Articles by Timothy Thurston
Asian Ethnicity, 2017
Beginning in the 1980s, and continuing for over three decades since, a particular generation of T... more Beginning in the 1980s, and continuing for over three decades since, a particular generation of Tibetans from the Northeastern Tibetan
region known as Amdo, and particularly from the northern parts of
China’s Qinghai province, has proven extremely productive. Why has
this generation, born primarily between 1959 and 1967, been so
incredibly successful? This article examines the contextual factors
that may have contributed to the incredible success of this generation.
This ranges from the policies and circumstances that affected
their births, and the state of the cultural field at the time they reached
adulthood. Personal experience narratives, autobiographies, and
scholarly studies then reveal how this generation was able to access
the intellectual field. Finally, I briefly discuss how the Amdo Tibetan
intellectual field compares with other Tibetan and ethnic experiences
in the People’s Republic of China.
An introduction to Mark Bender's life researching folklore, literature, and cultures in China
Himalaya: The Journal of the Association of Nepal and Himalayan Studies
Asian Highlands Perspectives, 2012
This paper describes a single family's preparations and celebrations for the 2010 Tibetan Lo sar ... more This paper describes a single family's preparations and celebrations for the 2010 Tibetan Lo sar 'New Year' in Stong skor Village, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, PR China. It then compares the findings with other studies of Lo sar practices and calls for more descriptive areal studies.
A Study of the role of Tricksters and Outcasts in Sinophone Tibetan Author Alai's literature.
Asian Ethnology, 2012
The "sa bstod" is a genre of Tibetan oratory praising famous landmarks in a given area, including... more The "sa bstod" is a genre of Tibetan oratory praising famous landmarks in a given area, including monasteries, holy mountains, and streams. Such speeches are intimately tied up with manipulating economies of fortune. As an introductory study of the genre, this article begins with a study of Tibetan economies of fortune. Next it examines sa bstod within a continuum of similar genres that discuss place and the environment. Following this, the performance contexts, dynamics, and register of the sa bstod genre are described. The article concludes by showing how sa bstod shed light on these economies of fortune and how lay Tibetans interact with the phenomenological world in relation to folkloric theories of place and place names, as well as the Tibetan folk religious concept of "rten 'brel"
This article introduces the background to a Tibetan wedding speech in A mdo, including its textua... more This article introduces the background to a Tibetan wedding speech in A mdo, including its textual history, the village from which it was taken, and our practices and goals in translating the text. We then provide a translation, side-by-side with the Tibetan original, of a 547 line Tibetan Wedding speech from Ne'u na (Ch: Nina) Village, Khri ka (Ch: Guide) County, Mtsho lho (Ch: Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.
Book Reviews by Timothy Thurston
A Review of Emily Yeh's excellent new book entitled Taming Tibet.
Conference Presentations by Timothy Thurston
Throughout much of the twenty-first century, Tibetans in China, particularly intellectuals, have ... more Throughout much of the twenty-first century, Tibetans in China, particularly intellectuals, have engaged in an increasingly high-profile campaign to promote language purity – purging the Tibetan language of Chinese loanwords and replacing them with Tibetan neologisms. In this campaign, Tibetan comedians have encouraged their audiences to speak pure Tibetan through juxtaposing positive and negative examples of language use in the mouths of different speakers. Tibetan singers have been even more explicit, singing songs about speaking pure Tibetan. Meanwhile, a number of new picture dictionaries have been published in hopes of teaching people the “correct” terms for a variety of new technologies. And although these activities all involve a significant aspect of linguistic innovation through the coining and use of neologisms, Tibetans almost uniformly view them as promoting traditions considered to be under threat.
In this paper, I examine normative statements on discursive practice from a variety of sources including social media like WeChat, blogs, comedies, songs, and interviews, to discuss the development of new language ideologies linking otherwise modern values like language purity and the appropriate use of neologisms, with a desire to preserve Tibetan traditions. Placed within the larger theoretical frameworks of language purism and hygiene, I suggest that the discursive relation of pure language and preservation of traditional cultural practices believed to be under threat is part of a Tibetan intellectual stance promoting a uniquely Tibetan approach to modernity based largely in discursive practice.
Talks by Timothy Thurston
Powerpoint for talk on "The State of American Folkloristics" at Qinghai Normal University (青海师范大学)
A talk at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University (in October 2016), I introd... more A talk at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University (in October 2016), I introduce one Tibetan sketch comedy from 2014. I discuss how it uses encounters with others to publicly discuss particular social issues in contemporary Tibet.
Drafts by Timothy Thurston
Beginning in the 1980s, and continuing for over three decades since, a particular generation of T... more Beginning in the 1980s, and continuing for over three decades since, a particular generation of Tibetans from the Northeastern Tibetan region known as Amdo, and particularly from the northern parts of China's Qinghai province, has proven extremely productive. Why has this generation, born primarily between 1959 and 1967 been so incredibly successful? This paper examines the contextual factors that may have contributed to the incredible success of this generation. This ranges from the policies and circumstances that affected their births, and the state of the cultural field at the time they reached adulthood. Personal experience narratives, autobiographies, and scholarly studies then reveal how this particularly able generation was able to access the intellectual field. Finally, I briefly discuss how the Amdo Tibetan intellectual field compares with other Tibetan and ethnic experiences in the People's Republic of China.
Papers by Timothy Thurston
This article introduces the background to a Tibetan wedding speech in A mdo, including its textua... more This article introduces the background to a Tibetan wedding speech in A mdo, including its textual history, the village from which it was taken, and our practices and goals in translating the text. We then provide a translation, side-by-side with the Tibetan original, of a 547 line Tibetan Wedding speech from Ne'u na (Ch: Nina) Village, Khri ka (Ch: Guide) County, Mtsho lho (Ch: Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.
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Articles by Timothy Thurston
region known as Amdo, and particularly from the northern parts of
China’s Qinghai province, has proven extremely productive. Why has
this generation, born primarily between 1959 and 1967, been so
incredibly successful? This article examines the contextual factors
that may have contributed to the incredible success of this generation.
This ranges from the policies and circumstances that affected
their births, and the state of the cultural field at the time they reached
adulthood. Personal experience narratives, autobiographies, and
scholarly studies then reveal how this generation was able to access
the intellectual field. Finally, I briefly discuss how the Amdo Tibetan
intellectual field compares with other Tibetan and ethnic experiences
in the People’s Republic of China.
Book Reviews by Timothy Thurston
Conference Presentations by Timothy Thurston
In this paper, I examine normative statements on discursive practice from a variety of sources including social media like WeChat, blogs, comedies, songs, and interviews, to discuss the development of new language ideologies linking otherwise modern values like language purity and the appropriate use of neologisms, with a desire to preserve Tibetan traditions. Placed within the larger theoretical frameworks of language purism and hygiene, I suggest that the discursive relation of pure language and preservation of traditional cultural practices believed to be under threat is part of a Tibetan intellectual stance promoting a uniquely Tibetan approach to modernity based largely in discursive practice.
Talks by Timothy Thurston
Drafts by Timothy Thurston
Papers by Timothy Thurston
region known as Amdo, and particularly from the northern parts of
China’s Qinghai province, has proven extremely productive. Why has
this generation, born primarily between 1959 and 1967, been so
incredibly successful? This article examines the contextual factors
that may have contributed to the incredible success of this generation.
This ranges from the policies and circumstances that affected
their births, and the state of the cultural field at the time they reached
adulthood. Personal experience narratives, autobiographies, and
scholarly studies then reveal how this generation was able to access
the intellectual field. Finally, I briefly discuss how the Amdo Tibetan
intellectual field compares with other Tibetan and ethnic experiences
in the People’s Republic of China.
In this paper, I examine normative statements on discursive practice from a variety of sources including social media like WeChat, blogs, comedies, songs, and interviews, to discuss the development of new language ideologies linking otherwise modern values like language purity and the appropriate use of neologisms, with a desire to preserve Tibetan traditions. Placed within the larger theoretical frameworks of language purism and hygiene, I suggest that the discursive relation of pure language and preservation of traditional cultural practices believed to be under threat is part of a Tibetan intellectual stance promoting a uniquely Tibetan approach to modernity based largely in discursive practice.