This course surveys the history of Tibetan civilization from the paleolithic to the present. Following a spiral curriculum, we shall move through Tibetan history from its origins in Tibet’s geopolitical dominance during the period of the Tibetan Empire (c.620–862) through to its so-called dark age, its Buddhist-inspired renaissance, the rise of the Dalai Lamas, the intervention of foreign powers, and the Tibetan diaspora after 1959. Circling back, these periods will be investigated in turn from the vantage points of political history, social and cultural history, and the history of art and ideas.