Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies Archives

Carolisa Watson

Ms. Carolisa Watson is currently pursuing a PhD in geography at the University of Kansas. Her research revolves around questions of placemaking, home, and identity. She is engaged in collaborative ethnographic work with displaced communities. Ms. Watson has previously received FLAS funding to study Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese languages. She holds bachelor’s degrees in East Asian languages and literatures and in global and international studies from the University of Kansas; she also holds an MA in folklore and ethnomusicology from Indiana University.

Ms. Watson’s Fulbright-Hays project is examining how Tibetan identity is expressed through placemaking in Dharamsala and the ways in which place and identity interact. As a visiting scholar, Ms. Watson is involved in archival and ethnographic fieldwork exploring the relationships between Tibetans, Dharamsala, and the governmental organizations, and how they impact the Tibetan diaspora in Dharamsala; the project is being carried out by studying the historical, contemporary, political, and social contexts of “territorialized exile” in a city. It is also drawing upon an interdisciplinary background in geography, folklore, religious studies, and media studies to understand how individuals interact with their larger communities and the city itself to create meaningful places and express collective and individual identity.

Jackson Stephenson

Mr. Jackson Stephenson is a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at UC Santa Barbara, and his dissertation focuses on Esoteric Buddhist and Hindu poetry. He received his bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University in Religious Studies, and his master’s degree in International Studies from University of Washington. Mr. Stephenson’s research focuses on the place and use of different Indian languages within Esoteric Buddhist and Hindu texts. While in India, he will be researching the “afterlife” of Esoteric Buddhist poetry in modern day bhakti communities. During this trip Mr. Stephenson plans to study Hindi intensively. He has spent extensive time in India and Nepal to study language, primarily Sanskrit, Bengali, and Tibetan, and also has facility with Prakrit and Apabhraṃśas. In the summer of 2018, he worked as Resident Director for the Critical Language Scholarship program in Kolkata, and he also regularly teaches courses at UC Santa Barbara on Buddhism and Jainism.

Mr. Stephenson has published his research on Esoteric Buddhist poetry in two peer-reviewed articles: “Love me for the Sake of the World” (2020) and “Bliss Beyond All Limit” (2021). In these articles Mr. Stephenson examined the place and use of two different genres of Apabhraṃśa verses within Esoteric Buddhist texts, showing that these verses function as both guideposts and catalysts for key experiences and junctures within Buddhist rituals. Mr. Stephenson is currently working on another article on Apabhraṃśa verses within Kashmir Śaiva texts, where these obscure verses are sung by goddesses to express ineffable and mystical teachings.

Mr. Stephenson is also interested in South Asian writing systems, inscriptions, manuscripts, and calligraphy. He wrote one of his master’s theses’ on the use of the Indic Siddhamatrika script throughout Asia, especially in Japan where it continues to be used for liturgical purposes in Shingon Buddhism. While in India Jackson also plans to take calligraphy lessons, focusing on the Siddhamatrika and Bengali scripts, in addition to ornate styles of Devanagari. Jackson also loves Indian street food.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar, Mr. Stephenson is doing fieldwork for his dissertation, which explores the formal and thematic influences of medieval Buddhist poetry on modern-day bhakti communities. Mr. Stephenson is translating from key texts in Sanskrit and Apabhraṃśa while also travelling to important regions for his dissertation archive, including Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. Mr. Stephenson is also studying regional vernaculars and consulting manuscript collections in India, in addition to reading with pundits.

Addie McKnight

As an aspiring museum professional, Ms. Addie McKnight completed a Bachelor in Art History (2014) and an Master in Folklore & Ethnomusicology (2020) at Indiana University-Bloomington with interests in material culture and Tibetan Studies. Through a passion for honoring arts and cultures from around the world, Ms. McKnight has dedicated herself to working in museum spaces with a focus on critical engagement with ethnographic collections and institutional legacies. From a young age, Ms. McKnight felt a personal connection to both the aesthetic and philosophical sensibilities of Tibetan Buddhism. Her academic and professional goals are centered on the representation of Tibetan culture within United States museums. She has studied Tibetan language for the past five years through institutions across three different countries: Indiana University and the American Institute of Indian Studies in the United States, Rangjung Yeshe in Nepal, and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamshala, India. Ms. McKnight’s experience in museums include research assistantships at Indiana University’s Mathers Museum of World Cultures, an internship at the Himalayan-focused Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, and participation in the Smithsonian Institution’s 2019 Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA). Taken together, these experiences have informed her approach to conducting research, communicating with culture-bearers, and facilitating educational experiences within representational spaces.

Through her Fulbright-Nehru research, Ms. McKnight aims to understand how Tibetan artists and arts administrators in Dharamshala, India, present and promote cohesive visions of Tibetan culture and tradition to both Tibetan and other audiences. By conducting interviews, participant observation, and documenting organizational practices at the Norbulingka Institute, Ms. McKnight aims to create a portfolio of educational and curatorial materials to bring to future work in US museums. These materials will help US museums represent their Tibetan collections in ways that address the history, politics, and contemporary practices of Tibetan people.