This interdisciplinary course will travel (by van, short helicopter shuttle, and mostly on foot) through the heart of the Manaslu area, learning about the culture of the indigenous ethnic Tibetans of Kutang and Nubri, and the handful of other ethnic groups that have settled in the area. Issues of cultural change and environmental instability as a result of climate change, globalization, economics, and governance will be examined in the context of the nation and the region. As part of this, the roles and impacts of rural development efforts, demographic shifts, motorable road construction, biodiversity conservation, human/agriculture-wildlife conflicts, and climatological events will be explored, as well as changing patterns of agriculture, trade (incl. the opening up of the border crossing with Tibet/China), multi-lateral and bi-lateral foreign aid (incl. NGOs and INGOs), education, health care delivery, and local income generation and alternate energy projects, especially micro-hydroelectricity. Throughout the course, we will work on developing an understanding of the natural environment, climate, and biota, and how that environment is changing in response to both natural and human drivers, particularly in fragile treeline biomes. Further, the course will include an overview of, and direct exposure to, the interface of Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism, pre-Buddhist beliefs and mythology, and the anthropology, language and religions of the Nubri and Kutang people. The presence, activities, and impact of Christian missionaries in the area will also be briefly explored.