October 17-18, 2024, at the Inalco, Maison de la Recherche, 2, rue de Lille, Paris

“For a Critical History of the Northern Treasures” (FCHNT) project is a four-year (2022-2026) research project funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) to document the history of the Northern Treasures (Byang gter) tradition founded by Rig ’dzin rgod ldem (1337-1408/9). Its main source is a 63-volume compilation of Northern Treasures literature published in 2015, the sNga ʼgyur byang gter chos skor phyogs bsgrigs, which has brought to the surface an enormous wealth of hitherto unknown material dating from perhaps the 9th century to the last years of the 21st century.
The FCHNT project is organizing its first international conference in Paris on Thursday-Friday, October 17-18, 2024. The organizers, Stéphane Arguillère and Cécile Ducher (IFRAE), Jean-Luc Achard (CRCAO), and Jay Valentine (Troy University), invite proposals for conference presentations on any original research related or relevant to Byang gter studies, including its history, literature, doctrine, anthropology, iconography, etc. If you are unsure whether or not your research focus would be appropriate for this conference, please feel free to raise the issue with us via email: northern-treasures-anr@inalco.fr.
Presenters may be doctoral students as well as postdoctoral, academic or independent researchers. The intention is to publish the proceedings of the conference in a special volume, so the research should therefore be new.
We welcome abstracts of no more than one page (approximately 500 words) by March 15, 2024. They should be submitted to northern-treasures-anr@inalco.fr. Notification of acceptance to the conference will be made by April 15, so that travel and accommodation arrangements can be made well in advance.
Accommodations will be provided for everyone who will be presenting at the conference. Breakfast will be provided by the hotel, lunch will be served at the conference, and group dinners will be arranged both evenings. Further details will be provided in the acceptance letters; participants will be asked to indicate whether they accept the accommodation offered or prefer to make their own arrangements.
The FCHNT may be able to offer a small number of grants (2-3) to assist with travel-related expenses, with preference given to scholars from Tibetan areas and to financially disadvantaged scholars. If you would like to be considered for such funding, please indicate this when submitting your proposal.
We look forward to stimulating exchanges on the Northern Treasures in Paris in October 2024!