Literatures, Religions, and Arts of the Himalayan Region

FAIN: ES-50211-07

College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA 01610-2395)
Todd T. Lewis (Project Director: March 2007 to July 2009)

A four-week summer institute for thirty school teachers on the peoples and traditions of the Himalayan region.

The Institute will focus on the cultural traditions of the Himalayan region and particularly on the polities, fine arts, and religions that have been important in Asian history. Hinduism and Buddhism will be featured, as well as the B?n tradition and shamanism. There will be special emphasis on art and literature, drawing on new scholarship, museum collections, and translations of novels by two Nepali authors whose work has been acclaimed in Asia and the West. The Institute will end with presentations on ecological and political crises facing the Himalayan peoples. Curriculum workshops will be integrated with scholarly presentations, identifying available K-12 classroom resources, but also including films, foods, and music. Institute teachers will be trained to create web sites and publish their own curriculum implementation plans. As in our three previous programs, the Institute web site will also post materials from expert presentations to become a resource for educators nationwide.