The proceedings of the seminars of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) have developed into a world-wide cross-section of Tibetan Studies. This volume is the first of three volumes of general proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS. It presents a selection of scholarly and academic articles on Tibetan history, which includes contemporary developments as well as a compact, but significant, linguistic section. The complete series covers ten volumes. Of special interest to readers of this book are the edited volumes by Christopher Beckwith (linguistics); Helmut Eimer and David Germano (Buddhist canon); Lawrence Epstein (Khams pa history); Deborah Klimburg-Salter (art history); and the third volume of general proceedings (Bhutan and art history).