Ming Xue

Ming Xue received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from UCLA in 2014. Her research focuses on topics of art commerce, social change, and modernization in rural Tibet. She has been conducting ethnographic research about Tibetan thangka painters in Rebgong (Qinghai province, China) since 2009. Recently, she integrates the visual approach, i.e. documentary filmmaking, into her research. Her documentary films, A Woman Who Paints Thangkas (2019) and Nagarjuna Art School (2016), were official selections of international film festivals and academic conferences, including the Margaret Mead Film Festival, International Heritage Film Festival, IUAES annual meetings, and AAS Film Expo.

Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Zoom: A Guide to Parenting during COVID-19

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YOU HAVE BEEN STAYING AT HOME with your two children for weeks. The first conversation you have with your two-year-old each day goes: ~What do you want for breakfast? ~I want [a] party. ~Uh… I am afraid it won’t happen for a while. What can I cook for you? ~I want coffee. For weeks, post-breakfast … Read more

Painting Future: How the Market Economy Transforms Community Through Community Thangka Art in Rebgong

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This talk is based on Dr. Ming Xue’s ethnographic research in Rebgong from 2009 to 2013. In Rebgong, Buddhist thangka painting is one of the major sources of income of local residents. Although thangka was traditionally a painting for religious teaching and practice, the aesthetic and economic value of thangka art has been increasingly recognized by … Read more