Kuenga Wangmo, Ph.D.

Title

Lecturer in Political and Socioeconomic Dimensions of Environment

Education

Ph.D. in Archeology
University of Cambridge (U.K.)

Masters of Philosophy in World Archeology
University of Cambridge (U.K.)

B.A. in Social Anthropology and Archeology,
Harvard University (Boston, MA, USA)

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About

Faculty Profile


Kuenga Wangmo is an anthropologist and Bhutan’s first archaeologist. She has worked on sites in Bhutan, India, and the United States. She was a post-doc research fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, and is passionate about the conservation of heritage and nature, and more recently in exploring the complex intersections between development and conservation. She has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and post-graduate degrees from Cambridge University and The Courtauld Institute of Art. Kuenga is a National Geographic Explorer. She proudly calls Thimphu her home.

Academics & Research

Professional Activities


  • Board Director, VAST
  • Board Director, Peldrukdraling Foundation
  • Member, Research Degree Committee, Royal University of Bhutan

Research Interests


  • Archaeology
  • Science and story telling
  • Environmental education
  • Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research practices, especially in climate change, disaster preparedness, and management
  • Rural livelihoods
  • Traditional Ecological Knowledge
  • Ethnobotany
  • Sacred landscapes
  • Gross National Happiness (GNH)
  • Tourism
  • Outputs

    Publications

    Verma, R & Wangmo, K. 2021. Journal of Bhutan Studies, Vol. 42 Wangmo, K. 2019. Culture and its Representations. India-Bhutan: Friendship Through the Decades and Beyond (p.93-106). New Delhi. Ritinjali