Week 2: Disturbing Discovery

On Tuesday I had a talk with my supervisors. They decided that I should write a short review on pastoralism first. From 2004 on I had a prejudice on traditional pastoralism in Tibet. After one week of reading, I find this may not be the truth. The herders have been there for over one thousand years, striving to survive, learning to adapt to the environment. It is just irresponsible to claim that their traditional system is inferior to the so-called "modern" pastoralism, which simply cannot survive on the plateau. However, I think there is some problem on today's plateau. Whether it is from the institutions, the environment, or the people, it is my task to identify it. It is just a bit thrilling to find that what we did in 2004 is from a very narrow, ideological and stereotyped perspective. Next week I will read on to construct a picture of pastoralism in Tibet. More evidences are needed for my review.