Tibet on Fire

Using Kenneth Burke's concept of dramatism as a way of exploring multiple motivations in symbolic expression, Tibet on Fire examines the Tibetan self-immolation movement of 2011-2015. The volume asserts that the self-immolation act is an affirmation of Tibetan identity in the face of cultural genocide.

Aside from its particular focus on performances and rhetoricwhich may interest those already familiar with the self-immolationsTibet on Fire also serves as a general introduction to the Tibetan self-immolation phenomenon, and provides comprehensive, introductory-level background on Tiber-China history, Tibetan Buddhism, and international politics vis-à-vis the Tibet-China conflict. Tibet on Fire may thus also be of interest to those seeking a general introduction to the self-immolations themselves as well as the Tibet-China conflict in general. (Benjamin Wood, Journal of Global Buddhism, Vol. 17, 2016)

Autorentext
John Whalen-Bridge is Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at National University of Singapore

Inhalt

Preface 1. Introduction: The Tibetan Situation Tibet as Rhetorical Situation Politics, Performance, and Drama Argument and Identification 2. Before Self-Immolation: Western Media and Tibetan Protests, 2008 Charm Offensive: Angry Monks in the Western Press Buddhist Anger as an Anti-Colonial Tradition China Syndrome: The Global Suppression of Tibetan Voices 3. Irreversible Speech Running on Fire: The Act Itself and the Creation of an Image New Media and the Great Firewall of China: Distributing the Act Censorship and Self-Immolation Spreading Like Fire: Act and Agency 4. Making a Scene: Actor, Time, and Place Pointillism and the Paradigmatic Tibetan Self-Immolator Selecting an Origin: How The List Positions the Actor PRC Responses: Lunatics, Puppets, Murderers, and Terrorists 5. Purpose: Politics, Buddhism, and Tibetan Survival Hijacking Religion and Justifying Murder What Self-Immolators Say: Statements of Purpose Democracy, Division, and Dharamsala Dilemmas Tibetan Self-Immolation as Response to Genocide Blood on His Hands? The Dalai Lama's Dilemma Emptiness Also Is Form: Buddhism and Necessary Worldliness 6. External Affairs: The Globalization of China's War on Tibet Soft Power in a Hard World Standing for Something: Solzhenitsyn and the Endtimes of Human Rights Silencing the Dalai Lama: Signs of China's Global War on Free Speech 7. Conclusion: Tibet's Next Incarnation