CIC Traveling Scholar Studying at IU-Bloomington

The Traveling Scholar Program allows doctoral students to spend up to a full academic year pursuing specialized courses of study, researching unique library collections, and working in advanced laboratories and facilities at other CIC institutions—with no change in registration procedures from their home university or additional tuition.

The last issue of the University Education News discussed this program and now we are featuring Hilary Brady Morris, a student from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who discusses her experience with this program.  She is currently studying at Indiana University this year.  Below is a discussion of her experiences.

Hilary Brady Morris writes: “As a PhD student in the Musicology division at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, I am preparing for ethnographic research of Tibetan secular traditional music in exile, particularly in Kathmandu, Nepal. I intend to use music as a lens through which to understand the ways that Tibetans may articulate their Tibetan-ness, further engendering opportunities to study how they might use music (or silence) to negotiate conflict and conflict resolution.

“Though my home university's courses in Ethnomusicology have done much to prepare me with the theoretical background necessary to undertake such a project, one of the greatest obstacles I have faced is learning the Tibetan language, as it is not offered at UIUC. I was able to complete my Beginner and Intermediate coursework in the last two summers, via intensive courses at UW Madison and the Rangjung Yeshe Institute in

Kathmandu. I was then extremely fortunate enough to be awarded a FLAS fellowship from my home university, in conjunction with the CIC Traveling Scholar program, which has allowed me to move to Bloomington for this entire academic year to study Advanced Tibetan.

“As opposed to my intensive summer language courses, my enrollment here, at IU, has allowed me to take courses in area studies, as well as translation courses that facilitate conducting primary research in the Tibetan language. As I am finishing the first of my two semesters here, I am already sure of what an unparalleled opportunity it is to be able to study with and learn from the professors and students within IU's Department of Central and Eurasian Studies, especially in Tibetan Studies. I anticipate that participating in the CIC Traveling Scholar Program will have a far-reaching and significant impact, not only on my doctoral research, but also on my continued development as a scholar of Tibetan Studies. For that, I am immensely grateful.

“Hilary Brady Morris
PhD Student, Musicology
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
CIC Traveling Scholar (2012-2013)
Tibetan Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington”

For more information on the CIC Traveling Scholar Program visit the CIC website.