Welcome to the NEH Summer Institute, "Literatures, Religions and Arts of the Himalayan Region" website! This will be the fourth time it will be held in the history of K-12 education.  We are eager for it to be successful, and invite teachers from every relevant discipline to apply.

Professors van der Kuijp and Lewis have designed this four week course to be a comprehensive inter-disciplinary overview of this remarkable mountain area, with focus on themes and case studies that will be of special relevance to teachers in a variety of fields. Our curriculum is interdisciplinary in scope, in a creative format the mixes expert lectures with participation in fieldtrips, feasts, and rituals. As Americans now bring unprecedented inquisitiveness about the Himalayas, Tibetan peoples, and mountain adventure to the classroom, we want to help you draw upon expertise from our Institute to turn students' initial awareness toward more in-depth understandings across a variety of disciplines: history, literature, religion, art, environmental studies, geography.

For curricular plans designed by the 2002, 2004, and 2006 Institute teachers, please visit the Previous Institutes section of this website. Feel free to contact former participants directly about their experience studying with us. For photos and materials of lectures, please visit the Institute Resources section of this website. It will be updated over the duration of the 2008 program and serve as a resource for Himalayana Studies when completed.

Directors:
Todd Lewis, College of the Holy Cross
Leonard van der Kuijp, Harvard University

Curriculum Consultant:
Maureen Stephens, Clark University

Technical Advisor:
Mary Morrisard-Larkin, College of the Holy Cross