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Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Travel: Identity- and Nation-Building in Bhutan

Descripción del proyecto

La identidad y la función histórica de Bután en Asia meridional y oriental

Desde inicios del siglo XIX, la intensa participación de los maestros budistas butaneses en la política ha constituido una característica fundamental de las relaciones diplomáticas de Bután con el Tíbet y el Raj británico. En el marco de las Acciones Marie Skłodowska-Curie, el proyecto BhutldBuddh estudia la identidad de Bután y el desarrollo de la nación mediante el análisis de una recopilación nunca antes traducida de fuentes textuales butanesas y tibetanas. Los hallazgos arrojarán luz sobre la historia política y religiosa de Bután desde inicios del siglo XIX, y cómo ha conducido al modelo de desarrollo sostenible actual de la felicidad nacional bruta, un enfoque holístico para alcanzar la felicidad y el bienestar de la población. Por primera vez, este proyecto abordará sistemáticamente la función histórica de Bután en la conexión entre Asia meridional, el Raj británico y Asia oriental desde la perspectiva butanesa.

Objetivo

This research project is an investigation of identity- and nation-building in eighteenth-century Bhutan with a particular focus on the agency of Buddhist masters as important diplomats and Bhutan's entangled history with Tibet. This will enable a novel understanding of Bhutan's religious and political history, particularly its Buddhism-induced development model of Gross National Happiness (GNH) that has not yet received systematic historical analysis in religious studies in Europe despite its global popularity as an example of alternative sustainable economic models. Furthermore, for the first time, Bhutan's historical role in linking South Asia, the British Raj, and East Asia will be systematically addressed. The research output will significantly advance both fields - that of Tibetology and religious studies. The innovative research design combines historical-philological methods by analyzing a thus far untranslated corpus of Bhutanese/Tibetan primary sources with a theoretical framework from religious studies focusing on identity and social differentiation. Therefore, the project is in its methodology, output, and impact inter-disciplinary. The researcher will produce a draft for a single monograph publication for habilitation in Germany. The proposed project involves as the researcher a German Tibetologist trained in Germany, Canada, India, and Bhutan reintegrating to Germany to work with a religious/Buddhist studies scholar at Leipzig University. This will enable substantial training for the researcher in religious studies and impactful two-way knowledge exchange between the researcher and the host institution due to the international experience of the researcher. An intersectional secondment at The British Library Endangered Archives Programme (London) will provide further Tibetological training in (digital) archival work, palaeography, and codicology, and produce globally accessible research data about this digitized Bhutanese/Tibetan primary source corpus.

Coordinador

UNIVERSITAET LEIPZIG
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 189 687,36
Dirección
RITTERSTRASSE 26
04109 Leipzig
Alemania

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Región
Sachsen Leipzig Leipzig
Tipo de actividad
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Enlaces
Coste total
Sin datos

Socios (1)