Climate History of the Tibetan Plateau

This course on climatological historiography of Tibet employs an interdisciplinary approach to bring together research findings from “the archives of nature” (statistical reconstructions of past climate from physical and natural processes) with studies from “the archives of society” (physical and written sources left by humans) to examine how historical changes in climate have effected human development and society on the Tibetan plateau. The class explores how climatic conditions and events might have triggered and contributed to socioeconomic, political, and cultural developments in Tibet and the Himalayas.