The Modern Tibetan Studies Program (MTSP) at Columbia University is proud to present Emerging Tibetan Scholars in Tibetan Studies, an online serial conference running from September 18, 2026, through June 18, 2027. The series celebrates the growing cohort of Tibetan-heritage scholars who have earned doctoral degrees in recent decades and highlights the dissertation research of ten recent PhD graduates working across the field of Tibetan Studies.
Held via Zoom webinar on the third Friday of each month, each session will feature a 40-minute presentation by a scholar, followed by discussion. The series aims to showcase emerging scholarship while creating a space for intellectual exchange and community among scholars of Tibetan Studies.
The serial conference is supported by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute following two productive gatherings hosted by Columbia earlier this year: "Tibetan Education Workshop: Theory and Praxis" (April 24) and "Living with Climate Change in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau" (May 27-28). It also reflects MTSP’s ongoing commitment to expanding Tibetan Studies through community engagement and education.
See below for the Fall Schedule; all talks will be held from 10:00 – 11:30 am ET.
Sept. 18, 2026
- Speaker: Dr. Dhondup T. Rekjong, Northwestern University
- Dissertation Title: Courage and Creativity under Chinese Rule: The Untold Story of Tibetan Cultural and Religious Survival in the 1980s
Oct. 16, 2026
- Speaker: Dr. Khenpo Kunga Sherab, University of Toronto
- Dissertation Title: Incarnation on the Roof of the World: A History of Practices to Identify Trülku (sprul sku) in Tibetan Buddhism
Nov. 20, 2026
- Speaker: Dr. Somtsobum, Northwestern University
- Dissertation Title: Ḍākinīs and Demonesses: Women, Buddhism, and Land in Modern Tibetan Literature
Dec. 18, 2026
- Speaker: Dr. Yewong Dongchung, Columbia University
- Dissertation Title: Wood Carvers and Deep Forests: The Expansion of Tibetan-Language Woodblock Printing Houses (1642-1900)
Jan. 15, 2027
- Speaker: Dr. Palden Gyal, Columbia University
- Dissertation Title: Shifting Terrains of Authority: Religio-Political Governance in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands, 1650-1911
Speakers selected for the spring semester will be announced in January. To apply, please complete this Google Form by November 1.
