Françoise Robin

Professor Françoise Robin is a distinguished academic at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), where she serves as Head of the Tibet section (since 2012), Deputy Director (since 2023), and Member of the ASUH Departmental Council (South Asia Himalaya, since 2015). She is also a statutory member of the French Institute for Research on East Asia (IFRAE)/UMR8043 (since 2019), Acting President of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (since 2022), and President of the French Society for Tibetan Studies (SFEMT) (since 2022).

Professor Robin's research focuses on contemporary Tibetan society and culture, with particular emphasis on Tibetan cinema, contemporary and popular Tibetan literature, emerging feminism in Tibet, and Tibetan refugees in France. Her work bridges linguistic, literary, and anthropological approaches to provide nuanced understandings of Tibetan cultural production both within Tibet and in diaspora communities. She has pioneered research on Tibetan women's experiences and the representation of Tibetan identity in artistic works.

Her extensive publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on documenting and analyzing Tibetan cultural expressions, with particular attention to how Tibetan communities navigate political constraints while preserving cultural identity. Her recent work shows an increasing emphasis on diaspora studies, examining the "double exile" of Tibetans first to South Asia and then to Western countries like France.

Professor Robin was a finalist for the Grand Prix de la traduction littéraire de la ville d'Arles for her translation of the banned Tibetan novel "Red Storm" by Tsering Dondrup. She has also co-edited significant collections including "Conflicting memories. Tibetan History under Mao Retold" (2020) and "Trichologies. Le cheveu dans l'aire tibétaine" (2018), which explores the cultural significance of hair in Tibetan society.

Through her leadership roles, Professor Robin has significantly shaped Tibetan studies in France and internationally. As head of the Tibet section at INALCO and president of SFEMT, she has fostered academic collaboration and supported emerging scholars in the field. Her current ANR-funded DIASCO-TIB project examines diasporic convergences among Tibetan refugees, demonstrating her commitment to understanding contemporary Tibetan experiences.

Professor Robin's work with the IFRAE research team has established her as a leading authority on contemporary Tibetan cultural production, particularly in cinema and literature. Her research on Tibetan refugees in France has provided crucial documentation of this community's experiences and challenges.