René Nebesky-Wojkowitz: Anthropologist and Tibetologist

René Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1923–1959) was not only a young and highly respected scientist who, despite his early death, left behind an extensive and internationally acclaimed body of published work, but he also contributed significantly to the size and importance of the Himalayan collection of the Weltmuseum Wien through his acquisitions during three extended field research trips.

The symposium – in commemoration of his 100th birthday – marks the conclusion of a five-year research project on the scientific legacy of Nebesky-Wojkowitz and paints a more detailed picture of the young Austrian researcher and collector.

Program:

4 pm
Welcome and introductory words

4.10 pm
Nebesky-Wojkowitz at the Threshold of Post-Colonial Scholarship
Martin Gaenszle (University of Vienna)

4.30 pm
The Research Project “The Scientific Legacy of René Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1923–1959)”: Outcome and Findings
Uwe Niebuhr (University of Vienna)

5 pm
René Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s Forays into Ethnopharmacy
Florian Eidam-Weber (University of Marburg, Germany)

5.30 pm
Doing Fieldwork on a Fieldworker
Verena Widorn (University of Vienna)

Break

6.15 pm
Nebesky-Wojkowitz, a Pioneer of a Combined Ethnographic and Textual Approach to Tibetan Studies… or Was He?
Charles Ramble (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris, France)

7 pm
Reception

Duration: 4 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Participation: free (all guests need a valid museum ticket).
Registration online (limited number of participants)
Meeting point: WMW Forum