*The 2008 Tibetan uprising: Reflections one year later*
The protests that erupted throughout Tibetan areas of the PRC in March 2008
were the source of a brief period of feverish commentary and speculation.
Within weeks of the first confrontations in Tibet, protesters disrupted the
Chinese government's global torch relay, while others organized alternative
torch relays and vigils. Those proud of China's moment in the Olympic
spotlight organized counter-demonstrations. Claims quickly proliferated on
listserves and discussion boards, for example, that Tibet was, is and always
will be part of China, that Tibetans should be grateful for state investment
into their development, and that Chinese citizens everywhere should stand up
for the nation and defend it against western media bias. Across the globe,
pundits, academics, activists, bloggers, and you-tubers weighed in on
everything from the politics of socioeconomic inequality and the
interpretation of dissent in Tibet, to the political uses of the Beijing
Olympics; the disputed role of Tibetan exiles in fomenting discord; and the
organizational force of Chinese nationalism beyond national
boundaries. Shortly
afterwards, the tragic May earthquake deflected the global media spotlight
away from Tibet.
The goal of this panel is to have a serious and reasoned discussion on the
events of the spring of 2008 from the post-Olympics vantage point of one
year later. This includes not only our state of knowledge about what
happened during and after the protests; but also on the ways in which the
protests were (re)framed, understood, and represented across different
spaces and media; and their implications for Tibet, China, and the world.
If you are interested, please contact Emily Ting Yeh at
[log in to unmask]
* * * * * *
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
University of Colorado, Campus Box 260
Boulder CO 80309-0260
303-492-5438 (O)
spot.colorado.edu/~yehe
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