Himalayan Studies encompasses diverse geographies, cultural regions, ethno-linguistic groups, and various topics of academic inquiry. This bibliography is aimed at providing an initial introduction, categorized by topics. This is not a comprehensive overview, but instead a set of starting points to encourage students to go further on their own. These books are available through two collections: the UBC Library collections and the collections of the Himalaya Program. The books available at UBC Library have been hyperlinked to the webpage. If you would like to access other books please contact the Himalaya Program: himalaya.arts@ubc.ca
(*) Contact Himalaya Program for the book: himalaya.arts@ubc.ca
Note: this page was updated in 2016 and does not fully reflect the current literature.
Art & Visual Culture / Development studies / Economy / Education / Ethnicity/Nationalism / Environment / Ethnography / Geography/Geology / Health & Well-Being / History / Language / Politics & State / Religion / Urbanization
Introduction
Bawa, K., & Kadur, S. (2012). Himalaya: Mountains of Life. ATREE. (*)
Harris, C. (1999). In the image of Tibet: Tibetan painting after 1959. Reaktion Books.
Harris, C. E. (2012). The museum on the roof of the world: art, politics, and the representation of Tibet. University of Chicago Press.
Pal, P. (1991). Art of the Himalayas: treasures from Nepal and Tibet. Hudson Hills Press.
Development Studies
Bista, D. B. (1991). Fatalism and development: Nepal's struggle for modernization. Orient Blackswan.
Economy
Regmi, M. C. (1988). An economic history of Nepal, 1846-1901. Varanasi: Nath Publishing House.
Shakya, S. (2013). Unleashing Nepal. Penguin UK. (*)
Education
Bhatta, P. (Ed.). (2009). Education in Nepal: Problems, reforms and social change. Martin Chautari. (*)
Bass, C. (1998). Education in Tibet: Policy and practice since 1950. Zed books. (*)
Ethnicity/Nationalism
Carrin, Marine, Pralay Kanungo, and Gérard Toffin. (2014) The Politics of Ethnicity in India, Nepal and China. Primius Books. (*)
Environment
Guneratne, A. (Ed.). (2009). Culture and the Environment in the Himalaya. Routledge.
Rangan, H. (2000). Of myths and movements: Rewriting Chipko into Himalayan history. Verso.
World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia. (2016). Nepal Earthquake 2015: an insight into risks - a vision for reslience.
Ethnography
Childs, G. H. (2004). Tibetan diary: from birth to death and beyond in a Himalayan valley of Nepal. Univ of California Press.
Geography/Geology
Health & Well-Being
History
Phuntsho, K. (2013). The history of Bhutan. Random House India.
Whelpton, J. (2005). A history of Nepal. Cambridge University Press.
Language
Hutt, M. (1988). Nepali, a national language and its literature. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers.
Van Driem, G. (2001). Languages of the Himalayas: an ethnolinguistic handbook of the greater Himalayan region. Brill
Dixit, K. M., & Ramachandran, S. (Eds.). (2002). State of Nepal. Lalitpur: Himal Books.
Hofer, A. (1979). The history of the Muluki Ain: The caste hierarchy and the state in Nepal: A study of the Muluki Ain of 1854. Innsbruck, Austria: Universitatsverlag Wanger. (*)
Lawoti, M. (Ed.). (2007). Contentious politics and democratization in Nepal. SAGE Publications India. (*)
Mathur, N. (2016). Paper tiger: Law, bureaucracy and the developmental state in Himalayan India. Cambridge University Press.
Religion
Berreman, G. D. (1963). Hindus of the Himalayas. Univ of California Press.
Sijapati, M. A., & Birkenholtz, J. V. (Eds.). (2016). Religion and Modernity in the Himalaya. Routledge.
Urbanization
Rademacher, A. (2011). Reigning the river: urban ecologies and political transformation in Kathmandu. Durham, UK: Duke University Press.
To browse books on culture, history, religion, and society of the Himalayas, look under the call number DS401-486.6 (Library of Congress Classification outline)
To browse books on the culture and history of Nepal, look under the call number DS493-495.8.
To browse books on the culture and history of Bhutan, look under the call number DS491-492.9.
Most books on Nepal, Bhutan, the Indian Himalayas, and the Tibetan cultural region are held at Koerner Library, however, some can also be found under other categories. Books on art and media of the Himalayan region are held at the Iriving K. Barber Learning Centre