film: "Cry of the Snow Lion."
September 20: Free day
Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Sarah campus
September 21-25: classes
September 26: Field trip: Tibet Museum and Tibetan Reception Center; Film: "Escape from Tibet."
September 27: Free day
Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Sarah campus
September 28-Oct.2: classes
October 3: Field trip: TBA; Film: "Shadow Circus, CIA in Tibet."
October 4: Free day
Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Sarah campus
October 5-9: classes
October 10: Field trip: Men Tse Khan; McLeod Ganj: Meet home stay family
October 11: Free day
October/November: Audience/teaching with H.H. the Dalai Lama (exact date TBD)
Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Sarah campus
October 12-16: classes
October 15-18: Teaching by HH Dalai Lama (Diamond Sutra, Seven Point Mind Training and the Three Principal Paths)
 McLeod Ganj / Upper Dharamsala Homestays
October 17: Move to McLeod Ganj, begin stay with Tibetan families
October 18: Free day
McLeod Ganj / Upper Dharamsala Homestays
October 19-23: Classes resume in McLeod Ganj
October 24: Field trip: Tibetan Children's Village
October 25: Free day
McLeod Ganj / Upper Dharamsala Homestays
October 26-30: Classes
October 31: Field trip: Gu Chu Sum, ex political prisoner's movement
November 1: Free day
McLeod Ganj / Upper Dharamsala Homestays
November 2-6: Classes
November 7: Field trip: Gu Chu Sum, Dolmaling Nunnery
November 8: Free day
McLeod Ganj / Upper Dharamsala Homestays
November 9-13: Classes
November 14: Field trip: Norbulinka Institute
November 15: End of home stay; move to Chinar Lodge
McLeod Ganj / Upper Dharamsala / Chinar Lodge
November 16-19: Classes
November 20: Regular classes end
November 21: Free day
Research Period and Concluding Activities
November 21-27: Research period
November 26: Thanksgiving!!
November 28-30: Farewell activities, hikes, parties, etc. in mountains near McLeod Ganj
December 1: Overnight bus, train, or jeeps to Delhi
Group Flight
December 2: Fly to USA (details TBA)
Cost and Financial Matters
Estimated Costs for the 2009 Fall Program(pdf)
Admission and Enrollment Requirements
See your academic advisor(s) before registering for the Miami University Tibetan Studies Semester Program. We recommend that you take this bulletin along to show your advisor.
Admission Requirements:
- Students must have and maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA
- They must be in good academic standing
- Students must have completed at least 2 semesters of college level work at Miami University.
- Any past MU Code violations require a personal interview and eligibility review.
Applying
Required forms are available online. A complete application to the Miami University Tibetan Studies Semester includes the following:
- Application Form
- A copy of your Miami University transcript (see Office of the Registrar, CAB)
- Disciplinary Report(pdf) submitted to Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution. (Do not leave this until the last minute. It can take up to a week for the disciplinary report to be processed.)
Application Deadline: To be determined.
These materials should be submitted to Dr. H. Sidky.
After you have been accepted to the program, you must complete a Study Abroad Declaration Form.
Contact
For additional information, contact Sarah McNitt in the Office of International Education to set an advising appointment or contact the leaders of the program, Dr. Deborah Akers or Dr. H. Sidky.
  
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