About THDL > THDL Participants > People in THDL > David Germano
Projects in THDL * People in THDL * Organizations in THDL
David Germano: A Participant in THDL
Personal Introduction
David is an Associate Professor of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia. He received his doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has published “Architecture and Absence in the Secret Tantric History of rDzogs Chen” in The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies and is co-editor, with Kevin Trainor, of Embodying the Dharma: Buddhist Relic Veneration in Asia (Albany: SUNY Press, 2004). His main research interest is in the Buddhist and Bön traditions of the tenth through fourteenth centuries, situated in their historical context. In 1998, he began an initiative to create a repository of digital h2 resources for Tibetan Studies that has over time developed into the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library (THDL). In this regard, he has worked extensively in supporting the use of digital technology to facilitate interdisciplinary and collaborative work in Tibetan Studies. He is co-editor of and a contributor to the Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies.
Work in THDL
David founded THDL in 2000, and continues to direct it. David has been especially involved in initiatives in THDL regarding Tibetan literature and language, but has also played a role in most THDL initiatives in one way or another.
The Essentails
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
Role in THDL: Administrator, Scholar, Fieldworker
Organizations:
- Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library (Research Institute and Library, USA, primary): Director.
- University of Virginia (Educational, USA, primary): Associate Professor.
THDL Projects:
- Historical Sites of Central Tibet (Collections): one of the co-directors and central coordinator of the various components of the project.
- Kham Community-Based Tourism Project (Community): Co-Director.
- Lhasa Neighborhoods Project (Collections): designer, organizer, and researcher.
- Lhasa’s Cultivated Landscapes (Collections): consultant for fieldwork in Lhasa.
- Meru Nyingba Monastery (Collections): general consultant, photography, translation, coordination, and advisory board.
- Ngari Project (Collections): has been central in organization, design, and coordination; also participated in fieldwork.
- Nyingma Literature Collections (Collections): designer and director.
- Oral Traditions of Tibet (Collections): coordinating support of the project from its inception, and participating in fieldwork and analysis.
- Preserving Living Traditions Tibetan Folk Music Project (Collections): co-director, and key participant in fieldwork in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
- Tibet University Tibetan Transcription Center (Collections): general consultant and one of the three founders of the Center.
- Tibetan Canonical Collections (Collections): University of Virginia.
- Tibetan Language Learning Resources (Collections): the central coordinator of all TLLR work from its inception; has played a key role in most aspects of its development for colloquial, literary, and thematic instructional materials, including fieldwork, software design, contributions to reference works, and most other elements.
- Unicode Tibetan Font Project (Tools): designer and director.