Movie: Seven Years in Tibet

Theme: Human and Physical Geography: Relative Location and cultural diffusion

Instructional Objective: Students will be able to identify five reasons why Tibet was physically and culturally isolated from the rest of theworld.

Motivation: What was the most strenuous physical activity you ever did? How did you feel ?

Central Question: What physical and political factors led to Tibet's isolation from the rest of the world?

Background:

In the autumn of 1939, Heinrich Harrer, the famous Austrian mountaineer, and his countryman Peter Aufschnaiter, set out to climb Nanga Parbat, one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas. The self-centered Harrer, whose sole preoccupation was the achievement of fame and glory, would experience an emotional awakening on his fantastic journey that would take him from the heights of conquest to the depths of internment in a British prisoner-of-war camp, then from escape and a harrowing two-year trek through the Himalayas to the mysterious Tibetan city of Lhasa.
As a stranger in a strange land which few westerners have ever visited, Harrer was befriended by the young Dalai Lama, and was asked to tutor the religious leader in English, geography and the ways of the Western world. He would eventually spend seven years in Tibet, during a period of tremendous political upheaval in that country, graced with the friendship and the spiritual enlightenment of the young Dalai Lama. As the deep and abiding bond between these two isolated, lonely people evolved, the selfish and egotistical Harrer experienced selflessness for the first time, allowing him to complete the emotional transformation which began on his way to Lhasa.

Activity: Students will watch the film and answer the questions

1) What way are Harrer and his friend traveling to Tibet?

2) What physical factors make the journey hard?

3) How do you know herder and his friend are affected by the altitude?

4) What are the signs that the journey is taking a long time?

5) How are the two trekkers showing signs of exhaustion?

6) What does the film show about the size of the mountains and the difficulty of climbing over them?

7) How did the difficulty of a trip like the one in the film affect the amount of contact Tibet had with the outside world?

8) What happened when Herder and his companion reached the border with Tibet?

9) How was language a barrier to communication with Tibetan people?

10) Overall how much cultural diffusion was there in Tibet according to the film?

Assignment: Write an essay explaining how geographic features limited the amount of cultural diffusion in Tibet before the Chinese occupation