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Theresia Hofer

Guest Researcher

Academic interests

  • Social and medical anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas
  • Practice, history and art of Tibetan medicine
  • Tibetan language
  • International development and global health
  • Participatory ethnographic research and oral history

Courses taught

I have lectured and run seminars on the following courses at the Departments of Anthropology and Medical History, at University College London, UK

  • MA ‘Understanding International Health’
  • MA ‘Introduction to Medical Anthropology’.
  • BSc.’History of Asian Medicine’
  • MA ‘Approaches to Asian Healing Traditions’

Background

  • 2005–2011:  Ph.D, Medical History & Medical Anthropology, University College London. Thesis title: “Tibetan Medicine on the Margins: Twentieth Century Transformations of the Traditions of Sowa Rigpa”
  • 2006/2007: Tibetan language diploma, Tibet University, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
  • 2005/06: Literary Tibetan Language Course, School of Oriental and African Studies, London
  • 2002 - 2005: MSc, Medical Anthropology, Brunel University, London (with Distinction)
  • 1998 - 2005: MA, Social & Cultural Anthropology, International Development and Tibetan Studies, University of Vienna (with Distinction)

Awards

  • Research and study grants received
    • 2010, Nansenfondat, Norway: Project grant for ‘Women, Gender and Medicine in Tibet’ (awarded together with Dr Heidi Fjeld)
    • 2005, Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, UK: Doctoral Studentship for ‘Tibetan medicine on the Margins: 20th century transformations of the traditions of Sowa Rigpa’.
    • 2003, Austrian Academy of Sciences, International Co-operation, Austria: Grant for field work in Central Tibet
    • 2001, University of Vienna, Faculty for Humanities and Social Sciences, Austria: ‘Study Abroad Scholarship’
    • 2001, Wittgenstein Award to Prof. Andre Gingrich, Austria: Project grant to research traditional medicine in Trongsa, Central Bhutan
  • Conference travel and conference organisation grants received:
    • 2010, UCL Graduate school, UK
    • 2005, 2008, 2009, Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research, Austria
    • 2009, The Trace Foundation, USA
    • 2006, UCL Graduate School, UK
  • Image Awards:
    • 2009 Wellcome Image Award

Fieldwork carried out in

  • Tibet Autonomous Region, PRC
  • Bhutan
  • Indian Himalayas
  • Pakistan (Northern Areas)

Partners

Publications

MONOGRAPH

 

Hofer, Theresia (in press) The Inheritance of Change – Transmission and Practice of

Tibetan Medicine in Ngamring, Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und

Buddhismuskunde, University of Vienna.

 

JOURNAL ARTICLES

 

Fjeld, H. and T. Hofer (forthcoming 2011) ‘Introduction – Gender and Tibetan

Medicine’, Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity, Vol. 6, No.2

 

Hofer, Theresia (forthcoming 2011) ‘Gendering Tibetan Medical Knowledge, Practice

and Experience’ in Tibet’, Vol. 6 No.2

 

Hofer, Theresia (2008) ‘Socio-economic Dimensions of Tibetan Medicine in the Tibet

Autonomous Region, China – PART TWO, Asian Medicine: Tradition and

ModernityVol. 4, No.2

 

Hofer, Theresia (2008) ‘Socio-economic Dimensions of Tibetan medicine in the Tibet

Autonomous Region, China – PART ONE, Asian Medicine: Tradition and

Modernity, Brill: Leiden, Vol. 4, No.1

 

BOOK CHAPTERS

 

Hofer, Theresia (in press) ‘Changing Representations of the Female Tibetan Medical

Doctor Khandro Yangkar (1907–1973)’. In: McKay, A. and A. Balicki-

Dengjongpa (Eds.) Buddhist Himalayas. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas.

 

Hofer, Theresia (2007) ‘Preliminary Investigations into New Oral and Textual

Sources on Byang lugs - the 'Northern School' of Tibetan medicine.’ In:

Schrempf, M. (Ed.)Soundings in Tibetan Medicine - Historical and

Anthropological Explorations. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, pp. 373–

410.

 

Hofer, Theresia (2006) "Die tibetischen Medizintraditionen aus Ngamring und deren

Einfluss auf das medizinische Werk von Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653-1705), in:

Der Rand und die Mitte - Beiträge zur Sozialanthropologie und

Kulturgeschichte Tibets und des Himalaya. Vienna: Austrian Academy of

Sciences Publications, pp.78–101.

 

Hofer, Theresia and Stephanie Rungaldier (2001) Health Care and Medical Systems

in the Karakorum and Himalayan Region. In: Mountains 2001 (Ed.)

Encounters– Integrated Regional development in Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan.

Vienna: Society Mountains 2001 – Regional Perspectives, pp. 291–307. 

 

IMAGES

 

Ferriman, Annabel (2009) ‘Recognising informative and striking images – Theresia

Hofer’British Medical Journal 2009; 339:b4231, p. 881.

  • Fjeld, Heidi E & Hofer, Theresia (2011). Women, gender and Tibetan medicine..
Published May 25, 2011 09:16 PM - Last modified Feb 24, 2012 02:13 PM

Research groups