Charles Ramble

Charles Ramble is University Research Lecturer at the University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow at Wolfson College. He is also Directeur d’études at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris and has served as President of the International Association for Tibetan Studies since 2006.

His research spans Tibetan and Himalayan anthropology, with a focus on Bön religion, civil society in the Himalaya, pilgrimage, and sacred geography. He has conducted extensive fieldwork and archival research in Mustang, Nepal, and has contributed significantly to the understanding of Tibetan ritual practices and social history.

His publications include both monographs and edited volumes, such as The Navel of the Demoness (2008) and Sacred Landscape and Pilgrimage in Tibet (2005). His recent work includes forthcoming volumes on the social history of Mustang based on family archives and temple records.

Scientific Awards & Leadership Roles:

• President, International Association for Tibetan Studies (2006–present)
• Directeur d’études, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris (2010–present)

Current Projects & Grants:

• Rituals of the Bon Religion: Texts and Performances
• Social History of Tibetan Societies
• The Life and Times of a Nineteenth-Century Bonpo Luminary – based on the autobiography of dKar ru grub dbang bsTan ’dzin rin chen
• A Comparative Study of the Earliest Bon and Buddhist Phur pa traditions – funded by the AHRC, in collaboration with Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer

He teaches the course Anthropology of Tibet and the Himalaya at Oxford and continues to mentor students and lead collaborative research initiatives in Tibetan and Himalayan studies.