Dreams of Equality and Nepal’s Federal Constitution: Experiences of Indigenous Peoples and Marginalized Communities
Save the Date: April 8th, 2025 Tuesday, for UBC Himalaya Program’s fourth annual lecture on Dreams of Equality and Nepal’s Federal Constitution: Experiences of Indigenous Peoples and Marginalized Communities with Dr. Mukta Lama, Adjunct Professor and Policy Practitioner Fellow at the University of British Columbia.
Are Tibetans Indigenous? The Political Stakes and Potentiality of the Translation of Indigeneity
Save the Date: November 22nd, 2024 Friday, for a talk on Are Tibetans Indigenous? The Political Stakes and Potentiality of the Translation of Indigeneity with Dawa Lokyitsang
Go Global Nepal – Info Session November 4th
Go Global Nepal Info Session:
Date: November 4th, Monday
Time: 4 – 5PM PST
Location: LIFE 1505
Go Global Staff: Fay Alikhani
Instructors: Pasang Y Sherpa and Binod Shrestha
RSVP here! : https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1IkNCMqUAIesBWC
About the Course:
ASIA_V476: Applied Nepali and Indigenous Environmentalism (3 credits)
This course is led by Pasang Yangjee Sherpa and Binod Shrestha, Faculty of Arts
Course dates: July 21st, 2025 – August 9th, 2025
Travel dates: July 21st, 2025 – August 9th, 2025 (tentative)
Format: In-person
Location: Nepal
Approximate program fee: $2,525 (Go Global fee, tuition, flight, food, and personal expenses are not included)
Funding available: Go Global Award ($1000); Arts Research Abroad (ARA) Funding – please read details here.
– We encourage students who are not eligible for the ARA funding to apply for the Global Pathfinder Award. Application due November 8th, 2024.
Program Overview:
This Go Global seminar explores the intersection of language and environment on the ancestral territory of the Newa people, now known as Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, in July of 2025. Students will learn about the rich Newa civilization, tradition, and transformation in four city centers: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, and Kirtipur. Language politics, Indigenous language revitalization and Indigenous environmentalism will be a recurring theme in this course.
Throughout the course, students will practice their Nepali speaking, reading, writing skills, and learn to understand how language and environment inform each other. Students will have the opportunity to learn and practice Nepali in the community with native speakers. They will get exposure to Indigenous languages from all around Nepal that are currently spoken in the valley. Learning materials include audio-visual and textual resources such as academic and public literature, songs, videos, art and crafts.
Learn more about the program here!
View all Global Seminar programs here! More than 25 programs will open for application!
Witnessing the Himalayan (M)Anthropocene with Dr. Ritodhi Chakraborty
On October 10, 2024, the Himalaya Program proudly hosted Dr. Ritodhi Chakraborty, lecturer from Lincoln University’s Department of Environmental Management, for an insightful seminar titled “Witnessing a Himalayan (M)Anthropocene.” Dr. Chakraborty delved into the promises and challenges posed by the (M)Anthropocene in the Indian Himalayas, drawing on his extensive experience with rural communities to question whether Ecological Masculinity could offer a meaningful response to environmental crises.
The event, held at UBC’s Liu Institute of Global Affairs, was a resounding success, fostering interdisciplinary conversations and deepening perspectives on sustainable futures in the Himalayas and beyond.
Karun Karki
Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts| School of Social Work
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus
Email: karun.karki@ubc.ca
Phone: 604-827-1520
Salina Dolmo Lama
UBC Himalaya Program presents: Witnessing The Himalayan (M)Anthropocene
Event Details:
Register here:
Abstract:
Elite (white, upper caste, university educated, wealthy, Global North) men still control the production and application of knowledge about the Anthropocene, in essence constructing a (M)anthropocene. Among the many challenges to this reality is the idea of ‘Ecological Masculinity’, advocating for subjectivities that support an ethic of ecological stewardship and care. My work explores the promises and pitfalls of this proposition in Indian Himalayas. Working through a decade of engagement with rural communities, I ask the following questions: Is Ecological Masculinity a viable response to the (M)Anthropocene? If not, what are its conceptual and material limits and can (should) they be transgressed?
About the Speaker:
Ritodhi Chakraborty is a lecturer in the Department of Environmental Management at Lincoln University in New Zealand. He is a political ecologist and interdisciplinary social scientist, a collaborator with indigenous and agrarian communities to explore pathways to environmental and social justice. For the past decade, Dr. Chakraborty has worked with various universities, think-tanks, public and civil society institutions in United States, India, Bhutan, China, and New Zealand on issues of plural knowledges, environmental and social justice, rural transformation, masculinity, climate change and agriculture. https://researchers.lincoln.ac.nz/ritodhi.chakraborty