Health and Gender in the Himalayas and Tibet

This seminar examines the cultural constructions of gendered bodies and practices of health, well-being and fertility through ethnographic case studies from the Himalayas and Tibet as well as in related Tibetan literature (in translation). In this context, we will analyze localized lay, biomedical and Tibetan medical perspectives on and practices related to health and male and female bodies, with a focus on the latter. These include childbirth and maternal health, family planning, sexuality, fertility, ritual healing, and more.