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This Month in Mongolian Studies is a monthly listing of selected academic activities, resources and other material related to Mongolia. This list is based on information the ACMS has received and is presented as a service to its members. If you would like to submit information to be included in next month's issue please contact the ACMS at info@mongoliacenter.org This publication is supported in part by memberships. Please consider becoming a member of the ACMS, or renewing your membership by visiting our website at mongoliacenter.org/join.
Thank you!
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ACMS Announcements, News and Media References
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| ACMS FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS OPEN!
We are pleased to announce that ACMS Fellowships are now taking applications for 2024. As usual for 2024 we are offering 3 fellowship programs: Field Research Fellowship, Intensive Summer Mongolian Language Program Fellowship, and Library Fellowship.
Field Research Fellowship provides support of up to $4,000 to support short-term student, post-doctoral, or faculty field research in Mongolia in the Summer or Fall. The program is funded by the US State Department Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.
Application deadline is February 15, 2024.
Intensive Summer Mongolian Language Program provides Intermediate-level students of the Mongolian language with an opportunity to enhance their communicative competence through systematic improvement of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The program entails 8 weeks (June 5 to August 4, 2024) of intensive study, and will be taught by experienced Mongolian language teachers. Fellowships are available only for U.S. citizens.
Application deadline is March 1, 2024.
Tuitions due on May 1, 2024.
https://www.mongoliacenter.org/fellowships-intensive-summer-mongolian-fellowship
Library Fellowship supports advanced US graduate students, faculty members, or professionals in library and information sciences from colleges and universities to conduct short-term library development projects and/or research in Mongolia for a period of up to 12 weeks. The program is funded by the US State Department Education and Cultural Affairs Bureau through a grant by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.
Application deadline is February 15, 2024.
https://www.mongoliacenter.org/fellowships-intensive-summer-mongolian-fellowship
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| Exhibition Wrap-Up
Dairy Cultures: The Science of Mongolian Heritage
On September 22, 2023 as part of the ACMS' Cultural Heritage Program and the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the ACMS and the Natural History Museum, the ACMS is co-organizing an exhibition showcasing Mongolia's dairy culture called "Dairy Cultures: The Science of Mongolian Heritage" with the Natural History Museum of Mongolia, UNESCO Silk Roads Programme, European Research Council and Dairy Cultures Project. The co-organizers partnered with the Mongolian Dietetics Association, Bounty of Yak Association, APU Dairy, Wegner Siemens Foundation, Max Planck Institute and Harvard University. The exhibition carried on for 30 days from September 22 to October 20, 2023. During this period a total of 4431 people have seen the exhibition, including 1215 adults, 486 undergraduate students, 1603 children, 29 senior citizens, 165 foreigners, 883 students (workshop attendees), 50 guests, who attended the opening ceremony. The 883 students attended a special workshop for secondary school students as part of the exhibition.
The Dairy Cultures: The Science of Mongolian Heritage is the first exhibition in an annual exhibition series organized by the ACMS. The exhibition aims to present the works of ACMS fellows and to provide accessible scientific knowledge to the public on the science behind dairy products and dairy digestion and is based on the research of ACMS fellows and Dairy Cultures Project led by Dr. Tina Warriner, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences and the Sally Starling Seaver Associate Professor at the Radcliffe Institute of Harvard University. Dr. Tina Warriner is also a group leader in the Department of Archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and affiliated with the faculty of biological sciences at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany and the Leibniz Institute for Infection Biology and Natural Products Research.
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Dr. Bolortsetseg Minjin Stepping Down as ACMS Executive Director
Dr. Bolortsetseg (Bolor) Minjin, ACMS Executive Director since the fall of 2020, will be departing her current role as of October 31, 2023 so that she can focus on her non-profit, the Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs (ISMD), which is spearheading the creation of a community-centered paleontology museum at the world-renowned Flaming Cliffs in southern Mongolia. Bolor plans to stay engaged with ACMS in an advisory capacity as it launches its new Strategic Plan and develops new programs and partnerships.
Bolor started with the ACMS at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which restricted opportunities for travel and in-person events. In response, she helped develop enhanced online programming, including expanding the number of ACMS lectures archived and available on YouTube, and several online courses, discussion panels and workshops. Under her direction, ACMS became, for the first time, a truly bi-lingual organization as Speaker Series events began to be held in both the Mongolian and English languages, and all the lectures were sub-titled in both languages. The audience for ACMS events expanded greatly, in particular in Mongolia, where language barriers often prevent local audiences from accessing international academic presentations and research. This dramatically increased the visibility of ACMS within Mongolia, leading to the engagement of more than 50 Mongolian institutions in ACMS events. These efforts have fostered many new collaborations between US and Mongolian researchers.
Bolor has been instrumental in several ACMS initiatives, including the Cultural Heritage Program (CHP), North American Mongolian Studies Library Consortium (NAMSLC) and the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Heritage project “Conserving and Preserving Mongolia’s Endangered Textile Traditions and Collections” . Through the CHP, ACMS led and organized discussions on cultural heritage and museum topics followed by expert lectures and hands-on workshops. Most importantly, Bolor added a new component to CHP; each year one collaboration between ACMS fellows and Mongolian collaborators is featured in a public exhibit, the first in 2023 was on Dairy Culture. The NAMSLC, a program started during her tenure, has been scanning and archiving books and notes of key Mongolian Studies scholars as well as funding a library fellow to upgrade the online presence of the ACMS library.
While at the ACMS she remained engaged in paleontological research, fossil repatriation, and educational outreach to Mongolian K-12 students. Her project to build a new paleontological museum and education center at the Flaming Cliffs in Mongolia has gained momentum and is entering a key stage of planning and development.
The ACMS wants to thank Bolor for her years of dedication to the organization and her support for research and education related to Mongolia. Bolor has played a key role in helping Mongolia protect its rich cultural and natural heritage, and in helping to educate people outside Mongolia about the many opportunities for research in Mongolia and for collaboration with Mongolian scholars. As a small gift of appreciation, the President of the ACMS, Bill Fitzhugh, will present Bolor with a Native American southwestern Nampeyo pot that honors her work to support shared knowledge and collaborations across cultures. We wish Bolor well in all her endeavors and to continuing collaborations in the future.
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Updates on AFCP funded project "Conserving and preserving Mongolia's endangered textile collections and traditions"
"Conserving and preserving Mongolia's endangered textile collections and traditions" aims to provide training and protect Mongolia's endangered textile collections nd traditions. The U.S. Embassy in Mongolia generously supported this project through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation.
As part of the project the Project Team, Dr. Angaragsuren Odkhuu (Kyoto University), Kristen Pearson (Harvard University) led by Colleen O'Shea (Smithsonian Institute) are working on conservation of a 13th century deel fragment, who was found exposed to the elements near a robbed burial. To this end the Team performed conservation of the said deel fragment in the Conservation Lab of the Institute for Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (participant of the project), and are now preparing to present it to the Institute for Archaeology for further study, safekeeping or display. |
| | Last Week's Word
ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ /qaɣan/ - (Cyrillic: хаан /khaan/, English: khan, monarch) - [1] hereditary ruler, who holds power alone, [2] owner, master (хар гэртээ хаан, бор гэртээ богд [proverb] - a person is the master of their own home), [3] хаан ус - mixed acid, [4] хаан авлах - winter hunt, [5] хаан бугуйвч - pattern that comprises of two rings joined horizontally with ear shaped circles on the edges.
This word was chosen in lieu of Mongolian Pride Day.
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| | Becoming a Member
ACMS membership is another way to support and engage with the ACMS. Individuals and institutions can become members of ACMS, both come with corresponding benefits. In September, 2 new people have signed up to become ACMS member(s).
ACMS welcomes new members:
- Andrew Laurie
- Austin Moore
If you are in Ulaanbaatar, you can also visit our office to sign up for membership in-person. Our UB office address is Natsagdorj Library, East Entrance, Seoul St – 7, Sukhbaatar District, Ulaanbaatar 14521
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ACMS Sponsored Programs and Events
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CAORC-ACMS FACULTY DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR
Climate Change and Public Health: What does Climate Change Mean for the People of Mongolia?
Seminar dates: May 31 - June 15, 2024
To support community colleges and minority-serving institutions, CAORC offers fully-funded overseas seminars that help faculty and administrators gain the requisite first-hand experience needed to develop and improve international courses, curricula, and teaching materials.
This seminar, administered by CAORC in collaboration with its member center in Mongolia, the American Center for Mongolian Studies, funds participation in a two-week seminar in Mongolia focused on issues related to Climate Change and Public Health that will include stays in the urban capital Ulaanbaatar, the rural communities at Kharkhorin, the historic capital of the Mongol Empire, Erdene Zuu Monastery, the oldest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, and a visit to Hustai National Park, home to the rare and endangered Przewalski’s horses. Mongolia, with its vast landscapes, shares similarities to rural parts of the United States and other countries, where limited infrastructure and a dispersed population that lives on the land must contend with a lack of access to health resources and a rapidly changing climate. Mongolia’s average temperatures had already risen more than 2°C and rainfall declined by 7% before 2015, leading to challenges for people in both rural and urban areas. This course will focus on how climate change is already impacting public health and life in both urban centers and rural communities in Mongolia.
Community colleges are at the forefront of training for professional careers in the health professions and fields associated with climate change. These topics also impact a wide range of issues in the social sciences and humanities through economic development, government and cultural change. Through site visits and meetings in Mongolia participants will be able to hear from local officials, health specialists, climate scientists and nomadic pastoralists, and gain a first-hand understanding of how climate change (hotter days, more wildfire, increased storms, colder winters, drought) is impacting the environment and threatening human wellbeing. We will explore how socio-economic conditions and access to resources impacts local responses, and how international cooperation can help overcome challenges. You’ll be able to connect the experiences of people in your own region with the climate and health issues facing this remote region and discuss how people around the globe can connect together to develop better understanding and shared solutions.
Participants will experience the wide diversity of Mongolia’s rich history, society, and culture and its relevance for the climate resilience of the United States. Round-trip travel, accommodations, in-country transportation, and meals will be provided for the seminar.
Eligibility:
- The program is open to full-time or part-time faculty and administrators at U.S. community colleges or minority-serving institutions. A directory of MSIs can be found at the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions. The program is open to faculty in all fields, at all academic ranks, and from any academic or administrative department.
- Applicants may apply to only one (1) of the CAORC Overseas Faculty Development Seminar opportunities being offered for 2024. Applications to more than one seminar will be considered ineligible. Applicants who apply to more than one seminar may be removed from consideration for all seminars.
- CAORC and the U.S. Department of State do not require any vaccinations to participate in the Overseas Faculty Development Seminar program, however the host countries, overseas research centers, individual sites, and communities that are part of the FDS program schedule may have their own requirements for vaccination. These requirements may change from the time of application to the time of travel.
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application and must hold a valid, current U.S. passport that does not expire within six months of the last date of the program.
Program Expectations:
As an outcome of the Overseas Faculty Development Seminar program, participants are required to develop and implement a project to increase internationalization on their campus. Details and examples of these projects will be shared with awardees during pre-departure orientation. Projects should be implemented within one year of the conclusion of the program, at which time participants will be asked to submit a project report and share curriculum and/or documentation of the project for inclusion on CAORC's Open Educational Resources site.
Participants are also required to contribute a short article for the CAORC blog Field Notes. This article should be submitted within three months of the program.
Important dates:
Opening date for applications: April 19, 2023
Application deadline: January 31, 2024 at 5:00pm ET
Recommendation letter deadline: February 5, 2024 at 5:00pm ET
Notification of award decisions: March 1, 2024
Application instruction can be found here: |
| | Visit our YouTube channel to see more series of the Virtual Speaker and Virtual Panel Series, as well as our videos on Cultural Heritage Project, interviews with our Field Research Fellows and more.
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| We are working to bring back in-person speaker events, we will be putting these events up as more in-person speaker become available. If you would like to speak in-person for an ACMS Speaker event, please email buyandelger@mongoliacenter.org
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Vacancies, Scholarship, and Fellowships
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| CAORC: MULTI-COUNTRY RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
The Multi-Country Research Fellowship enables US scholars to carry out trans-regional and comparative research in countries across the network of Overseas Research Centers as well as other countries.
The fellowship supports advanced research in the humanities, social sciences, and allied natural sciences for US doctoral candidates, who are ‘all but dissertation,’ and scholars who have earned their PhD or a terminal degree. Preference will be given to candidates examining comparative and/or cross-regional research. Applicants are eligible to apply as individuals or as teams. Twelve awards of $12,600 each will be granted. Funding is provided by the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Important information about the fellowship competition:
- Scholars must carry out research in two or more countries outside the United States, at least one of which must host a participating Overseas Research Center (ORC). Click here for a list of the centers.
- The award is for a minimum of 90 days and fellows may travel and carry out research between the period of May 2024 and November 2025. The 90-day travel minimum can be split into multiple trips and does not need to be consecutive.
- Fellows must work on their research full-time while they are traveling on the fellowship.
- Twelve awards of $12,600 each will be granted. The award payment is in the form of a stipend.
Eligibility:
- Applicants must be US citizens.
- Funding is not available for research conducted in the US.
- Team projects are admissible and will be evaluated as a single application. Teams should submit one (1) application for the team project and a CV for each member. Note that all team members must fulfill the fellowship eligibility requirements. If awarded, a single grant of $12,600 will be issued to the team.
- Independent scholars are eligible to apply.
- PhD candidates must be 'all but dissertation' (ABD) by May 2024.
- If you have held a Multi-Country Fellowship in the past, you must wait three years before you are eligible to apply again.
- It is permissible to apply for both the Multi-Country Research Fellowship and the CAORC-NEH Research Fellowship at the same time, but only one fellowship can be awarded to an applicant.
- Minority scholars and scholars from Minority-Serving Institutions are especially encouraged to apply.
Link to the Application Form:
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CAORC-NEH RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
The CAORC - National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Research Fellowship provides the opportunity for scholars to spend significant time in one country with an Overseas Research Centers as a base. The fellowship supports advanced research in the humanities. Fellowship awards are for four to six consecutive months (i.e. you can hold the fellowship for four, five, or six consecutive months). Selected fellows are awarded $5,000 per month of the award. This program is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) under the Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions (FPIRI).
Important information about the fellowship competition:
- Fields of study include, but are not limited to, history, philosophy, religious studies, linguistics, languages, literature, literary criticism, and visual and performing arts. In addition, research that embraces a humanistic approach and methods will be considered.
- Applicants must propose four to six consecutive months of research in an Overseas Research Center in one of the following countries: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cyprus, Georgia, Indonesia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan (senior scholars may be permitted to travel to Lahore and Islamabad subject to approval), Senegal, Sri Lanka or Tunisia.
- Travel advisories may fluctuate in some countries, which CAORC continually monitors. CAORC abides by all US Department of State travel restrictions. Please contact CAORC if you have questions.
- Fellows may travel and carry out research for four to six consecutive months between the period of May 2024 to end of December 2025.
- Please list a tentative travel plan and dates in your application.
- Selected fellows must work on their research full-time during the entire tenure of their fellowship.
- Fellowship awards will not exceed $5,000 per month.
- All materials publicizing or resulting from NEH-funded activities must contain an acknowledgment of NEH support as well as CAORC support.
- CAORC-NEH Fellows may hold non-federal fellowships or grants during their fellowship tenure, including sabbaticals and grants from their own institutions. Fellows cannot hold another concurrent NEH or other federally funded grant.
Notification of fellowship status will be made available to each applicant via email in late March 2024. Fellows are advised that it can take up to six months to obtain necessary research clearances and should plan accordingly.
Eligibility:
- All applicants must hold a PhD or terminal degree.
- Applicants who are US citizens are eligible.
- US citizens living outside of the US are eligible.
- Foreign nationals who have resided in the US for at least three years prior to the application deadline are eligible.
- Independent scholars are eligible if they meet the above criteria. It is not a requirement that applicants be affiliated with a US academic institution.
- Funding is not available for research conducted in the US.
- Minority scholars and scholars from Minority-Serving Institutions are especially encouraged to apply.
Link to the Application Form:
Notification of Award Decisions: Late March, 2024
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| | Scholarships at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University
Beijing, China
Students who are interested in applying to the two-year MA program in Chinese Philosophy, Religion and Culture (CPRC) at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China in Beijing. There are still scholarships available for students.
All courses in the CPRC program are taught in English. It offers students an excellent opportunity to study Chinese philosophy and religion while living in China.
This intensive program covers a wide range of topics in Chinese philosophy (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism), Chinese aesthetics, comparative philosophy, Chinese religion (including sociology of religion and folk religions), and culture-related topics (both ancient and modern).
After completing all course requirements, students conduct an independent study with a supervisor to write a master's thesis. Upon graduation, students will receive a Master of Philosophy degree, which is recognized by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and allows them to pursue a Ph.D. or work in a related field.
The application period runs from November 15, 2023 to April 30, 2024.
Interested students can contact Prof. Jifen Li (lijifen@ruc.edu.cn) or Prof. Dennis Schilling (dennis.schilling@ruc.edu.cn). |
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Grants and Calls for Paper
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| Call for Papers: International Workshop for Early Career Researchers Decline and Transition in the History of the Fourteenth Century’s Chinggisid Khanates
University of Bonn, Department of Sinology
Friday-Saturday, 7-8 June 2024
We are happy to announce the convening of an international workshop, dedicated to the transition and decline periods in the history of the Chinggisid Khanates of the fourteenth century. The primary aim of the workshop is twofold. On the one hand, the goal of the workshop is to highlight the various aspects of the mid-fourteenth century’s transformation of Eurasia under the Mongol rule, known otherwise as the “Great Chinggisid Crisis”. We invite papers in all fields of research, encouraging early career researchers in the fields beyond the “classical” text-oriented humanities corpora (e.g. numismatic, climatic research, history of medicine, archaeology etc.) to submit their proposals as well. On the other hand, this workshop is explicitly thought to engage early career researcher from all over the field and give them an opportunity to share their findings and approaches. Thus, beyond one or two keynotes of senior scholars, to be announced later, all participants of the workshop should belong to this target group.
Practical details: Please send the abstract of individual papers (up to 250 words) along with a short (1-2 pages) CV by 1 December 2023. The abstracts and the CV must be sent to Dr. Ishayahu Landa (ilanda@uni-bonn.de). Participants will be notified of acceptance not later than 1 January 2024. Remote participation is not possible.
Accommodation and transportation: Accommodation in Bonn will be covered for up to max. 3 nights, meals during the two days of the conference will be also completely covered. Unfortunately, our funding is limited. However, we will be able to offer at least a partial refund for the transportation to some or to most of the guests (depending on the way of traveling and the number of participants). If you wish to be considered for travel funding, please state so when submitting the abstract.
Contact Information
Dr. Ishayahu Landa (University of Bonn, Department of Sinology)
Contact Email
ilanda@uni-bonn.de |
| | Call for Papers: Seventh Conference of the Early Medieval China Group
Seattle, Washington, USA
The Early Medieval China Group (EMCG) will hold its Seventh Conference in Seattle on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in conjunction with the Annual Conference of the Association for Asian Studies. Members and friends of the Early Medieval China Group as well as all researchers in the various disciplines of early medieval China studies are cordially invited to attend the conference and to present their research. We are looking forward to contributions from senior and junior scholars alike.
Proposals on all topics pertaining to early medieval China (ca. 2nd–7th c. CE) are welcome, from literature to history, archaeology, art history, religion, linguistics, and beyond. Please send proposals consisting of a title and an abstract of ca. 250 words by January 7, 2024, to antje.richter@colorado.edu. In your email, please include your institutional affiliation and a mailing address. Submissions will be evaluated by the Group’s board members. We will notify successful applicants by January 28 and send the final program in early March.
All graduate students who present papers at the conference are eligible for the Group’s Graduate Student Award, established in 2020 to recognize excellence in the field of Early Medieval China studies. Graduate students who want to apply for the award are asked to submit the script of their talk (no longer than 5,000 words without notes) by February 25, 2024, as a Word document or PDF file. The winner of the award will receive a subvention of travel expenses to attend the conference. Runners-up may be eligible to receive a subvention of travel expenses as well. Winners and runners-up will be announced during the conference and on the EMCG’s website.
The Early Medieval China Group’s annual business meeting will take place on the day of the conference as well. If you have any questions about the conference, please direct them to antje.richter@colorado.edu.
Everyone is welcome to attend the conference, but presenters should be or become members of the Early Medieval China Group. Membership also includes a subscription to our annual journal Early Medieval China. If you would like to become a member, please go to our website at https://www.earlymedievalchinagroup.org/ and follow the link to the membership page. |
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Interesting digital resource we discovered in October, 2023:- "Jargal Defacto YouTube Channel" - Jargal Dambadarjaa is a Mongolian political and economic observer, columnist, and host of TV’s Defacto Debate, Defacto Review, and Defacto Interview. He is a founder of The Defacto Institute , an independent research think tank that also publishes the ’The Defacto Gazette’, a weekly analytical newspaper covering the politics and economics of Mongolia—in English, Japanese, Russian and Mongolian. Defacto Reviews present 2 important issues of the preceding week and are bilingual (Mongolian and English).
- "Khamnigan Mongolian Basic Sentences in Daily Conversation" - Online text of Mongolic languages published audio tracks of Khamnigan Mongolian sentences. This resource is a valuable tool for language learners as well as linguists studying Mongolic languages.
Podcasts we discovered in October: - Bow and Blade Podcast - Ep. #36 The Mongols /Dr. Nicholas Morton/ Medievalists.net
- Lost History of Mongolia (Монголын гээгдсэн түүх) - Ep. #24 History of the Uriankhai, Absorbed to the North /Ambassador Yo.Otgonbayar/ YouTube (in Mongolian)
- Syndicate Talk - Exclusive #16 Christianity and the Pope's Visit [to Mongolia] /HE Giorgio Marengo/ MPlus (in Mongolian)
Featured book reviews:
Submit reviews of your works or reviews you wrote to us at info@mongoliacenter.org. Make sure you put Review submission in the Subject field of your email.
Member contribution publications:
(If you would like to announce your publication, please reach out to us at info@mongoliacenter.org. Make sure you put Member contribution publication in the Subject field of your email.
Selected scholarly articles published in September, 2023: Featured Documentary: - "Mongolia: Rise and fall of an empire" by Robert H. Lieberman - Mongolia. For most of us, a name that brings to mind the powerful empire of Genghis Khan. This film is a journey through Mongolian history and into modern Mongolian culture. It offers fascinating insights into the little-known central Asian nation. Mongolia, a country rich with forests, deserts and steppes, borders Russia to the north and China to the south. But its chief influences today come from South Korea and the West. Director Robert H. Lieberman and filmmaker Deborah C. Hoard introduce novelists, journalists, politicians, activists, poets, painters and a comedian, all of whom shed light on the young republic - and its young population. Historians, archaeologists and local residents tell the story of the vast empire. The eastern European and Asian territory captured by a fighting force of united Mongol tribes was the largest contiguous land empire in the history of the world. The film looks the beyond the figure of Genghis Khan, the notorious founder of the Mongol empire, and explores the multi-faceted legacy of the realm. It’s a legacy that still makes itself felt in the present day.
- "Dippers in the Altai IV: Emergence of the chicks" by Andrew Laurie [version with Mongolian subtitles] - The White-throated Dipper, or Гялаан омруут харзлай, (Cinclus cinclus) is distributed from Europe to China, including upland parts of Mongolia. Andrew Laurie studied Dippers in the UK as a schoolboy. Much later, when working in Mongolia on a conservation project, he became interested in how their lives differed in the mountains of the Altai and started to observe and photograph them. He has now made four films about Dippers in the Altai: I. Nest building (2017) II.
Incubation (2018) III. Feeding the nestlings (2019) and IV. Emergence of the chicks (2022). There are Mongolian subtitled versions of each film. Andrew Laurie's Channel
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| | FEATURE ARTICLES AND EVENTS ON MONGOLIAN STUDIES |
| Mongolia opens way for uranium mining with $1.7bn French deal/Nikkei Asia/ Oct 13. France and Mongolia have signed a 1.6 billion euro ($1.7 billion) deal that paves the way for the mining of uranium in the landlocked country, the chairman of French nuclear energy provider Orano told Nikkei Asia on Thursday. Under the framework agreement, Orano will operate the Zuuvch-Ovoo mine in southwestern Mongolia, with the aim of laying a foundation stone next year and beginning production around 2028. Both countries will also cooperate in searching for lithium using satellite imagery. [...] The investment will be made "mostly with French capital, and Mongolian participation," Imauven said. Read more |
| | Mongolia’s Search for a Third Way: What America Can Offer
/Foreign Affairs/ Oct 6. The visit in early July of Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov to Beijing would have gone largely unnoticed but for an unexpected announcement. Krasnov revealed that he and his Chinese colleagues had discussed the need to counteract the increasing Western influence on their “inner neighbor,” Mongolia. To this end, Krasnov said, he had already forwarded a proposal to his Mongolian counterpart to help strengthen ties with both China and Russia. Read more
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| | Chinese premier calls on China, Mongolia to strengthen mutual trust and ties
/Xinhua/ Oct 27. Chinese Premier Li Qiang [...] made the remarks during his meeting with Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene on the sidelines of the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States. Mongolia stands ready to work with China to strengthen border port capacity building and connectivity, promote the Belt and Road cooperation, deepen cooperation in areas including trade, railway, green development, tourism and culture, and deepen multilateral cooperation [... Oyun-Erdene] said. Read more
More on this:
China nudges Mongolia to join Eurasian security bloc
China and Mongolia forming closer relations on trade and environment
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| | Water Security Woes in Mongolia’s Capital
/The Diplomat/ Oct 25. We have been undertaking extensive on-site fieldwork in Ulaanbaatar regarding water security, including conversations with key stakeholders from a variety of institutional and organizational backgrounds about the policy challenges and opportunities around urban water security in the Mongolian capital. We found that institutional fragmentation, lack of data, and inadequate policy implementation are undermining Ulaanbaatar’s water security. In this piece we explain the implications of these challenges and some ways in which they may be addressed in order to improve water security in Ulaanbaatar. Read more
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| | Archaeologists in Mongolia discover remains of prehistoric hearths, pottery and ostrich eggs
/Science in Poland/ Oct 12. Archaeologists working in [Gobi-Altai] Mongolia have discovered traces of human activity from the early Holocene [...]. The data they have obtained may play an important role in research on the spread of Homo sapiens in this area. [...] The research is conducted in cooperation with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the Mongolian National University of Education in Ulaanbaatar, the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk, the Institute of Archeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Geological Institute. Read more
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| | Mongolia’s youths in breakdancing, esports and 3x3 basketball
/AP/ Oct 6. There’s a minor sports revolution going on in Mongolia, the giant landlocked Asian country [...] famous for its “three manly sports” of archery, horse racing and, the most prestigious, wrestling. The two-week Asian Games offer a glimpse at a changing Mongolia [...]. Its ancient history is slowly giving way to the modern, including a growing passion for youth sports with breakdancing at the forefront. Read more
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| | Here’s What to Know About Tensions Over Tibetan Buddhism
/The New York Times/ Oct 4. Much centers on the question of who gets to choose the successor of the Dalai Lama when he dies. [...] The Dalai Lama commands a large following in Mongolia, where nearly half the population of 3.4 million identifies as Buddhist. The reverence for the Dalai Lama has put the Mongolian government in a difficult position because it relies on China for virtually all its trade. Beijing closed border crossings between the two countries, imposed tariffs and canceled bilateral talks in response to the last time the Dalai Lama visited Mongolia in 2016. Read more |
| | Russian investors to open first pig farm in Mongolia/Pig Progress/ Oct 9. Russian agricultural holding SibAgro rolled out plans to build a pig farm in Mongolia to sell finishers to local customers. With a planned output of 18,000 tonnes per year, the farm is designed to grow piglets imported from SibAgro’s East Siberian pig farm in Russia’s Buryatia republic. The company has already signed an investment agreement with the Mongolian government and is working on finishing the farm’s design documentation. Read more |
| | Dishes every Mongolia visitor needs to try, according to locals
/CNN/ Sept 21. Mongolia’s food [...] is highly misunderstood, thanks to the many deceptive, so-called “Mongolian barbecue” restaurants in cities around the world. “They’re all fake,” says Javkha Ara. “Very different from the original Mongolian foods.” A filmmaker and a self-proclaimed “mad foodie” from the northern city of Darkhan, Ara founded Artger [...] in 2016 after he realized how little information about his country was available online. Artger’s YouTube channel, which has amassed more than 510,000 subscribers and millions of views, focuses on Mongolian cuisine and culture. Read more
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| | Ivanhoe founder Robert Friedland awarded Mongolia’s Order of the Polar Star
/Mining.com/ Oct 16. Mining billionaire Robert Friedland, founder of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) and Ivanhoe Electric (TSX: IE), has been formally recognized by the government of Mongolia for his contributions to the country’s mining industry. On October 9, 2023, the Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh presented Friedland with the Order of the Polar Star, the country’s highest civilian award to a foreign citizen, for his leadership role in the discovery and development of Oyu Tolgoi, one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the world. Read more
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| The First International Forum on Higher Education in Mongolia
/UNESCO/ Oct 26. The 1st international Forum on Higher Education in Mongolia took place from the 17th to 18th of October in Ulaanbaatar. [...] The forum demonstrated the firm commitment of Mongolia and UNESCO to collaborate in advancing educational reform and unlocking the full potential of higher education in Mongolia to contribute towards the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, and 2050 Vision for Sustainable development. Read more
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| | Mongolia and India win Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners
/FIDE/ Oct 14. Teams of India and Mongolia became the champions of the third Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, the event organized by FIDE and the Cook County (Chicago, IL, USA) Sheriff’s Office, after winning the final matches in youth and women’s sections of the biggest-ever chess event among correctional facilities. [...] In the women’s final, Mongolia beat England and took the title; England claimed silver medals. [...] It is the third gold medal of the Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners under Mongolia’s belt. Read more |
| | European Bank supports sustainable cashmere production in Mongolia
/EBRD/ Oct 26. The [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development] EBRD has long worked with both processors and herders involved in the production of cashmere [...] working with the government of Mongolia and local financial institutions to provide targeted support for the entire production cycle, from combing to finishing. [...] The ultimate objective is to unlock the potential of the domestic cashmere sector, which could contribute up to US$ 1.5 billion annually to the Mongolian economy. Read more
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| | Mongolia: Circus artists fight for their craft
/AFP/ Oct 14. Mongolian circus performers fly through a cavernous hall inspectors have warned could collapse any time, one of the few places left to train if they hope to travel the world with their country’s spectacular big top shows. The decaying, more than a hundred-year-old venue at the Mongolian Circus School is where hundreds of young artists, many now performing at celebrated outfits like Cirque Du Soleil, started their careers. Explore photos
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| | Edutech in Mongolian Education
/PR Newswire/ Oct 30. NAVER Cloud (CEO Kim Yu-won) Whale is [....] in Mongolia by utilizing "Whalespace" and "Whalebook." [...] NAVER Cloud announced its participation on "Digital Classroom Project" in collaboration with the Mongolian Ministry of Education and Science, to drive digital innovation in Mongolian education. Read more
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"A Chinese Rebel beyond the Great Wall" by TJ Cheng, Uradyn E. Bulag, and Mark SeldenPrice: $27.50 (Paperback)
A striking first-person account of the Cultural Revolution in Inner Mongolia, embedded in a close examination of the historical evidence on China’s minority nationality policies to the present.
During the Great Leap Forward, as hundreds of thousands of Chinese famine refugees headed to Inner Mongolia, Cheng Tiejun arrived in 1959 as a middle school student. In 1966, when the PRC plunged into the Cultural Revolution, he joined the Red Guards just as Inner Mongolia’s longtime leader, Ulanhu, was purged. With the military in control, and with deepening conflict with the Soviet Union and its ally Mongolia on the border, Mongols were accused of being nationalists and traitors. A pogrom followed, taking more than 16,000 Mongol lives, the heaviest toll anywhere in China.TJ Cheng is emeritus professor of sociology at Macau University and a freelance writer based in California.
Uradyn E. Bulag is professor of social anthropology at the University of Cambridge.
Mark Selden is emeritus professor of sociology and history at the State University of New York at Binghamton. |
| | "Political Patronage in Asian Bureaucracies" by B. Guy Peters (Editor), Colin Knox (Editor), Byeong Seob Kim (Editor)
Price: $130.00 (Hardback)
Political patronage is defined as political actors appointing individuals at their discretion to key positions in the public sector. The book examines this practice in the bureaucracies of 11 Asian countries through the use of a typological framework of patronage types. The framework is based on two key criteria: basis of trust and the major role of political appointees. Several countries with well-developed civil service systems showed minimal levels of patronage (Japan, Singapore and South Korea). Two countries with a weak civil service showed very high levels of patronage appointments (Bangladesh and India). Sandwiched between those extremes are countries with formal civil service systems that are heavily influenced by political parties and by social ties to society (Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and China). The book concludes that not all patronage is the same and what is important is the tasks being performed by appointees and the nature of the trust relationship.
B. Guy Peters, University of PittsburghColin Knox, Nazarbayev University Byeong Seob Kim, Seoul National University
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| | "The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire" by Michal Biran (Editor), Hodong Kim (Editor)
Price: $315.00 (Hardback)
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Chinggis Khan and his progeny ruled over two-thirds of Eurasia. Connecting East, West, North and South, the Mongols integrated most of the Old World, promoting unprecedented cross-cultural contacts and triggering the reshuffle of religious, ethnic, and geopolitical identities. The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire studies the Empire holistically in its full Eurasian context, putting the Mongols and their nomadic culture at the center. Written by an international team of more than forty leading scholars, this two-volume set provides an authoritative and multifaceted history of 'the Mongol Moment' (1206–1368) in world history and includes an unprecedented survey of the various sources for its study, textual (written in sisteen languages), archaeological, and visual. This groundbreaking Cambridge History sets a new standard for future study of the Empire. It will serve as the fundamental reference work for those interested in Mongol, Eurasian, and world history.
Michal Biran is The Max and Sophie Mydans Foundation Professor of the Humanities at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Director of its Institute of Asian and African Studies, she has published twelve books and volumes as well as numerous journal articles. She is a member of the Israel Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Hodong Kim is a professor emeritus of the Seoul National University. He received his PhD degree from Harvard University and his thesis was published as Holy War in China (2004). A member of the Academy of Science, Korea, he is the author of books and articles on the history of Xinjiang as well as the Mongol Empire, published in both English and in Korean.
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