Third Aris Lecture

Prof. em. Per Kværne (University of Oslo): "Teach me how to be Gesar's Daughter" - Voices of young Tibetan intellectuals in the diaspora

The young generation of the Tibetan diaspora in India has a high level of education, with many attending universities or colleges. At the same time, well-educated young Tibetans face a number of existential as well as practical difficulties linked to their life as stateless refugees. While monastic communities in exile have received considerable attention from scholars, little focus has been placed on young lay Tibetans in recent years, in spite of a situation of rapid social change and mounting expectations as well as frustrations in this section of the Tibetan diaspora community in India. This year's Aris Lecture will explore some of these issues as expressed by a young Tibetan poet, Tenzin Kesang, through a selection of her recent poems.