Fellowship Year:
2026
Degree:
PhD
Research Country:
China
Research Continent:
Asia
Project Title:
From caravan to market: Salt, livelihood, and the making of southeast Tibet
Abstract:
This research examines how mobility, livelihoods and systems of value-making in the southeastern Tibetan frontier are being reshaped by the decline of caravan trade, expanding state infrastructure and new knowledge systems. Focusing on salt-producing, pastoral and agricultural communities in Deqin County and Yanjing along historical salt-grain trade routes, the study explores how market integration, subsidies and changing movement patterns are transforming socioecological knowledge and everyday life. By tracing the movement of salt, grain and people through the eastern Himalayas, the project investigates both historical and contemporary processes of frontier making and changing forms of labor and interdependence.