Subject: This Month in Mongolian Studies: April 16, 2025

April 16, 2025

Mongolia Field School 2025 - Apply Today!

A flyer for the ACMS Field School program, “Hustai National Park: Managing Biodiversity in the Home of Mongolia's Native Horses.“

2025 Mongolia Field School Courses are Almost Full!

Limited spaces are still available for our first Mongolia Field School of the season, Hustai National Park: Managing Biodiversity in the Home of Mongolia's Native Horses! Taking place June 9-22, 2025, this course gives participants the opportunity to study biodiversity, wildlife conservation, and rangeland management with scientists and rangers in Mongolia's first national park.

Get hands-on experience tracking Przewalski's Horse herds, analyzing vegetation, and meeting with local herders to learn about the challenges and opportunities present in Mongolian conservation efforts. Apply before April 25 to secure your spot!

Under Shared Blue Skies Conference: Become a Sponsor!

A blue, green, and yellow painting of the Ulaanbaatar skyline.

Painting by Bolor Lkhaajav of Monus.Ed

Become a sponsor for our upcoming conference "Under Shared Blue Skies: Mongolia and the North American West," co-organized by ACMS, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Ulaanbaatar-Denver Sister Cities Committee!

Sponsorships come in three levels, which each provide different benefits including publicity, shout-outs in our promotional materials and on our website, and your name or organizational logo on our website. For more information, visit the "Under Shared Blue Skies: Sponsorships" page of our website here.

ACMS News

ACMS Board Member Wins Prestigious Grant Award

ACMS Board Member Dr. Bukhchuluun Dashzeveg (PhD, Yale '24) was recently awarded the prestigious Ellen and Charles Steinmetz Grant from the Archaeological Institute of America! This grant will support his project entitled "Tracing the Spread and Adoption of Nomadic Pastoralism on the Mongolian Steppe through Zoonotic Ancient DNA," which will use pathogenic ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis to study the development and spread of pastoralism in ancient Mongolia.

An image of Dr. Bukhchuluun Dashzeveg alongside a quote describing how he discovered a love for archaeology when archaeologists visited his family's ger and revealed they lived alongside ancient burial mounds.

Congratulations to Dr. Dashzeveg for this achievement--we are so lucky to have you on the ACMS Board of Directors. Click here to learn more about Dr. Dashzeveg's research, background, and path to becoming an archaeologist.

National Museum of Mongolia and ACMS Renew Memorandum of Understanding

M. Davaasuren and Dr. B. Sarantuya signing the MOUs.

M. Davaasuren and Dr. B. Sarantuya holding the signed MOUs.

The National Museum of Mongolia (NMM) and the American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) have renewed and signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen their collaboration. The MOU was officially signed by Dr. B. Sarantuya, Director of the NMM, and M. Davaasuren, Director of Partnerships and Outreach at ACMS.

Since its establishment, ACMS has closely collaborated with the National Museum of Mongolia, implementing projects and programs focused on preserving cultural heritage, strengthening human resource capacity in the museum sector, and regularly organizing educational and cultural activities.

Through this renewed MOU, the two parties aim to elevate their collaboration to a new level, by promoting Mongolian Studies, supporting museum and cultural heritage education, enhancing the professional skills of museum staff, and contributing to the strengthening of educational and cultural relations between Mongolia and the United States.

Fellowship Opportunities, Application Deadlines, and CfPs

English and German Language Teaching Positions in Mongolia

September 2025 - June 2026 (First Cohort) and Beyond

Altai Blue Horizon is looking for teachers to work on limited-term contracts across Mongolia. This organization is a Swiss-Mongolian non-profit working to improve educational access and quality in more remote or underserved regions of Mongolia, including but not limited to Western Mongolia.

A female teacher stands beside a green chalkboard.

Placement Locations: Darkhan, Khovd, Bayan-Ulgii, Dalanzadgad, Ulaanbaatar, and more.

Level: Grades 5-12 (primary/secondary/vocational school) or university.

Duration: September - June. Applicants may also request only one semester (6 weeks) between September - December or February - May.

Salary: Equivalent to about $300 (USD) in Mongolian Tugriks (MNT) per month for long stays only. Different salaries apply for single semester contracts. Housing is provided by the school. Transportation to, within, and from Mongolia must be paid for by the teacher.

Eligibility: A teaching degree is advantageous, but not necessary. Excellent English or German, both spoken and written, is required. People of all ages are welcome to inquire. Applicants should be independent, flexible, able to improvise, patient, and ready for a challenge.

For Further Information, Contact:

Anita Fahrni, Program Director

Swiss Program for Language Instruction and Teacher Training

asmfahrni@gmail.com

Mongolian and Inner Asian Studies News, Media, Events, and Publications

In the News

'Everyone is Breathing This': How Just Trying to Stay Warm is Killing Thousands a Year in the World's Coldest Capital

This article discusses the rising rate of deaths and illnesses due to air pollution in Ulaanbaatar. It highlights the harmful impacts of excess coal usage, particularly for young children, during the cold winter months in ger camps around the city. Mongolian climate experts offer their insights on the issue and potential solutions. Read more here.

Research Publications

The Crisis-Events and Reassembled Ethnolinguistic-cum-Environmentalist Subjects in Inner Mongolia

This article explores two crisis-events in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China, namely, the 2020 bilingual education reform and a drought that took place in 2022, and how these two crises reinforce nationalist subjects and fuse linguistic and environmental concerns of Mongols into one. It places Mongol ideas of language and environment in a philosophical framework of 'qualia' (subjective feelings and sensations) of darkness vs. luminosity and silence vs. sonorousness. Read the article here.

Join the ACMS Today!

Interested in becoming more involved with the ACMS? In addition to checking out our website or following us on social media to stay up to date, consider becoming a member online or by stopping by our UB office located at Natsagdorj Library, East Entrance, Seoul St-7, Sukhbaatar District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Additionally, keep your eye out for future newsletters that will include more resources, upcoming events, CfPs, and more.

As always, our Mongolian language classes are available on Zoom or in-person in our Ulaanbaatar office. Contact Tsermaa for more details. And don't forget, many of our library resources are available online as well! So until next time, happy reading and enjoy your winter.