From: DODIN@uni-bonn.de (Thierry Dodin) - forwarded by Graham Shields (ETH Zurich)

"This was posted in an email group called "Himalayan Network" but deserves a wider audience.

Hardly any other region on earth has fired our imagination in the course of the centuries the way Tibet has done. After a perception of Tibet in Europe that varied greatly as time went on (among others, "gold-digging ants", the empire of the Amazons, one of the lost tribes of Israel, and the empire of the mythical Prester John, were all suspected of existing in the highlands of Central Asia), in the 19th century Tibet came to be regarded as the "forbidden country" per se. It became an ideal object for projections of a panoply of fantasies and desires, and these were soon to be reflected in literature and the spiritual movements of the Occident; in fact, they even impacted on political decisions by the colonial powers of the day.

Today, broad sections of the population are more aware of Tibet than ever before. This can be attributed above all to the political situation there and reports in the media. If we consider the image of Tibet thus conveyed, then it strikes the eye that perceptions influenced by the past are echoed in them in an unreflected manner. Moreover, depending on the underlying political stance, one encounters diametrically opposed evaluations of that country.

Research on Tibet also proves not to have freed itself from one-sided angles, preconceived images and projections. To a not inconsiderable degree, this is the product of the history of scholarly thought, for research on Tibet has by and large been a spin-off of the study of the political and cultural history of China and India. In addition, the special Western fascination with Tibet (e.g. in the form of enthusiasm for Buddhism or "nomadic life-styles") first kindled the interest of many a scholar in Western countries and therefore influenced their perception.

Most recently, given that an interest in Tibet has long since gone far beyond the narrower confines of the academic world, the need for a fundamental inquiry into the images of Tibet among scholars and in Europe as a whole has become ever more evident. The Institute of Central Asian Studies at the University of Bonn and the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland wish to take this into account with an international symposium titled "Mythos Tibet". Internationally recognized experts together with specialist colleagues have therefore been invited to debate this topic from May 10-12, 1996 at the Forum of the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle.

The following topics will be of special interest:

- the historical development of our perception of Tibet

- the impact and intentions behind distorted images of Tibet in their respective ideological and social context

- limited perspectives and unconscious projections in the scholarly discourse on Tibet.

Thus, for the first time an attempt will be made to redefine our image of Tibet somewhere between "Shangri-La" and "feudal society" in a manner that comes up to scholarly standards. Precise details of the programme for the symposium are given in the attachements. We hereby cordially invite all colleagues interested in Tibet and the reception of foreign cultures to participate in the symposium.

The Convenors: Thierry Dodin & Heinz R=E4ther

Preliminary Programme

Friday, May 10th

I- DIE HISTORISCHE ENTWICKLUNG DES TIBETBILDES IM WESTEN/THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TIBET'S IMAGE IN THE WEST

Chair: - Michael Hahn, Marburg

11.00 - Opening Adress - Wenzel Jacob (Director of the Art and Exhibition Hall)

- Max G. Huber (Rektor of Bonn University)

- Introduction: Michael Weiers - (Director of the Institute of Central Asian Studies, Bonn University)

11.30 - Das Tibetbild im Westen vor dem 20. Jahrhundert/(The Image of Tibet in the West up to the 20th Century) - Rudolf Kaschewsky, Bonn

12.15 - The Tibet Images of the Great Mystifiers" - Donald S. Lopez

13.00 - Lunchbreak

14.30 - Images of Tibet in Western Literature - Peter Bishop, Adelaide

15.15 - Images of Tibet among Researchers on Tibet - Per Kvaerne, Oslo

16.30 - Perceptions of Tibetan Buddhist Art in Tibet and the West - Heather Stoddard, Paris

- Introduction to the exhibition "Weisheit und Liebe. - 1000 Jahre Kunst des tibetischen Buddhismus":

17.15 - "Getting beyond Orientalism in Approaching Buddhism and Tibet - A Central Concept Underlying Weisheit und Liebe" - Robert A.F. Thurman, New York (Curator of the exhibition)

Saturday, May 11th

II-- Verwertungsformen und Wirkungsweisen idealisierter Tibetbilder/Use and Effects of Idealized Images of Tibet

Chair: - Detlef Kantowsky, Konstanz & N.N.

11.00 - Tibet, Buddhism and Theosophy - Poul Pedersen, Aarhus

11.45 - Das Tibetbild der Nationalsozialisten/(The Nazis' Concept of Tibet) - Reinhard Greve, Hamburg

12.30 - Coffeebreak

12.45 - Das Tibetbild in der modernen chinesischen Kunst und Propaganda - (The Portrayal of Tibet in Modern Chinese Fine Arts and Propaganda) - Thomas Heberer, Trier

13.30 - Lunchbreak

15.00 - Tibet und die politische Rechte und Linke - (Tibet and the Political Right and Left) - Oskar Weggel, Hamburg

15.45 - The Role of Tibet in the New Age Movement - Frank J. Korom, Santa Fe

16.30 - Coffeebreak

16.45 - Das Tibetbild in Produktwerbung und Alltagskultur - (Images of Tibet Used in Advertisement and Popular Culture) - N.N.

17.30 - Tibetan Exile Self-Representation and Global Liberal Discourse:

- The Recent Creation of Environmentalist, Pacifist and Feminist=20

- Tibet Images - Toni Huber, Christchurch

18.15 - Coffeebreak

18.30 - Die Problematik des populaeren Tibetbildes fuer die buddhistische - Lehre im Westen - (The Impact of Popular Tibet Images on the Teaching of Buddhism in the West) - Loden Sherab Dagyab Rinpoche, Bonn

19.15 - Repercussions of Western Projections on Tibetan Self-Imagination - Dawa Norbu, New Delhi

20.00 - Party

Sunday, May 12th

III-- KONTROVERSE STANDPUNKTE IM WISSENSCHAFTLICHEN DISKURS BER TIBET/CONTROVERSIAL POSITIONS IN THE SCHOLARLY DISCOURSE ON TIBET

11.00 - Debate on the Results of the First Two Days and Possible Conclusions for the Ensuing Scientific and Political Discourse, - Moderated by the Chairmen of the Preceeding Sessions

13.00 - Lunchbreak

1·- Panel Discussion: Tibetans - Protagonists of an Ideal Ecological Lifestyle?

14.30 - Tibetische Kultur als oekologisches Modell? (Tibetan culture as an ecological model?) - Ludmilla Tueting, Berlin

15.00 - The Impact of Tradition and Modernity in Tibet: From Ideal to Practice - Graham E. Clarke, Oxford

15.30 - Panel Discussion with Ludmilla Tueting, Graham E. Clarke, - Tsewang Norbu (St. Augustin), Lambert Schmithausen (Hamburg) and Toni Huber (Moderator)

16.45 - Coffeebreak

2·- Panel Discussion: Tibetans - A Peaceful and Tolerant People?

17.00 - N.N.

17.30 - Orientalism and Aspects of Violence in the Tibetan Tradition - Elliot Sperling, Bloomington

18.00 - Panel Discussion with N.N., Elliot Sperling, Jamyang Norbu - (Dharamsala), Thubten Jigme Norbu (Bloomington) and Michael Aris (Oxford, Moderator)

19.30 - Closing Address

All lectures and discussions will be translated simultaneously into English and/or German.

Thierry Dodin

Zentralasiatisches Seminar

Universitat Bonn

Regina-Pacis-Weg 7

D-53113 Bonn

Fax: (+49) 0228/73 74 58"

e-mail: "DODIN@uni-bonn.de", or: "upp701@ibm.rhrz.uni-bonn.de"