You will take 4-5 courses for 12-15 credits. Some of the courses are cross-listed between Anthropology and Environmental Studies departments.
These courses are approved for General Education Requirements:
- Himalayan Biodiversity – Natural Science, Specific Geographical Area
- Himalayan Geography – Specific Geographic Region
- Religion and Ecology – Cross-Cultural Awareness, Philosophical Thinking or Ethics
- Mountain and Medicine – Cross-Cultural Awareness, Global Issues, Specific Geographic Region
Global climate change has resulted in a broad spectrum of national and international laws and policies concerning the pressing need to reduce carbon emissions, protect natural resources, regulate the use of water and manage the production of energy. This course provides an overview of the major international agreements designed to protect the environment and reduce the effects of climate change. International agreements are complicated by national interests and state-level laws and regulations, especially in countries like the United States, China and India as well as the European Union. This course will examine some examples of how different countries establish laws to protect the environment and will focus on India to understand the priorities of the state in protecting the environment while making use of natural resources to promote economic growth and development.
The Himalayan region is characterized by a tremendous range of social and cultural diversity that corresponds to climatic, ecological and geographical variation, as well as local and regional geopolitical factors. Historical change from the emergence of early forms of social complexity centered on chiefs and their forts – from which the regional designation of “Garhwal” takes its name – through the development of kingdoms and larger polities shows the intimate link between geography, environment and socio-political transformation. Similarly, local language patterns, regional religious practices, musical styles, mythology, food culture, sartorial fashion, architectural design, agricultural and transportation technologies and engineering and trade networks have all been shaped by the structure of mountain barriers, bounded valley communities and bracketed lines of communication that follow river systems. Whereas the political economy of the Himalayas has been structured around agricultural production, and the development of elaborate field terrace systems, there have also been subsidiary economies centered on trans-Himalayan trade and pilgrimage as well as pastoral nomadism and transhumance. Since the colonial period, the Himalayas have increasingly become a place for rest, relaxation, tourism and adventure, and this – along with further political transformations since Indian independence -- has led to the rapid development of urban areas. This course will provide a survey of Himalayan history, society and culture with a focus on the relationship between nature, the environment and geography.
Download Himalayan Geography Draft Syllabus.pdf (428.32 KB)Just as its great rivers carve and cleanse continents, the Himalayan landscape continues to anchor and reshape religious traditions across Asia. This course provides an introduction to the unusual and enduring relationship between these particular material mountains and an impressively diverse array of dynamic spiritual practices.
Designed as a whistlestop yatra, the course is a guided tour of a deliberately eclectic set of specific physical locations, including peaks, lakes, cities, roads, hill-top shrines, and street-side dargahs. With each stop we will examine the way Himalayan sites have acquired, transformed, and experienced traditions of sacredness. The structure of the tour enables us to follow a roughly chronological timeline, stretching from early indigenous practices to the emerging Buddhisms and Hinduisms of Lhasa, Leh, and the now-chockful Char Dham highways. This chronological approach allows us to consider the historical connections and shared intellectual genealogies behind many of Asia’s increasingly disparate religious traditions.
The locations studied vary from canonical (Lumbini) to quotidian (a small hilltop shrine just across the valley from our classroom). Attention is paid to sites near where students will live and travel. The course leverages the considerable field time afforded to students by linking weekly readings and research assignments to subsequent excursions planned as part of the overall Pitt in the Himalayas program. Reading selections are taken almost entirely from primary texts written from various positions within the religious traditions themselves.
Download ANTH 1798 Draft Syllabus.pdf (214.62 KB)Ranging in altitude from several hundred meters above sea level to over seven thousand, from subtropical forests to high altitude meadows and deserts, and from areas with little or no rainfall to regions that are among the wettest in the world, the Himalayas define a geographical region of enormous geological variation and biodiversity. The goal of this course is to gain an understanding of this diversity, with a focus on ethology, the study of animal behavior and the interaction of animal species.
Introductory, conversational Hindi. The course will focus on communication skills and vocabulary that is relevant to common everyday use in the context of program.
The Himalayan region is characterized by a tremendous range of social and cultural diversity that corresponds to climatic, ecological and geographical variation, as well as local and regional geopolitical factors. Historical change from the emergence of early forms of social complexity centered on chiefs and their forts – from which the regional designation of “Garhwal” takes its name – through the development of kingdoms and larger polities shows the intimate link between geography, environment and socio-political transformation. Similarly, local language patterns, regional religious practices, musical styles, mythology, food culture, sartorial fashion, architectural design, agricultural and transportation technologies and engineering and trade networks have all been shaped by the structure of mountain barriers, bounded valley communities and bracketed lines of communication that follow river systems. Whereas the political economy of the Himalayas has been structured around agricultural production, and the development of elaborate field terrace systems, there have also been subsidiary economies centered on trans-Himalayan trade and pilgrimage as well as pastoral nomadism and transhumance. Since the colonial period, the Himalayas have increasingly become a place for rest, relaxation, tourism and adventure, and this – along with further political transformations since Indian independence -- has led to the rapid development of urban areas. This course will provide a survey of Himalayan history, society and culture with a focus on the relationship between nature, the environment and geography.
Ranging in altitude from several hundred meters above sea level to over seven thousand, from subtropical forests to high altitude meadows and deserts, and from areas with little or no rainfall to regions that are among the wettest in the world, the Himalayas define a geographical region of enormous geological variation and biodiversity. The goal of this course is to gain an understanding of this diversity, with a focus on ethology, the study of animal behavior and the interaction of animal species.
The Hanifl Centre was established in 2003 to promote the study of the Himalayan environment with a focus on outdoor education. The University of Pittsburgh has partnered with the Centre since 2013 and now runs three programs in the summer and fall. Hanifl Centre staff embody India’s multicultural modernity with a certified record of professionalism, having earned national and international recognition for their programs in leadership training and wilderness medicine. India’s first green design campus, the Hanifl Centre is near a nature reserve in-between India’s two most sacred rivers, the Yamuna and the Ganga. In 2019 Pitt’s Chancellor visited the Centre in recognition of our well-established partnership, innovative programs and proven record of success. To learn more about the Hanifl Centre please visit haniflcentre.in.
Nazir Noori
Dr. Joseph Alter (Academic Director)
Joseph Alter was born in the Himalayas and has been studying religion, culture and the environment in the mountains for thirty years. He is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh with research expertise in medical anthropology.
Please feel free to reach out to Dr. Alter with any questions about the program. His email is: JSALTER@pitt.edu.
Akshay Shah
Akshay Shah is the Director of the Hanifl Centre. He is an environmental activist who has established conservation and leadership programs in the mountains. He is also a certified Wilderness EMT with expertise in community health and medicine.
