Aims of the Programme
The programme aims to provide students with a grounding in Bhutanese and Himalayan studies by imparting knowledge on Bhutanese culture, tradition, heritage, history, religion and language in the context of Himalayan studies. The programme also covers the study of specific historical developments, cultural norms, and the socioeconomic and geographic contexts that shape perceptions and practices in the Himalayan regions of Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Arunachal Pradesh.
In addition, the programme will introduce students to the concept of Gross National Happiness in the context of Bhutanese and Himalayan studies. Through this programme, students will develop research skills and bilingual competency in Dzongkha and English.
Objectives of the Programme
On completion of a three year BA in Bhutan and Himalayan Studies, graduates will be able to:
- Exhibit a broad understanding of key terms, debates and theories related to cultures, societies, languages, religions and histories of the Himalayan territories of Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
- Describe the evolutionary and historical processes that have shaped the biological, behavioural and cultural diversity of Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
- Compare the diverse cultural and traditional practices, and beliefs found within Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
- Analyse the impact of cultural change and geopolitical situations within Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Arunachal Pradesh
- Analyse the impact of major historical events in the world and the region on the socio-economic and political developments of the Himalayan region.
- Analyse a range of historical and contemporary issues in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
- Describe the historical and political developments of Bhutan and the Himalayan region.
- Evaluate the importance of historical figures of Bhutan and their contributions to nation building.
- Gain an understanding of GNH as a development paradigm and make comparisons with other approaches.
- Evaluate the application of GNH to development policies and plans of Bhutan as well as its impact outside Bhutan.
- Undertake critical and constructive analysis of texts, artifacts, spaces, events, debates, policies and ways of being in the context of Bhutanese and Himalayan studies.
- Display basic skills of curating and presenting visual and spatial research.
- Apply basic research skills to conduct small scale research projects.
- Critically analyze and synthesize information relevant to the area of study.
- Communicate effectively in both spoken and written forms in Dzongkha and English
- Appreciate the uniqueness of Bhutanese values, culture and tradition.
- Display a sense of respect for indigenous knowledge and practices in Bhutan and the wider Himalayan region.
- Analyze the historical relations among Bhutan, India and China
- Exhibit a deeper understanding of the history and culture of the Himalayas
- Apply knowledge of GNH to understand socio-economic development of the Himalayas
- Analyze contemporary debates related to socio-political situations in the Himalayas
- Question assumptions and make a stand through reasoned arguments
- Conduct a substantial research project independently
- Critically reflect on their own learning process
- Appreciate the uniqueness of Bhutanese culture and tradition.
Curriculum Structure
Yr. | Sem | Module Code and Name | ||||
I | I | HST101 Introduction to the Himalayas | BTN101 Cultural Heritage of Bhutan | KYG101 བརྡ་སྤྲོད་དང་པ། | ICT101 IT Skills | ACS101་ Academic Skills |
II | RES101་ Basic Research Methods | BTN102 འབྲུག་གྱི་ཁབ་སྲིད། Political History of Bhutan | KYG102་ བརྡ་སྤྲོད་གཉིས་པ། | LAN101 Grammar, Vocabulary, and Phonology in Context | REL101 Introduction to Hinduism | |
II | I | HST202 Basic Methodology of Writing History | REL202 Introduction to Buddhism | MUS201 Museum Studies | KYG103་ བརྡ་སྤྲོད་གསུམ་པ། | ENG202 Critical Reading |
II | ARC201 Introduction to Archaeology | BTN203 འབྲུག་གི་ཆོས་འབྱུང་། Religious History of Bhutan | HST203་ History of India ; from 1885-1964 A.D. | HSM302 Oral History | KYG104 བརྡ་སྤྲོད་བཞི་པ། | |
III | I | ICG301 ལྷ་སྐུའི་བརྡ་དོན། Iconography | REL303 The Study of Rituals, Art and Texts | HST304 Political History of the Himalayas | ETQ101་ སྒྲིག་ལམ། Etiquette | BTN304 Bhutan and its International Relations |
II | BTN305 Introduction to GNH | BTN306 Socio-economic History of Bhutan | HST305 Modern World History | LIT203་ ལེགས་བཤད། | ANT 301 Family and Kinship in the Himalayan Region | |
IV | I | BTN407 Advanced Study of GNH | REL404 ནང་པའི་ལྟ་གྲུབ། | HST406་ The Triangular Relations: Bhutan, China and India | HST407་ Himalayan Cultural Ecology | RES402 Research Proposal Writing |
II | RES403 Undergraduate Research Project |