Patrick Booz

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Office Hours: W 9:00 am-12:00pm
Email: prb2126@columbia.edu

Educational Background

BA: University of Wisconsin (’78)
MPhil: University of Oxford (’06)
DPhil: University of Oxford (’11)

Classes Taught

ASCE 1359                 INTRO TO EAST ASIAN CIV: CHINA

Research Interests

Borderland Studies, Economic History, Transport Geography, Tea, Material Culture, History of Printing

I wrote my thesis on “Tea, Trade and Transport in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands.” This work focuses on the convergence of geography, history, and anthropology, particularly in the regions of southwest China. Border issues and commodity economics, especially the history of Sino-Tibetan economic relations, are main areas of research. In addition to tea, I have a strong interest in the development of printing, bookmaking and manuscripts in Chinese civilization. In the area of visual culture, I spent several years researching color and painting, and also locating, documenting and preserving historic photographs, art historical and other visual materials related to China and Tibet.

Selected Publications

“Tibet and Tea: A Summary of Trade, Social Customs and Sino-Tibetan Relations Dealing with Ja/Cha.” In Commerce and Communities – Social Status and Political Status and the Exchange of Goods in Tibetan Societies (Mid 17th to mid 20th centuries). Berlin 2018.

“To Control Tibet, First Pacify Kham”: Trade Routes and “Official Routes” (Guandao) in Easternmost Kham.” Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review. Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, e-journal, June 2016.

“In and Out of Borders: The Beifu Tea Porters Encounter Tibet.” Cahiers no. 23, 2014 d’Extrême-Asie. École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), centre de Kyoto. 29 Kita-shirakawa bettō-chō, Sakyō-ku, Kyōto 606-8276, Japan.

“Fear of Indian Tea and the Failure of British India to Break the Chinese Tea Monopoly in Tibet.” In Buddhist Himalaya: Studies in Religion, History and Culture. 2011. Gangtok, Sikkim: Namgyal Institute of Tibetology.