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| International Association of Tibetan Studies | |
|---|---|
| Name | International Association of Tibetan Studies |
| Abbreviation | IATS |
| Formation | 1977 |
| Type | Learned society |
| Location | International |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Membership | Scholars, researchers, institutions |
| Leader title | President |
International Association of Tibetan Studies is an international learned society dedicated to the scholarly study of Tibet and related regions, traditions, and cultural phenomena. Founded to coordinate academic exchange among specialists in Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan history, Tibetan language, and adjacent fields, the association organizes periodic congresses, fosters collaborative research, and promotes publication of new scholarship. Its activities bring together researchers working on topics such as Buddhism in Tibet, Himalayan studies, Central Asian studies, Tibetan art, and Tibetan literature.
The association emerged from networks of scholars who participated in early conferences and symposia in the late 20th century, connecting figures associated with School of Oriental and African Studies, University of British Columbia, Harvard University, University of Oxford, and École française d'Extrême-Orient. Important precursors included gatherings linked to the International Congress of Orientalists, the International Association for Tibetan Studies (early meetings), and national bodies such as the American Academy of Religion and the Royal Asiatic Society. Early leadership comprised scholars trained under mentors from institutions like Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, and Sankt Petersburg State University. Over successive decades the association adapted to shifts in access to Tibetan Autonomous Region, the opening of archives in Lhasa, and growing collaboration with scholars based in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. Major historical moments for the association intersected with broader events such as conferences hosted near repositories like the British Library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and the National Library of China.
Governance is typically vested in an elected board including a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and committee chairs drawn from universities and research centers such as University of Cambridge, McMaster University, Australian National University, University of Toronto, and Peking University. The association maintains bylaws modeled after other learned societies like the American Philosophical Society and the Royal Society. Its committees address program planning, ethics, digital initiatives, and liaison with archives such as the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center and the Tibetan & Himalayan Library. Governance processes incorporate peer review norms practiced by publishers like Oxford University Press, University of California Press, and Routledge.
The association convenes a major congress roughly every three years, following precedents set by gatherings such as the International Congress of Asian Studies and the World Congress of Philosophy. Venues have included cities with strong Tibetan studies centers: Zurich, Seattle, Paris, Kyoto, Delhi, Leipzig, Hamburg, Barcelona, and New Delhi. These congresses feature plenaries, panels, and workshops that attract presenters affiliated with Columbia University, Harvard Divinity School, Tibet House US, School for Oriental and African Studies, and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. Special symposia have focused on manuscripts from collections like the Sanskrit Library at Kathmandu and the Pelliot collection at the Bibliothèque nationale. The congress program often intersects with exhibitions at museums such as the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Asia Society.
Membership comprises individual scholars, institutional members, and student affiliates linked to departments and centers including Department of South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, Centre for Tibetan Studies at SOAS, and regional hubs like the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. National chapters and affiliated groups organize local seminars in countries such as United States, Germany, France, India, Nepal, Japan, Australia, and China. Collaboration occurs with NGOs and cultural organizations including International Campaign for Tibet, Central Tibetan Administration, and Tibetologists’ networks.
Research sponsored or catalyzed by the association spans philology of manuscripts from repositories like the Dunhuang Collection, studies of monastic institutions tied to Ganden Monastery and Tashilhunpo Monastery, analyses of ritual linked to figures such as Padmasambhava and Tsongkhapa, and ethnographies in regions including Amdo, Kham, and Ü-Tsang. Interdisciplinary projects engage methods from comparative study of Sanskrit and Tibetan translation traditions, iconographic research connected to Yungdrung Bön and Nyingma, as well as archaeological fieldwork in sites comparable to Guge Kingdom ruins. Collaborative digital humanities initiatives work with databases like the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center and the Tibetan & Himalayan Library.
The association facilitates publication of conference proceedings, edited volumes, and monographs with presses such as Brill, Routledge, Wisdom Publications, University of Hawai‘i Press, and Oxford University Press. It may sponsor journals and newsletters in partnership with periodicals like the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Revue d'Études Tibétaines, Tibet Journal, and Himalaya. Communication channels include listservs, social media presences, and collaborations with repositories such as the British Library and the Library of Congress for digitization projects. Peer review and editorial standards align with those practiced by academic publishers including Springer and Cambridge University Press.
The association administers awards, travel grants, and research fellowships to support early-career scholars and field research in locations such as Lhasa, Shigatse, Dharamsala, and Kathmandu. Grant decisions reflect precedents set by funding bodies like the National Endowment for the Humanities, the European Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada), and private foundations such as the Khyentse Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Named prizes recognize outstanding monographs, dissertation research, and lifetime achievement by scholars associated with institutions including Harvard University, SOAS, University of Vienna, and Leiden University.