Yujie aims to document and preserve Chone Tibetans’ most important form of oral literature, Shadpa, practiced and performed in Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gansu Province, China.
Research Description
My research aims to document and preserve Chone Tibetans’ most important form of oral literature, Shadpa, practiced and performed in Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gansu Province, China. Due to the seven-decade promotion of Chinese and the recent development of standard Amdo Tibetan, Chone Tibetan dialect has been considered to be non-standard and low-status vis-à-vis the national language (Chinese) and the newly standardized minority language (Amdo Tibetan). Consequently, there has been a dramatic disparagement and loss of Chone Tibetan and the inter-generational transmission of oral literature, including Shadpa, has been disrupted. Local Tibetans are facing a growing sense of linguistic and cultural anxiety, inferiority and alienation. By working in a respectful and collaborative partnership with the two Shadpa narrators, this community-led project will support the documentation, preservation, and promotion of the cultural masterpiece that is the Shadpa.
What does being a Public Scholar mean to you?
Being a public scholar means developing collaborative research programs with communities. It also means showcasing the importance of community partners outside of academy to the creation of applied research and its ethical implementation.
In what ways do you think the PhD experience can be re-imagined with the Public Scholars Initiative?
My research aims to bridge Western forms of knowledge creation with local ways of knowing as practiced in the community, and establishes a baseline for a reciprocal relationship between them. The PSI provides a well-resourced and structured way to making this collaboration more innovative and equitable. Additionally, PSI’s effective support for its members as we strive to develop collaborative research programs and its commitment to contributing to the public good through rigorous scholarship support me to position myself and my research at the intersection of scholarship, policy, and community-based advocacy for language and identity.
How do you envision connecting your PhD work with broader career possibilities?
Throughout my study and beyond, I hope to continue working with Chone Tibetans, and use my education, networks, skills and experience to support Chone Tibetans to reclaim their linguistic identity and rights. I am open to positions in academia, NGOs, organizations, and government bodies.
How does your research engage with the larger community and social partners?
Through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of Shadpa, my research supports the promotion of the Chone Tibetan language, which contributes directly to the lives and livelihood of Chone Tibetans whose oral language is deeply connected to their cultural history, dignity and sense of well-being.
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I am deeply committed to collaborative research. I believe that a rigorous and interdisciplinary academic training would provide a support for me to critically examine my theoretical orientation and research methods as well as fine tune practical and technical skills in community-based research.
Why did you choose to come to British Columbia and study at UBC?
I see UBC as an ideal place to develop my research interests because of its outstanding faculty and interdisciplinary approach to anthropology. I feel very privileged to have the chance to work with my supervisor, Dr. Mark Turin who has 27 years of experience of working with Indigenous communities, primarily in Nepal, Bhutan, cultural Tibet, and now Canada, and has guided me in navigating theoretical, methodological, and ethical issues in community contexts. Also, Dr. Sara Shneiderman, Dr. Tsering Shakya, Dr. Leslie Robertson, the Himalaya Program, and the Institute of Asian Research drew me to UBC.
Being a public scholar means developing collaborative research programs with communities. It also means showcasing the importance of community partners outside of academy to the creation of applied research and its ethical implementation.
