Quiz Essay (45 pts):  As always concentrate on analysis over summarizing.  Particularly important in this critique is the need to avoid moralizing.  There is no correct answer to the "Tibet Question," there are however numerous perspectives.  Your critique therefore should highlight the multifaceted nature of Tibet's (and Tibetans) experiences not simply present what one scholar has referred to as a "Shangri-la" version of Tibetan history. NOR should your paper simply be a critique of PRC's Tibet policy.

1. Tashi Tsering's account of his life takes us from a rural Tibetan village, to Lhasa as a dancer in the Dalai Lama's gadrugba, to India as trader/refugee, to the United States as a student, to China as a Red Guard/prisoner, and finally back to Lhasa as a teacher.  While clearly unique his life reveals the multifaceted experiences of Tibet and Tibetans.  Using each stage of his life as a period in modern Tibetan history, describe the challenges (both positive and negative) that each presented.

2. Melvyn Goldstein in his introduction said that he refused to contribute another "Pollyanna" book on Tibet (noting that there were already enough of those), yet Tashi Tsering's account while quite openly discussing what many Westerners perhaps would find as negative aspects of pre-PRC Tibetan culture appears to be at times selective in what he chooses to discuss in the post-PRC period ‚ saying almost nothing about the repression of religion, Chinese oversight, and military presence in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.  Acknowledging both sides of Tibet's past critically evaluate Tashi Tsering's presentation of Tibet's integration into the People's Republic of China.

3. The details of Tashi Tsering's personal life make for some of the most interesting reading in The Struggle for Tibet allowing insight into the various Tibetan social norms and cultural mores.  Employing specific examples from Tashi Tsering's life describe how Tibet society has changed over the last half century.  As part of your answer evaluate how different segments of Tibetan life changed (e.g. rural vs. urban; upper class vs. lower class; family life, etc.).

4. A fascinating way to examine Tashi Tsering's life might be to highlight his intimate relationships as reflections of his (and Tibet's) transition from a more traditional lifestyle towards one replete with the contradictions of an increasingly sinified (or at least politicized) Tibet. Select three to five of his closest associates (superiors, family, spouse, etc.) and trace how his life reflects the trajectory of 20th century Tibe.