Teaching with Buddhist Art and Material Culture

Objective:
This roundtable introduces the Rubin Museum’s recently launched Project Himalayan Art, a multi-disciplinary resource for teaching about Buddhism through art and material culture. Project Himalayan Art (PHA) is designed to help scholars and teachers make connections across diverse regional expressions of Buddhist culture, and to expand representation of Himalayan and Inner Asian religious cultures in the classroom. This roundtable will be structured as a dialogue, in which attendees can explore new multimedia resources for teaching Asian religions through object-centered approach, while also giving feedback on PHA materials. Session presenters are particularly interested in receiving input on PHA from the practical pedagogical standpoint, and welcome attending participants’ thoughts on using art and material culture in their teaching, including from faculty who have already experimented with using Project Himalayan Art resources (https://projecthimalayanart.rubinmuseum.org/).

Overview of the Resources and outline of the roundtable discussion:
Project Himalayan Art (PHA) is informed by a Humanities Advisory Group and an Exhibition Advisory Group of scholars from a range of academic disciplines and area specializations, including religion, history, anthropology, and art history. PHA has three integrated components which will be discussed at this roundtable: a broad-reaching textbook-style publication, a nationally traveling exhibition, and a freely accessible digital platform. These three components are innovative pedagogical tools that educators can incorporate and adapt when teaching Himalayan religions and material culture in courses within diverse institutional settings.
1. At the roundtable, the presenters will introduce the three resource components as resources for teaching:
The cross-disciplinary publication: Himalayan Art in 108 Objects is an object-centered introduction to Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian art and material culture from Neolithic to contemporary times, featuring essays from 72 international scholars. 108 significant sites and objects serve as a guide to the religious traditions, rituals, social practices, and art forms of Himalayan cultures. The focus is cross-cultural exchange with Tibet at the center, and Buddhism as the thread that connects these diverse cultures.
The digital platform: titled Project Himalayan Art features all 108 essays from the publication, plus a wealth of material from the nationally traveling exhibition, thematic introductions of key topics to aid students in self-guided exploration, an interactive map, a glossary of hundreds of definitions with audio pronunciations, over 1000 images, and videos of rituals and art-making technologies. The expandable digital platform also features teaching resources for faculty in different disciplines with suggested class units, along with a select bibliography.
The traveling exhibition: Gateway to Himalayan Art exhibition available to visit university museums, highlights a thematic approach for teaching and engagement with material culture, and serves as an entry point for the larger project. To date a traveling schedule to 8 schools across the country is organized through 2026, with plans to extend into 2028 and beyond.
2. Presenters and discussants will share how Project Himalayan Art is applied in academic settings, giving examples from their experiences, insights into further potential uses and facilitate discussion with participants.
3. Roundtable discussion aimed at addressing any questions from attendees and more about teaching through art and material culture.
Presenters:
Four presenters include art historians and a religion scholar.
Two scholars of Himalayan and Tibetan art are involved in the content, design, and implementation of Project Himalayan Art.
One mid-career scholar in the Himalayan religions field is a member of the Humanities Advisory group which played a critical role in the development of Project Himalayan Art and was also lead faculty liaison for the PHA traveling exhibition’s university gallery and has experience implementing these resources in courses and on a university campus.
One junior scholar is in the field of art history, who specializes in Buddhist art in Inner Asia and China and has experience teaching extensively utilizing Project Himalayan Art materials.
Presider:
A mid-career scholar in the Himalayan religions field.
Respondent:
A mid-career scholar in the Himalayan religions field is a member of the project's advisory group.