Power and Agency in the Lives of Contemporary Tibetan Nuns

Mitra Harkonen is University Lecturer of Urban Theology at the University of Helsinki.

• Section I: IntroductionTibetan Women - “Extraordinarily Liberated” or “Shockingly Oppressed?”Intersectionality: A Theory and a MethodDoing Research in the Contested Tibetan FieldSection II: From Laity to Monastic LifeThe Idea of Nunhood MaturesDonning the RobesFinding a Place to StayLife as a NunSection III: Tibetan Nuns in Domains of PowerMacro-level Connections of Gender, Religion and NationalityOppressive Social Institutions of Tibet-ChinaInternalized and Forced DisciplineHegemonic Ideologies and DoctrinesDomination in Everyday PracticesSection IV: Opportunities in Monastic LifeAgencies and OpportunitiesFreedom in MonasticismAgency as ResistanceAgency as Cultural MaintenanceCompassionate AgencyIncreasing OpportunitiesSection V: ConclusionBetween Oppression and Opportunities