Start Saying "White," Stop Saying "Western
Transforming the Dominant Vocabulary of Tibet Studies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2292842 |
|---|---|
| Authors | C Michelle Kleisath (University of Washington, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 15-26 |
| Publication date | 2013-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Transforming Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1051-0559 • E-ISSN: 1548-7466 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/traa.12003 |
| OpenAlex | W2069901220 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 15 |
This article employs a literature review and critical race analysis to explore the need for a renewed vocabulary in English-language scholarship on Tibet. Focusing on the popular use of the term “Western” as a stand-in for “white,” this article shows how whiteness is obscured behind non racialized signifiers, such as “scholar” or “author,” whereas racialized descriptions of Tibetans, Indians, and Han Chinese are ubiquitous. I argue that the obscuration of whiteness is linked with a privileged neutrality which is evident in the majority of English-language literature on Tibet, and which has wide-ranging implications for Tibetan and Chinese scholarship on Tibet. Considering the dominant presence of white people in Tibetology, I argue for a renewed vocabulary that allows for more honest and direct dialog about the meaning of whiteness in this particular area of scholarship and practice
Dialog box · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Political science · Race (biology · Scholarship · Sociology · Vocabulary · White (mutation · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies
Racing research, researching race
White Supremacy and Racism in the Post-Civil Rights Era
White Women, Race Matters
Beyond the pale
Conquest
Development and Change in Rural Tibet
Coming to Terms with the Nation
Introduction
Resistance and reform in Tibet
The Snow Lion and the Dragon
The Profession of the Color Blind
Believing Is Seeing
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |