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 Speaker Series Audience The ACMS Speakers Series is an on-going series of lectures presented by Mongolian and visiting international academics to the public. The Speaker Series began in the Fall of 2004, and it has grown to include an average of 12 lectures per academic year. Speaker Series lectures are generally given from 5 pm to 6 pm on Thursday evenings on the campus of the National University of Mongolia. The lectures are 40-50 minutes in length, with an opportunity for audience members to ask questions. From 6 pm to 7 pm audience members are invited to the ACMS reading room for refreshments and an opportunity for further discussion. The ACMS invites researchers and scholars to present public lectures at the ACMS Speaker Series on a rolling basis. If you are planning to visit Mongolia between late August and early July to conduct research or study, please contact info@mongoliacenter.org to schedule a date to present. The lectures must be conducted in English, and all academic disciplines are welcome. The Speaker Series is a great opportunity for scholars to present their work and for the general public to learn about academic research in Mongolia. Please notify the ACMS at least two weeks prior to your proposed date to speak in order to allow enough time to advertise the lecture. |
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Call for Speakers for Spring 2010 |
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The American
Center for Mongolian
Studies (ACMS) invites researchers and scholars to present public lectures
during the ACMS Spring 2010 Speaker Series. If you are planning to visit Mongolia
between February and June 2010 to conduct research or study, please contact info@mongoliacenter.org
to schedule a date to participate in this public lecture series. The lectures
must be conducted in English, and all academic disciplines are welcome. The
Speaker Series is a great opportunity for scholars to present their work and
for the general public to learn about academic research in Mongolia. Please notify the ACMS at
least two weeks prior to your proposed date to speak in order to allow enough
time to advertise the lecture.
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Past Speaker Series Lecturers |
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Below is a list of all previous Speaker Series lecturers since 2004. The list is preseneted in chronological order beginning with the most recent lecture from the previous season.
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David Hausman, Research Specialist |
Transition and New Public Management in Mongolia: A Comparative Perspective December 17th, 5pm Room 305, Building No.5 NUM  David Hausman David Hausman will describe the work of Princeton's Innovations for Successful Societies initiative, which collects case studies and oral histories of institutional reform efforts in developing countries. Drawing on comparisons with other states that have attempted to transform their public sector, the speaker will give an analytic account of civil service reform in Mongolia since the mid-1990s. David Hausman is a Research Specialist at the Institution for Fragile States Initiative, a joint program of the Woodrow Wilson School and Bobst Center for Peace and Justice at Princeton University. He received his degree from Harvard University. He traveled to Vietnam and the Solomon Islands to conduct semi-structured recorded interviews with key actors in recent civil service reform efforts. The results of his comparative research will be included in a forthcoming book on governance traps. |
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Sunmin Yoon, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Maryland |
Chasing the Singers: Transition of the Mongolian Long-Song (Urtiin-Duu) in Post-Socialist Mongolia December 10th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM  Sunmin Yoon Based on ethnographic research conducted in Ulaanbaatar and the countryside from 2007 to 2009, this presentation investigates the lives and music of long-song singers to examine how the meaning and function of this genre have shifted and been reshaped in contemporary Mongolian society. The transition from socialism to democratic capitalism was not merely a political shift, but rather a much deeper transformation coalescing in experiences of new cultural forms, with a combination of alteration and continuity in every part of Mongolian society. The Mongolian long-song (Urtiin-duu) provides a good example of the confusing and paradoxical process of cultural change. The name “long-song” is derived not from the length of the song, but by an elongating of vowels in the lyrics, resulting in a variety of musical ornamentations. As everyday music, it accompanied pastoral Mongolians as they herded and traveled along the lonesome roads. During the socialist regime however, this genre was diminished through selective governmental promotion. When the socialist government ultimately collapsed in 1990, this genre became newly “imagined” and accepted as a “new national symbol” for the country to utilize in seeking a new national, collective identity. Subsequently, numerous individual musicians in Ulaanbaatar and the countryside have responded in various ways to this genre. This presentation will illustrate the music and stories of long-song singers of various backgrounds and lives, providing a rare case study of these changes. Sunmin Yoon is a Ph.D. Candidate in Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is in Mongolia from 2009-2010 on an Anne Wylie dissertation Fellowship to conduct interviews and collect data from the countryside for her dissertation research, which is the topic of this seminar. She is a performing artist as well as a researcher and instructor at her university. |
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Andrew Shimunek, Fulbright Fellow, Indiana University-Bloomington |
Khamnigan: Documenting and Describing the Endangered Language of a Northern Mongolic People December 3rd, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM  Andrew Shimunek Khamnigan, also known as Khamnigan Mongol, is a highly endangered Mongolic language spoken today by perhaps less than 50 people in northeastern Mongolia, the majority of whom are over the age of 70. Previously, a certain portion of the Khamnigan ethnic group in Khentii and Dornod was characterized by bilingualism in this Mongolic language, and one or more uniquely Khamnigan dialects of the Tungusic language Ewenki. The Khamnigans of Selenge, until very recently, also spoke a Tungusic language, although this language, Yöröö Khamnigan, seems to have been very different from the Khamnigan Ewenki spoken in Khentii and Dornod. This talk aims to present some results from recent fieldwork undertaken in northern Khentii and Selenge, discussing, among other things, the geographic distribution of Khamnigan-speaking communities in Mongolia, lexical and morphological innovation in Khamnigan Mongol, conservative phonological characteristics aligning the language with Middle Mongol, Tungusic substratal elements in its lexicon, the internal dialectal diversity of Khamnigan Mongol, an attempt to devise a practical Cyrillic orthography for writing this previously unwritten language, and a treatment of what little is known about the recently extinct Yöröö Khamnigan language of Selenge. Andrew Shimunek is a Fulbright Fellow in Mongolia, conducting fieldwork on the Khamnigan Mongol language. He holds a dual M.A. in Linguistics and Mongolian Studies (Indiana University, 2007), and is currently pursuing a dual Ph.D. in Linguistics and Mongolian Studies at Indiana University. His academic interests lie in linguistic fieldwork, historical linguistics, Mongolic, Tungusic, Sinitic, and Turkic languages, as well as Chinese language pedagogy. |
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Dr. Richard P. Taupier, University of Massachusetts-Amherst |
The Oirat Gegen Zaya Pandita: Reflections on Buddhism Among the Mongols November 12th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM  Dr. Richard P. Taupier The Oirat Zaya Pandita rose to fame among both eastern and western Mongols in the mid- 17th century at a time when it might have been possible to forge a pan-Mongolian alliance. In spite of efforts in 1640 to establish the rules under which such an alliance might be formed it did not occur. Buddhism failed to become a unifying factor among Mongolian people. The Manchus found and exploited differences among the Eastern uluses and between them and the Western Oirats in a divide and conquer strategy. By the end of the 16th century only the Oirats remained free of Manchu control. This presentation offers some thoughts about why Buddhism failed to provide a basis for Mongolian unification and how the Manchus used it instead to separate and control the Mongolian people. Richard Taupier is a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass, Amherst). Previously, he received a Ph.D. from the UMass Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Department where he is currently an Adjunct Graduate Faculty Member. Dr. Taupier also works as Associate Director for International Research, Research Liaison and Developing at UMass, Amherst. |
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Dr. Susan Sloan Witte, Columbia University & Dr. Altantsetseg Batsukh, Ministry of Health |
Intimate Partner Violence, Childhood Sexual Abuse and HIV/STI Risks among Women Engaged in Sex Work in Mongolia November 5th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM  Dr. Susan Witte and Dr. B. Altantsetseg These researchers will discuss their baseline findings on experiences of trauma and violence and its association with women’s risk-taking behavior. Specifically, their data from the first survey in Mongolia to examine the prevalence of intimate partner violence and childhood sexual abuse among sex workers will be shown. The strength of the association between sexual risk behaviors, intimate partner violence and childhood sexual abuse suggest that there is a critical need for trauma-based support services for this population. Susan Witte, Associate Professor, Columbia University School of Social Work, develops and tests prevention and treatment interventions for vulnerable populations in which HIV/AIDS risk behaviors, substance abuse and interpersonal violence co-occur. Dr. Witte is principal investigator on studies funded by several branches of the US Federal government (NIMH, NIAA, CDC). Her work has been published in social work and public health peer reviewed journals. Altantsetseg Batsukh, a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Social work, is responsible for overseeing the implementation of this project in Mongolia. Dr. Altantsetseg, who has served as the Executive Director of the National AIDS Foundation in Mongolia, works on community-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs that focus on high risk populations, develops curricula for social work schools at major Mongolian universities and teaches on the subject. Dr. Altantsetseg is currently working on the Third Health Sector Development Program at the Ministry of Health in Mongolia. |
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Jane Addison, Ph.D Candidate, University of South Australia |
Spatial and Temporal Variability: Implications for Land Tenure in the Gobi Desert October 22, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM  Jane Addison The expression ‘tragedy of the commons’ has often been used to explain land degradation in pastoral areas without property rights. Land has been privatised in many arid rangelands of the world under the assumption that without formal land tenure, herders have no incentive to restrict livestock numbers, and therefore overgrazing. There is increasing evidence, however, that pastoral people have evolved management systems well adapted to the extreme spatial and temporal variability of their forage resource, and that formalised land tenure systems may disrupt traditional systems of land management. Changes in rangeland condition, and herder livelihoods, may result. In this lecture, speaker outline the land tenure history of the Gobi Desert, and describe the increasingly disparate management systems of the Gobi’s Inner Mongolia and Omnogobi regions. She argues that any change in land tenure throughout the region that doesn’t consider biogeographical variability may be risky for long-term rangeland conditions and herder livelihoods. Jane Addison is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of South Australia. She became interested in land tenure issues while working at the Mongolian Institute of Geoecology in 2007-2008. Her dissertation explores relationships between land tenure arrangements, rangeland condition and herder livelihoods in the Gobi Desert, primarily through understanding the spatial and temporal variability of the forage resource. She is currently based in Ulaanbaatar with MercyCorps, Mongolia’s Gobi Forage project, which provides an early warning system to herders at risk of droughts or dzuds. |
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Dr. Hamid Sardar-Afkhami, Independent Researcher |
Reindeer Nomads of the Hovsgol Taiga October 15, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM  Dr. Hamid Sardar-Afkhami In 2003, Dr. Sardar-Afkhami became a co-founding member of the Swiss-based Axis Mundi Foundation, dedicated to perpetuating the knowledge and traditions of disappearing pre-industrial cultures and helping to preserve their pristine habitats in the modern world. Dr. Sardar-Afkhami will discuss his work on the ancient culture of the Tsaatan reindeer nomads in Mongolia, which have resulted in three award-winning documentary films, numerous articles and an important photographic collection of this nomadic culture at the cusp of a great irreversible change. Hamid Sardar-Afkhami earned his Ph.D. degree at Harvard University in Sanskrit & Tibetan Studies. He worked as the School for International Training’s College Semester Abroad program in Nepal (1999-2000) and was the program’s founding director in Mongolia (2000-2003). In Mongolia, he also became the coordinator for the British Library’s Endangered Archives Project, helping to identify and digitally archive a cache of rare Buddhist manuscripts recently unearthed in the Gobi desert in Mongolia. |
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More...
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Dr. L. Oyun, Department of Health
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Dr. M. Saruul-Erdene, National University of Education
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Dr. Scott Gardner, University of Nebraska
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Jonathan Schlesinger, ACMS Fellow, Harvard University
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Dr. Mikael Thompson, ACMS Fellow
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Dr. Morris Rossabi, City University of New York
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Dr. Brian Baumann, Indiana University, ACMS Fellow
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Jean-Luc Houle, PhD Candidate, University of Pittsburgh
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Lucy Rees, PhD Candidate, University of Leeds, England
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Merle Schatz, M.A, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
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Dr Roger Van Der Veen, Human Issues Consultant
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Daniel J. Murphy, PhD Candidate, University of Kentucky
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S. Enkhtsetseg, Lecturer, School of Foreign Service, NUM
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Enkhjargal Adiya, PhD student, University of Pittsburgh
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Geoffrey Aung, Summer Research Fellow, ACMS
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Alice Obrecht, DPhil candidate, London School of Economics
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Otgontugs Banzragch, PhD Candidate, Columbia University
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J. Kelly Cluer, CEO, Altan Rio Mongolia LLC
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Thomas Spoorenberg, PhD Candidate, University of Geneva, Switzerland
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Dr. David Sneath, University of Cambridge
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Anne Riordan, Fulbright Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Dr. Christopher Kaplonski, University of Cambridge
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Bryan Miller, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Pennsylvania
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Jaspal Sandhu, PhD Candidate UC Berkeley and Fulbright Fellow
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Brian White, ACMS Resident Director and Joel L. Fleishman Fellow in Civil Society
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Thomas Spoorenberg, PhD Candidate, University of Geneva, Switzerland
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Aimee "Mimi" Kessler, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
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Sean Armstrong, Fulbright Fellow
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Uranchimeg Tsultem, PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley
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Lisa Fink, Fulbright Fellow
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Dr. Alicia Campi, President of the Mongolia Society
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Michael Kohn (Author of the Lonely Planet Guide to Mongolia)
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David Gilroy (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Ganzorig (National University of Mongolia)
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Dr.Vesna Wallace, University of California in Santa Barbara
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Dr. L. Dale Lawton, FSO/GSO, US Embassy in Mongolia
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Dr. Bob Beatty, Washburn University
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Dr. Cliff Montange, Montana State University
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Dr. Richard Vogel, SUNY, Fulbright Faculty, NUM
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Laura Puckett, Fulbright Fellow
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Dr. Craig Janes, Simon Fraser University, Canada
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S.Oyunsuren, National University of Mongolia
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D. Munkh-Ochir, Institute for Strategic Studies
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Roberta Hawkins, Paul Marmer, Korice Moir - York University (Canada)
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Dr. Soninkhishig, National University of Mongolia
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Dr. D.Tumen, National University of Mongolia
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Jayne Belnap, US Geological Survey
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The Honorable Pamela Slutz - United States Ambassador to Mongolia
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Lauren Bonilla and Retta Breugger, US Fulbright Fellows
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Dr. J. Baysakh, National University of Mongolia
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Dr. Amanda Fine, Wildlife Conservation Society
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Dr. Kent Harbison, Visiting Professor, NUM
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Dr. B. Lkhagvasuren, The Institute of Biology, MAS
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Dr. L.Munkh-Erdene, National University of Mongolia
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Layton Croft, Vice-President for Corporate Affairs, Ivanhoe Mines
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Charles Mayer, Luce Foundation Fellow
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Joan E. Kane, Consul, US Embassy in Mongolia
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Dr. Lkh. Udval, Executive Director, EARC
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Troy Sternberg, Fulbright Researcher, Ph.D Student, Oxford University
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Charlie Seeman, PhD, Western Folklife Center, Elko, Utah
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Elizabeth Endicott, Middlebury College
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Craig R. Janes, University of Colorado in Denver
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Robert Deliege, Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve
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Guido Verboom, Alliance for Religions and Conservation
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Kevin D.Robinson, Fulbright Scholar, University of Pittsburgh
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Prof. Ozkul Chobanoglu, Department of Turkology, NUM
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Dr. Dennis Ojima, Colorado State University
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Prof. Joerg Janzen, National University of Mongolia
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L. Oyun, MD, Mongolian Ministry of Health
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Dr. Clyde Goulden, International Consultant
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