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ACMS Speaker Series

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 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm on Thursday evenings on the campus of the Mongolian University of Science and Technology. The lectures are 40-50 minutes in length, with an opportunity for audience members to ask questions.

Call for Speakers for Spring 2012

The American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) invites researchers and scholars to present public lectures during the ACMS Spring 2012 Speaker Series. If you are planning to visit Mongolia between January 2012 and August 2012 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.

Hedwig Waters, Free University, Berlin, and Fulbright Fellow

“Beauty Saves the World:” Exploring the Impact of Modernity on Mongolian Female Body and Beauty Ideals

5:30 PM, Thursday, February 9th, 2012, MONGOLIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Hedwig Waters

The phrase ‘beauty saves the world’ is a response commonly given by Mongolian nomadic herders when asked what type of woman is beautiful. What this statement doesn’t encompass is what exactly ‘beauty’ consists of and how it rescues us; two concepts that are changing with the development of Mongolia. Hedwig A. Waters, a Fulbright fellow and gender anthropology student, spent the last year traveling through Mongolia, living with, interviewing, and surveying herders, shamans, students, public personalities, and plastic surgery patients, asking all about concepts of beauty, body and gender. Her results regarding the changing face of feminine beauty in light of the modernization, westernization and economic changes of Mongolia are discussed in this lecture.

Hedwig A. Waters is a Fulbright scholar currently conducting research on contemporary female beauty and body ideals through the Social and Cultural Anthropology Department at the Mongolian National University. She is a M.A. candidate in Anthropology at the Free University Berlin, Germany, and holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Her research interests include the embodiment of gender through beauty, concepts of body and self, gender and medical anthropology.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the National University of Mongolia.

Michael Aldrich, Partner Hogan Lovells

Old Peking as a Mongolian Capital of China

5:30 PM, Thursday, January 26th, 2012, MONGOLIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Michael aldrich The Mongolian contribution to Chinese culture has often been presented as a brief chapter in text books on the history of China. The prevailing attitude among many Chinese throughout the centuries has been that the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368 CE) was one of uncultured barbarians. Modern scholarship had begun to disprove this Sino-centric approach and to uncover the culture dynamics of one of China's most cosmopolitan dynasties.

To illustrate the ongoing Mongolian contributions to China, Mr Aldrich will present a lecture on Old Peking as a Mongolian capital of Chi

na. In 1271, Kubilai Khan selected Peking as his capital and transformed it into a city carefully modelled on Chinese cosmological principles whose traces can still be seen today. Mr Aldrich will discuss how, and why Mongolians leaders achieved this feat. His presentation will also include photographs of existing sites in Peking that were present during Kubilai's era.

Michael Aldrich is the managing partner of the Ulaanbaatar office of Hogan Lovells and frequently writes and lectures on Asian history and culture. He has lived in Asia for nearly a quarter of a century. In 2009, he moved to Mongolia to develop his firm's Mongolia practice. Mr Aldrich as been consistently recognized as one of Asia's legal practitioners. As the author of The Search for a Vanishing Beijing (2006), he explores the multi-faceted cultural mosaic of Old Peking.

Past Speaker Series Lecturers

Below is a list of all previous Speaker Series lecturers since 2004. The list is presented in chronological order beginning with the most recent lecture from the previous season.

Steve Frisch, President, Sierra Business Council

Stimulating Sustainable Economic and Community Development in Mongolia

6 PM, Thursday-October 20th, 2011

MONGOLIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

One of Mongolia’s continuing challenges is balancing economic development and environmental protection. The Sierra Business Council unites several hundred individuals and businesses in a collaborative effort to do just that. Mr. Frisch will discuss innovative approaches and solutions that foster community vitality, environmental quality, economic prosperity, and social fairness.

Steve Frisch is a founding member of the Sierra Business Council and a graduate of the Sierra Leadership Seminar. He has managed a variety of programs including the Sierra Nevada Conservancy effort and the Working Landscapes Initiative – a program that has protected 30,000 acres of working farms and ranches essential to the region’s economy, wildlife and cultural legacy. He also manages sustainable business and building projects to encourage the adoption of socially responsible business and development practices.

Sponsored by the US Embassy in Mongolia

Rajive Ganguli, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Accreditation of Engineering Education in the United States

5:30 PM, Thursday-June 16th, 2011, MONGOLIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Rajive Ganguli

The standards and processes that govern accreditation of engineering education in the United States will be discussed. The Mining Engineering curriculum at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will be used as an example. The talk will be of interest to government, academic and industry officials in Mongolia since they are interested in developing academic agreements with universities in the United States or employing graduates of such agreements.

Professor Ganguli's research focuses on the practical application of computational intelligence in the mining industry. The products he has developed for the mining industry in the United States include production simulation models, production databases and artificial intelligence tools for process control. He is the lead author of two chapters in the 2011 edition of the SME Mining Engineering Handbook, one on Systems Engineering and the other on Mine Communications, Monitoring and Control. As Department Chair, he is currently leading his program’s accreditation process. He is in Mongolia the week of June 13 to teach a course on Neural Networks for Mining Industries at and sign an agreement with MUST, and to provide a series of workshops on the use of internet resources for academic research and teaching in mining engineering.

Andrei Marin, Ph.D Postdoctoral Fellow, Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Pastoralists' Adaptation to Climate Change: Understanding the Interplay of Development Goals and Climate Change Interventions in Mongolia

5:30 PM, Thursday-June 2nd, 2011, MONGOLIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Andrei Marin

Climate change as a global phenomenon will increasingly need adaptation measures in order to reduce the negative impacts of such changes and ensure livelihood security and sustainable development. Pastoralists throughout the world have been facing increasingly frequent and more severe and unpredictable weather events, an expected element of climate change. Their ability to avoid the negative effects of such events and ensure viable livelihoods is influenced by the larger social, economic and political context and specifically by the development visions and Strategies of their central governments. The presentation will introduce a research project that investigates Mongolian pastoralists' options for adaptation to climate change within the context of development policies and visions. It proposes an integrative framework for assessing this interaction at 3 levels: how is adaptation included in political discourses, how different power regimes influence adaptation options, how can the needs of the vulnerable be integrated into adaptation and development strategies.

Andrei Marin is a Postdoctoral fellow at the Department for International Environment and Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. His previous research was titled 'Chasing the rains: Mongolian pastoralists' vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in 'the age of the market'" Based on his research Dr. Marin conducted fieldwork in Dundgovi, Dornogovi and Omnogovi aymags in 2006/2007.

Christa Hasenkopf, PhD., University of Colorado and Fulbright Fellow

Air Pollution Studies in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: First Steps

5:30 PM, Thursday-May 12th, 2011, MONGOLIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Christa Hasenkopf

Since 2008, and for the first time in human history, we now live in a world where over half of the population resides in urban areas. The urbanization rate is highest in developing nations, in which over three-quarters of humanity lives. Ulaanbaatar, the engine of Mongolia’s developing economy, is a prime example of a city that is experiencing rapid population and economic growth but is suffering negative environmental consequences. Due to this growth as well as its geography and climate, Ulaanbaatar has some of the world’s most polluted air in terms of particulate matter (PM) levels. This talk will paint the current picture of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar, as well as lay out the framework for atmospheric scientist Christa Hasenkopf’s upcoming yearlong study measuring PM in Mongolia’s capital city.

Dr. Hasenkopf received her PhD from University of Colorado in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. She’s been recently awarded U.S. Fulbright grant to conduct research in Mongolia on particulate matter emissions in Ulaanbaatar. Dr. Hasenkopf is a recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. Her research was widely published in various scientific journals including latest cover article in March issue of Astrobiology. She’s also performing atmospheric science outreach activities at local secondary level schools.

Ying Hu, Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University and ACMS Research Fellow

The Evolution of Criminal Law in Qing Mongolia, 1644-1796

5:30 PM, Thursday-April 14th, 2011, MONGOLIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Shortly after the submission of Mongol groups to Manchu rule in the 1630's, the Manchu state began to create a penal code to govern Mongolia. This paper analyzes the dynamics of Qing legal pluralism through a study of the application of Qing regulations for Mongolia in capital cases. From the seventeenth century to the eighteenth century, court records show a standardization of judicial procedure, expansion of the statutory regulations, and shifting power relations between the local and capital courts.

Odnoo Brown, M.D., Team Leader and Public Health Consultant, Oyu Tolgoi Health, Safety and Security

Oyu Tolgoi Community Health, Safety and Security Impact Assessment – Key Findings and Concepts

5:30 PM, Thursday-April 7th, 2011, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Odnoo Brown

Abstract: The Khukh Tenger Khugjil Konsortsium (KTKK) was engaged over the past 9 months to assist Oyu Tolgoi (OT) to consider, analyze, and develop a program to mitigate risks that its operations hold for nearby communities’ health, safety, and security. Through a two-phase approach, KTKK conducted a health, safety, and security impact assessment and is developing a targeted community health, safety, and security program designed to achieve risk mitigation.

These lectures are free and open to the public. Directly following the lecture the ACMS hosts “Thursday Nights/Naitz at the ACMS.” This is a time and a place where lecture attendees and other scholars in Ulaanbaatar gather to continue discussing the presentation and to meet others conducting research in Mongolia

Maria E. Fernandez-Gimenez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Colorado State University

Lessons from the Dzud: Understanding Vulnerability and Resilience in Mongolian Pastoral Social-Ecological Systems*

5:30 PM, Thursday-March 31st, 2011, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Maria E. Fernandez-Gimenez

In the wake of the 2009-2010 dzud, we conducted in-depth case studies of dzud impacts and responses in four soum; two in Arkhangai’s forest-steppe and two in the Gobi desert-steppe of Bayankhongor. Our objectives were to document individual and community experiences with dzud, and identify the factors that make some households and communities more vulnerable and some less vulnerable to the impacts of dzud, including the strategies that were most effective in responding to dzud. We found that dzud is a complex social-ecological phenomenon and vulnerability to dzud is a function of interacting physical, biological, socio-economic and institutional factors across spatial and temporal scales and levels of governance. Actions that are adaptive and reduce vulnerability for one group at one spatial or temporal scale may be mal-adaptive and increase vulnerability for another group or at a different scale. The lessons of dzud at all levels of social organization point to the need for increased responsibility and leadership by individuals, be they households, herder groups, or local governments, as well as the critical importance of reaching out, communicating and cooperating with others within and across sectors.

Dr. Fernandez-Gimenez has been conducting research in Mongolia since 1993. She is interested in both the ecological and social dimensions of wildland ecosystems. Since 1994 Dr. Fernandez-Gimenez has received continuous funding for her research, the most recent of which is an NSF grant to study resilience to climate change in Mongolia.

*Dr. Fernandez-Gimenez’s collaborators are Batkhishig Baival, PhD Candidate, Colorado State University and Dr. Batbuyan Batjav, Center for Nomadic Pastoralism Studies.

Ookhnoi Batsaikhan, Dr. Professor of Mongolian History, Institute of International Studies, MAS

Changes in the Historiography of Bogd Khan in Mongolian History

5:30 PM, Thursday-March 24th, 2011, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Ookhnoi Batsaikhan

Dr. Professor Batsaikhan will present a comprehensive interpretation on the role that Bogd Jebtsundamba Khutuktu played in the origin, process and triumph of Mongolia’s national revolution of 1911. He draws on Mongolian, Japanese and Russian archival sources used for the first time in analyzing this period of modern Mongolian history.

Doctor Ookhnoi Batsaikhan is Professor of Mongolian History at the Institute of International Studies, Mongolian Academy of Sciences. His latest book “The Last King of Mongolia: Bogdo Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu and Mongolia’s National Revolution of 1911,” is a revised historiography of the last emperor of Mongolia, contributing significantly to our understanding of modern Mongolian history. Dr. Professor Batsaikhan is presenting his research for the ACMS immediately upon his return from a research trip to the Hungarian archives.

Ambassador Michael Ussery, American University of Mongolia Feasibility Study Team Leader, Colleagues

Plans for an American University of Mongolia

5:30 PM, Thursday-March 17th, 2011, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Michael Ussery

Plans are underway for establishing an American University of Mongolia. Although still in the Feasibility Study stage, some progress has been made toward establishing a timeline and focus. The presentation will describe American Universities abroad; provide an update of emerging American Universities; and address the rationale of the project and its potential impact on Mongolia's higher education system.

Ambassador Ussery will be joined by two other members of the Feasibility Study Team: Bat-Erdene Regsuren, Ph.D., Project Leader, American University of Mongolia and former State Secretary of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Education and Culture, Mongolia and Birge Watkins, Chairman of Vint Hill Economic Development Authority (former USDA Deputy Assistant Secretary and former Deputy Assistant Director, Office of International Training, Agency for International Development) who received degrees in public administration and business administration from Harvard University and the London Business School, respectively.

Reception to follow in the Mongolian State Geology Museum, First Floor, MUST Central Library

On the Route of A. M. Pozdneev

Speaker: Krisztina Teleki, Ph.D., Faculty Member, Inner Asian Studies Department, ELTE University, Hungary

5:30 PM, Thursday-January 27th, 2011, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Krisztina Teleki

The lecture will summarize the results of a four-month survey to re-discover the monasteries described by the Russian scholar, A. M. Pozdneev. During his second trip through Central and Inner Asia (1892-1893) Pozdneev passed about 50 monasteries in the present area of Mongolia. Almost all of them were destroyed in the 1930s, and only handfuls of them were revived after the democratic changes. By re-visiting these rural sites local remnants were documented, and remainings and relevant documents were studied in museums, temples, and archives to see what remained from these religious centers and how the present society is handling this heritage.

Dr. Teleki received her MA and PhD in Mongolian Language and Culture Studies at ELTE University, Hungary, under the mentorship of Gyorgy Kara, where she currently holds a faculty position. She wrote her PhD dissertation on the old monasteries and temples of Bogdiin khüree based on written sources and archive materials. She has been to Mongolia 7 times since 1999, funded by scholarships and research awards, to survey the history and revival of Buddhism. Most recently she received a Stein-Arnold Exploration Fund of the British Academy to complete 4 months of fieldwork to document the heritage of monasteries visited by A.M. Pozdneev more than 100 years ago.

Reception to follow in the MUST Library, Geology Museum, First Floor Lobby
Mongolia's only Geology Museum is located in the Central Library of MUST, in the lobby of our building. The reception that immediately follows our lecture will be held in little-known but fascinating Museum. Attendees can continue to discuss the lecture over refreshments while browsing the Museum collection.

Anna Maria Marras, Ph.D., University of Trento, Italy, and Erasmus Mundi Postdoctoral Fellow, MUST

Mapping and Managing Landscape with New Technologies

5:30 PM, Thursday-December 9th, 2010, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Anna Maria Marras

There are many different interpretations of the word “landscape:” natural, ecological, archaeological, and cultural. The European Convention of Landscape defines it as: “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors.” In order to understand the archaeological and cultural landscape, and to find the best way to preserve it, Dr. Marras’ research looks at the methods that are used for its study, examines comparative data, and also considers the way these approaches can be used in preserving Cultural Heritage.
In this presentation the speaker will talk about the instruments that are used to explore and study the landscape, and she will show some examples of data storage. Archiving and mapping archaeological and historical sites is important for an effective management of Cultural Heritage in Mongolia, and also to preserve and to improve local culture and identity. “What is it landscape and how is it possible to study it, to preserve the Mongolian landscape?” This presentation is the first step of her research project, following the Open Knowledge philosophy.

Dr Marras received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Erasmus Mundi Foundation to conduct postdoctoral research in Mongolia. She received her PhD from the University of Trento, Italy and her MA degree in Geo-Engineering for Archeology at the University of Siena, Italy. She participated in field missions in North Africa, Turkey and Italy.
She worked with the regional office of archeological and cultural heritage of the Trentino Alto Adige Region to create an archaeological map of Riva del Garda. In the last decade Dr. Marras has broadened the scope of her interests to include the archeology of landscape, new technology applied to archaeology, especially those requiring high computer skill levels. She is interested in how to manage archaeological data electronically in order to disseminate and preserve cultural heritage. She is also interested in Open Knowledge and Open Source applications in the field of archaeology.

Alan M. Wachman, Ph.D., Professor, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

Beijing’s Battle for Moral Supremacy and Mongolia’s Long-Term Interests

5:30 PM, Thursday-November 18th, 2010, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, CONFERENCE ROOM 405

Alan M. Wachman

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) appears to be engaged in a battle for moral superiority and influence over international norms that inform global governance. Beijing advances a relatively coherent moral perspective that informs its posture toward international regimes such as those associated with protecting human rights, employing collective sanctions against individual states, undertaking humanitarian intervention, combating piracy and countering nuclear proliferation. Beijing’s stance pits the PRC against certain legacy powers—the United States chief among them. Where international governance is concerned with the distribution of resources and state privileges, the PRC favors a form of justice that yields what Beijing views as fair outcomes for developing states. The Council on Foreign Relations in the United States reports, “China’s self-identification as a developing country translates into foreign policy positions that are often in line with the global South and provide the foundation for anti-Western sentiment.”
Principles Beijing prefers to what have become the established norms of international regimes reflect a vision of international justice that the PRC has manifested since its establishment in 1949. Now, though, Beijing’s international status is considerably higher than it was. Sitting in Ulaanbaatar, one must ask whether economic self-interest and strategic calculations will impel Mongolia into moral alignment with Beijing, or whether more liberal values will guide Mongolia’s development even if that means adopting positions on international matters that Beijing opposes.

Professor Wachman, Associate Professor of International Politics, Tuft University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, studies issues arising from China’s foreign relations, emphasizing links between diplomatic history and contemporary international security. He is currently completing a book about Mongolia’s national security in the context of emerging rivalries among great powers in Asia. Wachman was a Fellow in the Program on Peace, Governance, and Development in East Asia and a guest lecturer at institutions in Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo. Wachman served as the president of China Institute in America and was the American Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in the PRC. He has lived in Nanjing, Taipei and Taichung and travels regularly to Asia.
Wachman received an A.B. in Fine Arts and an A.M. and a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University, as well as a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School.

Jaqueline Moore, Ph.D., Professor of History, Austin College, Texas

The Dilemmas of Curriculum Revision: Reports from the Front Lines in Hong Kong and the United States

5:30 PM, Thursday-November 11th, 2010, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, U-CLASS ROOM 404

Jaqueline Moore

Concerned that their students are not getting the right preparation to remain competitive in a global economy, Hong Kong is embarking on an ambitious overhaul of its educational curriculum, modeling its new system in part on that of the United States and moving away from narrowly-focused professional education. The goal is to promote critical thinking skills and to create flexible and creative students. At the same time, in the current economic environment, liberal arts colleges in the United States are facing increasing pressure to narrow their focus and to provide more professional education. A comparison of the two situations yields some interesting conclusions.

Jaqueline Moore is Professor of History at Austin College, Texas. She is currently a Visiting Fulbright Lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University for the 2010-2011 academic year and is in Mongolia for a brief visit as part of her Fulbright Program. Professor Moore's expertise is in US Social History since 1865, African American History, and Asian Studies. She has served as the Chair of the History Department and as Director of Asian Studies at Austin College, in addition to supervising the creation of an interdisciplinary academic major in Asian studies. Professor Moore served as a member of a campus-wide curriculum revision team and she will draw from this experience as well as her current activities associated with her Fulbright Program in Hong Kong, for her lecture.

Professor Moore’s visit to Mongolia is being hosted by the National University of Mongolia and the University of the Humanities

Bryan K. Miller, Ph.D, ACMS Research Fellow and Consulting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania

Mobile Communities and Archaeological Analyses of Ancient Steppe Polities

5:30 PM, Thursday-November 4th, 2010, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, U-CLASS ROOM 404

Bryan K. Miller

In order to critique and further advance models of political development, which are largely constructed from data of settled societies, Dr. Miller's research investigates early political systems formed within mobile societies through multi-scalar approaches to the archaeological evidence. Studies of ancient polities have often purported the “community” as the basic unit of analysis for investigating political systems at the local, regional, and supra-regional levels. However, the definition and location of “communities” in mobile societies, and in the archaeological record they leave behind, presents several challenges. This presentation addressed the fluid composition, shifting spatial distributions, and extensive landscapes of such communities and how these variables affect our identification of them in the archaeological record and their use in reconstructing social and economic dynamics of early polities.

Bryan Miller received his PhD in East Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and his MA in Archaeology from the University of California, Los Angeles. His research employs interdisciplinary and comparative approaches to the study of early political systems in East Asia, particularly within China and Mongolia. He is presently the co-director of the Mongol-American Khovd Archaeology Project in western Mongolia, conducted with the National Museum of Mongolia, which investigates the nature of hinterland communities in the large political entity of the Xiongnu.

Annika Ericksen, Doctoral Candidate, University of Arizona

Dzud and the Politics of Responsibility in the Neoliberal Era

5:30 PM, Thursday-October 28th, 2010, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, U-CLASS ROOM 404

Annika Ericksen

This presentation discussed herders’ strategies for preparing for winter and protecting their livestock during dzud. Annika speculated on the origins, accuracy, and impacts of common characterizations of herders as “irresponsible” in the face of potentially devastating disasters.

Annika Ericksen is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Arizona, Department of Anthropology. Her service in Mongolia as a Peace Corps volunteer in 2004-2006 inspired her decision to pursue a career in cultural anthropology. As a current ACMS Fellow and affiliate of the Institute of Geography, MAS, she is currently based in Bayanlig Soum, Bayankhongor Province, where she is conducting ethnographic research on herders’ strategies for coping with dzud (winter disasters) and their ideas about risk and responsibility.

Co-sponsor: Institute of Geography, Mongolian Academy of Science

Jonathan Addleton, US Ambassador to Mongolia

Three of a Kind: Reflections on the Triad Tradition in Mongolia

5:30 PM, Thursday-September 30th, 2010, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, U-Class Room #404

Jonathan Addleton

Ambassador Addleton presented the Mongolian "triad" as an appealing yet under-appreciated element within the Mongolian folk tradition. Very likely, it survives as a form of oral poetry that was initially transmitted over the centuries. It is perhaps best described as three linked insights organized around a common theme. Neither quite a riddle nor a proverb, it nonetheless offers interesting, moving and sometimes humorous insights into Mongolian landscapes as well as the nomadic way of life. Drawing on several compilations of translated triads from a variety of sources, Dr. Addleton provided personal reflections on the Mongolian triad as a folk tradition with deep historic roots, discussed some of the main themes emphasized in various Mongolian triads, and compared Mongolian triads with those of other cultures, including examples of Celtic triads from Scotland and Ireland.

Jonathan Addleton, currently the US Ambassador to Mongolia, previously served as USAID Country Director in Pakistan, Cambodia and Mongolia and as USAID Program Officer in Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Yemen. He has a PhD from Tufts University and a BA from Northwestern University. He has written two books focused on Asia, Some Far and Distant Place (University of Georgia Press) and Undermining the Center(Oxford University Press). His articles on Asia have also appeared in a number of publications, including Asian Survey, Asian Affairs, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, International Migration, Muslim World, Foreign Service Journal and the Washington Post.

Gita Steiner-Khamsi, Ph.D. Professor, Columbia University, New York

The Mongolization of Imported Educational Reform

5:30 PM, Thursday-September 9th, 2010, MUST, CENTRAL LIBRARY/E-SCHOOL BUILDING, U-CLASS ROOM 404

Gita Steiner-Khamsi

Dr. Gita Steiner-Khamsi presented "international standards" and education reforms that were imported from other countries and were subsequently adapted to fit the Mongolian context. She examined the economic and political reasons for policy borrowing as well as the logic of this local adaptation process.
Gita Steiner-Khamsi is professor of comparative education at Columbia University in New York. She has been working as a researcher and advisor in the Mongolian education sector since 1998. She is author of numerous articles on education reform in Mongolia including the book "Educational Import. Local Encounter with Global Forces in Mongolia." The book has also been translated into Mongolian by the Open Forum. She received an honorary doctoral degree from the Mongolian National University of Education and is currently co-directing, with B. Batjargаl from Mongolian Education Alliance (MEA), the Technical Assistance project "Education for the Poor. Financial Crisis Response Project," funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Co-sponsor: Mongolian Education Alliance

Juha Janhunen, Ph.D., Professor, East Asian Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland

On Romanizing Mongolian

August 5, 2010, 5.30PM; Room 305, Building No. 5, NUM

Juha Janhunen

Professor Janhunen presented his linguistic research on the BJR (Balk-Janhunen Romanization System) for written Mongolian. He began by briefly describing the principles of romanizing cyrillic Khalkha, then discussed the prospects of creating a Roman-based practical orthography for Mongolian. He referred to his previously published papers on these topics, adding some new ideas.
He has authored more than 265 academic publications including Manchuria: An Ethnic History; Siberian Shamanistic Terminology; From Manchuria to Amdo Qinghai: On the Ethnic Implications of the Tuyuhun Migration; Typological Interaction in the Qinghai Linguistic Complex; Mongolic as an Expansive Language Family ; On the Romanization of Phags.pa Mongol ; Reconstructing the Language Map of Prehistorical Northeast Asia; On the position of Khamnigan Mongol The languages of his publications include: English, French, German, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, Hungarian, Saami, Kirghiz, Khakas, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.
The languages of his publications include: English, French, German, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, Hungarian, Saami, Kirghiz, Khakas, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

Link: Full Publication List

Professor Janhunen, a distinguished linguist, has served as Chair of Finno-Ugrian Studies, University of Oslo; Senior Research Fellow, Academy of Finland, Helsinki; Visiting Fellow in various institutions in Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo; Honorary Professor, Inner Mongolia University; and as a Member of Academia Europaea, London, Societas Scientiarum Fennica, Helsinki, Finnish Association of East Asian Studies, Royal Asiatic Society, London, Finnish Oriental Society, Helsinki, and the Finno-Ugrian Society, Helsinki. He has conducted extensive field research in Gansu, Qinghai, Manchuria, and Hokkaido and has been conducting research in Mongolia since 1976.

Link: Full CV

John Waldman, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biology, Queens College, City University of New York

Launching a Conservation Genetics Study of Mongolian Taimen

May 20, 2010, 5PM; Room 407, Building No. 5, NUM

John Waldman

Modern molecular techniques allow for powerful analyses of the demographics of fishes. Dr. Waldman and his colleagues are attempting to launch a multi-year study of the population structure, effective population sizes, and zoogeographic relationships of taimen in Mongolia. Such information will be useful to managers of these now popular and economically important recreational fishes. Possible additions to the study include analyses of co-occurring lenok and grayling; analyses of life history through niche modeling; and the inclusion of a summer student field research program. Relevant information and potential partners are being sought at this time.

Professor Waldman is Professor of Biology, Queens College, City University of New York and holds academic affiliations at the American Museum of Natural History, Long Island University, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His current research interests include the historical ecology and conservation biology of anadromous fishes; environmental history and management of urban waterways; mitochondrial and nuclear DNA diversity in anadromous fishes; life history, population biology and stock identification of selected Atlantic fish populations.

Rick Taupier, Ph.D. Associate Director of Research Development, University of Massachusetts Amherst

A Comparison of the Mongol and Oirat Empires and the Later Adoption of Buddhism in Mongolia and Oiratia

May 6th, 2010 5pm, Lecture Hall 407, Building No.5 NUM

Rick Taupier

The Mongol Empire of Chinggis Khan and his heirs differed in many respects from the later Oirat/Zunghar Empire that rose briefly in the 17th Century. This paper considers six points of comparison as a means to generate further discussion on this theme. The latter half of the paper compares the Mongol and Oirat adoptions of Buddhism in the 17th Century and the extent to which those varying approaches served to cause divisions between them.

Rick Taupier, Ph.D. is the Associate Director of Research Development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is an Adjunct Professor of Regional Planning whose teaching and research concern issues of environmental and cultural sustainability. Rick is also a scholar in Central Asian history and a Ph.D. candidate in history, concentrating primarily on Mongolia, Oiratia and Tibet. He is president of the Manjushri Institute of Buddhist Studies, dedicated to preservation of and education in the Central Asian Mahayana Buddhist Traditions of Tibet and Mongolia.

Erdenebold Lkhagvasuren, Ph.D., Senior faculty member, School of Social Technology, MUST

Research on the Burial Customs of Ancient Uighur Royals

April 22nd, 2010 5pm, Lecture Hall 407, Building No.5 NUM

Erdenebold Lkhagvasuren

The Mongolian Archaeological Project discovered over 40 squares sites (Durvuljin) in Khotont sum, Arkhangai province, Central Mongolia in 2006-2008, and has excavated 5 of them, so far. In the process of excavation the square sites were determined to be ritual complexes and tombs of the Uighur period (744-840). Evidence that led the research group to propose that the square sites belong to the Uighur people and that they might be connected to the elite people will be presented. This kind of site, while previously known and noted, has never before been investigated in Mongolia. This work can serve as a model for new avenues of investigating the ancient Uighur people, their nobility, ritual ceremonies and ideologies about the dead.

Erdenebold Lkhagvasuren, Ph.D., is currently a senior faculty member in the School of Social Technology at MUST. He received his Ph.D. from the Russian National Academy of Science in History Mongolian, Tibetan and Buddhism Studies. His dissertation work was on the topic of “Oirat Mongolians’ Religious Heritage in the 19th – 20th Centuries” Currently his research interests from on Tradition of the Mongolian culture and religious tradition and ancient nomadic sites.

The lecture will be held in Mongolian, with English translation.

Amy LaCross, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona

Speech Perception in Khalkha Mongolian: A Psycholinguistic Survey

April 1st, 2010 5pm, Lecture Hall 407, Building No.5 NUM

Amy LaCross

Amy LaCross will present the results of her most recent Mongolian psycholinguistic experiment, which identifies, for the first time, an effect of word frequency in Mongolian word perception. This experiment is part of her larger research project which explores how regularity within language may affect the ways in which language speakers perceive and mentally process language. In addition, a brief overview of the field of psycholinguistics and its relevance to Mongolian studies will be included.

Amy LaCross is a PhD candidate in the Linguistics Department at the University of Arizona. She is currently a Fellow of the American Center for Mongolian Studies and is in Mongolia to conduct fieldwork for her dissertation. Her research focuses on phonology and sycholinguistics, with a particular focus on vowel harmonic languages, speech perception and lexical organization.

Catherine Kmita, Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology Department, University of Alberta

The Inner Mongolian Dance, Andai, as Dance Therapy

March 25th, 2010, 5pm, Lecture Hall 407, Building No.5 NUM

Catherine Kmita

Mongolian shamanism deals to a great extent with healing and the fixing of community ills or personal wrongs as well as the relationship of humankind to the natural world and its spirits. Drumming, playing the aman khuur, singing, and dancing may be part of a ritual or a healing session. The Inner Mongolian dance, andai, is a dance derived from shamanism, which began as a method of treating a "heavy disease" among young women. Dance therapy consists of fairly recent western therapies which use dance and movement for healing purposes. Dance therapy also incorporates recent scientific knowledge about the brain and its role in healing, which may have some usefulness in describing what happens in andai. Some approaches to dance therapy also look at the spiritual aspects of dance and healing and this is another area where it and Mongolian shamanic dance may intersect. In this paper, I will examine the dance andai in terms of its connection to dance therapy to discover what properties may contribute to its effectiveness in healing.

Catherine Kmita is an ACMS Research Fellow and doctoral candidate in Anthropology at the University of Alberta. Her Master’s research combined Dance, Anthropology, and Asian Studies, to explore the Inner Mongolian dance, andai, through the lens of shamanic dance. Now she is looking at therapeutic aspects of shamanic dance in Buryatia, Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia by focusing on political interactions, the dance community, religious practices, and medical practices.

Saskia Anderson, PhD candidate, Anthropology Department, University of Western Australia

Interdependent Co-arising: Contemporary Ideas of Buddhism in Ulaanbaatar

MARCH 4, 2010, 5PM ROOM 305, BUILDING NO. 5 NUM

Saskia Anderson

Religious communities have always been shaped and influenced by others. Tibetan Buddhism was forged out of a marriage between Buddhism and the native Bön religion of Tibet. Mongolian Buddhism, similarly, is not recomposing itself in a vacuum. For the last 12 months Saskia has been doing fieldwork in Ulaanbaatar talking to Mongolians who identify as Buddhists about their religious beliefs and practices. What she has found is that for most Mongolians, Buddhism is a religious bricolage created from a combination of old knowledge passed down from their forebears, influences from other religions such Christianity and Shamanism, and new ideas about spirituality from groups such as Sri Sri and the Supreme Master Ching Hai. This talk will examine the global and internal forces shaping conceptions and performances of Buddhism in Ulaanbaatar. It will discuss how gaps in knowledge and understanding are being filled by proximate ideas and ritual forms.

Saskia Anderson is a PhD candidate in the Anthropology Department of the University of Western Australia. She is currently finishing up her anthropological fieldwork in Ulaanbaatar where she has been researching Buddhism for the last 12 months. Her academic interests include religion, psychology, rationality, evolutionary theory, globalisation and environmentalism.

Gaby Bamana, PhD Candidate, University of Wales, Lampeter

Mongolian tea culture

February 25th, 2010 5pm Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Gaby Bamana

Mr. Gaby Bamana will briefly describe the Mongolia tea culture and its connection to the household. Although Mongolia does not grow tea because of the climate, the country has developed a culture of tea drinking. However tea drinking in Mongolia is not a casual fact. Gaby will explain how tea drinking encompasses patterns of domestic relations and how tea rituals are a codification of the Mongolian social life and especially of the gender relations within the household. He will use a case to illustrate how tea becomes a major symbol in the negotiation of social breaches. His main argument is that the Mongolian tea culture is a symbol of Mongolian social life and that changes in the tea culture are a valid gauge of social changes.

Gaby is a Congo (Democratic Republic) national and has been living and working in Mongolia for about 10 years. His first research position was with the Antoon Mostaert Center before he started his Ph.D program at the University of Wales, Lampeter. At the same time Gaby was recruited as researcher at the National University of Mongolia, Center for the Study of Nomadic Culture and Civilization. In 2008, he wrote a book called "On the Tea Road".

Public Lecture In Ulaanbaatar

The Genghis Khan Exhibition: Introducing Mongolian History and Culture to the U.S.

Don Lessem, Exhibition Creator and Developer

Friday, February 19, 2010, 3-4 PM Ancient History Gallery, National History Museum

Don Lessem

This public lecture is a presentation of the successful Exhibition on Genghis Khan touring the US this year and next year. The National Museum of Mongolia loaned many objects to the Exhibit and Mongolian historians and archaeologists contributed to the companion exhibition catalogue “Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire.” Since many people in Mongolia are not aware that their museum materials were featured prominently in this major show, the Exhibition creator and developer will describe the impact this collaborative effort has had on raising awareness about Mongolia in the US. The exhibition catalogue will be available for review during the reception which follows.

Don Lessem has written more than 50 popular science books on the subject of dinosaurs. He has been sponsoring and participating in dinosaur excavations since 1988 in Mongolia, China and Argentina, has written and hosted Discovery Channel and NOVA documentaries on dinosaurs, and is a television and radio commentator on dinosaur discoveries. Mr. Lessem has created several of the most popular traveling museum exhibitions of dinosaurs, including Jurassic Park, The Lost World, and Chinasaurs. The Genghis Khan Exhibit and catalogue is his latest venture.

Co-sponsored by the National Museum of Mongolia.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. L. Oyun, Department of Health

Mongolian Health Status - Call for National Response

September 24, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Dr. L. Oyun

A review of health indicators for the last 10 years demonstrates significant changes in health status of Mongolians. Some are showing improvement but some indicators with severe outcomes remain. In this lecture, the speaker will discuss the main changes in Mongolian health status, the underlying causes of these changes and challenge the audience to think about actions that they can take to improve the health status of the Mongolian people.

L. Oyun is a medical doctor now working as the Head of the Health Promotion division at the Department of Health - implementation agency of the Government of Mongolia. She holds an MA in Public Health from the State University of New York-Albany and is now completing her doctorate on Human Sexuality at Widener University, Pennsylvania, USA. She has extensive experience in implementation of health policy, health promotion and training of health and social welfare professionals. She has also worked with several international organizations on health related issues. L. Oyun has numerous articles and publications on health issues including health promotion, reproductive health, sexual health and education.

Dr. M. Saruul-Erdene, National University of Education

Color Symbolization of Mongolian Toponyms

September 17, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Dr. M. Saruul-Erdene

Mongolia and the Mongolian language is very rich in its toponyms. Mongolian toponyms are mostly named for plants, trees, fruits, minerals, animals, after tribal or ethnic names and many others. In this paper the speaker will analyze Mongolian toponyms named for their colors and try to determine what colors are more common for what kind of toponyms and what the color names could symbolize. The most frequent color toponyms in Mongolia are tsagaan (white), ulaan (red), khar (black), khukh (blue), and shar (yellow). These five color names occur in almost 70% of all Mongolian color toponyms. In ancient Mongolian and Turkic culture those five color names denote the four cardinal points and the Central point.

Myagmariin Saruul-Erdene is a linguist and pedagogue. He has a Ph.D in linguistics and currently is teaching Modern Mongolian Morphology and the History of Mongolian language at the National University of Education. He has published about 10 books on linguistics, Mongolian poetry translation, and Mongolian studies. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Mongolia Society, the American Center for Mongolian Studies, and founded the Mongolian Cultural Center in Arlington, VA. He resides there and works as a cataloger of Mongolian books in the Library of Congress, USA.

Dr. Scott Gardner, University of Nebraska

Host - Parasite Biodiversity: A global perspective

May 28th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Dr. Scott Gardner

Biological diversity is the foundation of life on earth. Without the diverse and interconnected communities and assemblages of living organisms on our earth, we would have no food webs to sustain extant species of plants and animals. Dr. Gardner studies these interconnected systems from the viewpoint of a systematist and parasitologist. At first glance, these two fields of study, systematics and parasitology, seem to be very specific, but they are actually very broad in scope. While systematics seeks to understand the evolutionary relationships among species of organisms, Parasitology is the study of parasites and of parasitism. All species of animals harbor their own specific parasites ranging from macro- (like tapeworms, ticks, lice, or nematodes) to micro-parasites like viruses and protozoans.

Our work world-wide over the past 20 years has shown how predictions of areas of high biodiversity can be made based on the presence of a single species of tapeworm in marsupials. We have argued, too, how the presence and absence of parasites in humans in both the Old World and the New World can shed light on large scale geographic movements of people in prehistoric times. More recently my students, colleagues, and I have been describing the diversity of parasites from mammals of Mongolia and relating this diversity to the ecology of the host mammals. Our current project in Mongolia, the Mongolian Vertebrate Parasite Project is a multi-national collaborative effort funded by the US National Science Foundation. We are bringing together research scientists and students from the National University of Mongolia, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Hokkaido University, the University of New Mexico, Portland State University in Oregon, and the University of Kansas to study the diversity, relationships, and ecology of small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and their parasites in Mongolia.

Researchers from these institutions will spend the next 3 years exploring the 27,000 square kilometer Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park, and its environs, in an effort to better understand the diversity of species and their parasites that live in this area, and how they interact with each other and their environment. By understanding which parasites these animals may harbor researchers will garner a better idea of the habits and interactions of these animals as well as potential threats to wildlife or local human inhabitants. For example, in addition to basic work in biodiversity, we will examine wildlife populations for the presence of several potential zoonotic agents of disease, including hantavirus and the tapeworm of carnivores and rodents which is the causative agent of alveolar hydatid disease in humans.

Dr. Gardner is Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and Curator and Director of the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology at UNL. He studies parasites in vertebrates world-wide focused primarily on macro- and micro-parasites of mammals. (See: http://hwml.unl.edu and http://lamarck.unl.edu/mongolia).

Jonathan Schlesinger, ACMS Fellow, Harvard University

An Introduction to the Environmental History of Qing Mongolia: the View from the Archives

May 14th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Jonathan Schlesinger

In the year 1800, why were sables and wild boars disappearing so rapidly from Mongolia’s protected areas? And why, for that matter, had the ruling Manchus even established such areas? Under what circumstances would officials ever consider the natural environment to be damaged or polluted? This lecture will attempt to answer such questions in light of new research on Qing-period archival records, with a focus on the years 1796-1850. For the Manchus, I will argue, maintaining the ethnic integrity of Inner Asian homelands – such as Khalkha Mongolia – was central to their imperial project, and this extended to the protection of the frontiers’ flora, fauna, and natural landscapes. In practice, though, in an era of unprecedented commercial expansion, frontier ecology came to embody negotiations between multi-ethnic empire and marketplace, as local actors – many impoverished – sought to profit from a surging urban demand for natural resources. This lecture will introduce the relevant archival materials for studying Qing Mongolia’s environmental history and discuss what they tell us about the maintenance of state-protected wilderness, poaching industries, and the shifting meanings of pollution and cleanliness.

Jonathan Schlesinger is an ACMS fellow and a PhD candidate in History and East Asian Languages at Harvard University. His dissertation, entitled “Inventing Nature in the Qing Empire,” explores the tensions of frontier and metropole that shaped Qing environmental history. He has been conducting research at the Mongolian National Central Archives since arriving in Ulaanbaatar in September 2008.

Dr. Mikael Thompson, ACMS Fellow

Strings, Pipes, and Magnets: The Mathematical Theory of Vowels, Historical Linguistics, and Mongolian

April 30th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Dr. Mikael Thompson

Since the 1960s the study of the physics of speech production has progressed greatly; concurrently, advances in digital sound processing and computer technology have afforded linguists unprecedented opportunities to study the sounds of the world’s languages, and as a result a number of theories have been put forward to explain regularities found in the vowel systems of languages. However, none of these theories is fully adequate to account for change in vowel systems over time. Khalkha Mongolian is significant for such studies in part because its close clustering of rounded vowels is unusual among the languages of the world, and as this appears to be fairly recent, the details of its historical development might be found fairly easily by studying the current language cross-generationally and through comparison with other dialects. Dr. Thompson's study has several aims: First, to study the vowel system of contemporary UB Khalkha in the speech of 75-100 native speakers in great detail; second, to use this data to study stress and devoicing; and third, to find evidence of change in progress in the vowel system of UB Khalkha. Finally, to place this study in the full context of contemporary linguistics, Dr. Thompson will touch on the role of instrumental phonetic studies like this one in sociolinguistics and historical linguistics.

Mikael Thompson (Ph.D. Linguistics, Indiana University at Bloomington, 2008) is currently in Mongolia conducting research as an ACMS Fellow. He is a historical linguist and phonetician specializing in Mongolian and in Inner Asian linguistic history. He is the co-author of A Tajiki Reference Grammar for Beginners (with Nasrullo Khojayori, Georgetown University Press, 2009) and contributed articles on Inner Asian and Tibetan scripts to the 2nd edition of the International Encyclopedia of Languages and Linguistics (2006) and the 2nd edition of The World’s Writing Systems (2009). He has also served as managing editor of Studies in African Linguistics and textbook editor at the Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region at Indiana University at Bloomington.

Dr. Morris Rossabi, City University of New York

Recent Re-evaluations of Chinggis Khan and Khubilai Khan

April 23rd, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Dr. Morris Rossabi

Over the past decade, there have been quite a number of books, both for a popular audience and for scholars, and museum exhibitions dealing with Chinggis Khan and Khubilai Khan, the two most renowned figures of the Mongolian era in global history. This lecture will attempt to sort out and, as far as possible, evaluate these interpretations.

Dr. Rossabi is Distinguished Professor of History at City University of New York, as well as Professor of History at Queens College and Graduate Center at City University of New York and Visiting Professor of Chinese and Mongolian History at Columbia University. His extensive list of publications include books and articles about Khubilai Khan, the history of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Chinese history, and Mongolia's transition to a free-market and democratic society.

Dr. Brian Baumann, Indiana University, ACMS Fellow

Mongolia’s Journey through Hell

April 9th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Dr. Brian Baumann

Beginning with an introduction to a pre-classical Mongolian Buddhist treatise on enlightenment and liberation from the bonds of Hell, this lecture will explain the ties that bind the classical genre of Hell as it stretches across Eurasia and through time, and so use Hell’s foundation in science as a way to understand the history of the genre in Mongolia.

Dr. Baumann is currently in Mongolia as an ACMS Fellow conducting research on Mongolia's transition from a dynastic religious society to Communist state in the early to middle part of the 20th century. He received his PhD from Indiana University in Central Eurasian Studies, where he teaches courses on Mongolian history and Buddhism.

Jean-Luc Houle, PhD Candidate, University of Pittsburgh

Revealing the ‘Invisible Culture’: The Social Organization of Early Mobile Pastoralists of Central Mongolia

March 12th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Jean-Luc Houle

Unprecedented settlement data now provides the social context for the Bronze Age groups of Central Mongolia that built monuments that supersede in above ground elaborateness anything else of its nature in the Bronze Age steppe. Some of these recent archaeological discoveries have upended old ideas and now offer a more comprehensive picture of subsistence, mobility patterns and social organization. Through a review of the extant archaeological data, this presentation will address some of the issues related to the nature and degree of societal complexity of these early mobile pastoralists. It will be suggested that what we see may represent the first stage in the emergence of political organization operating beyond the descent group.

Jean-Luc Houle is a PhD Candidate in the Eurasian Archaeology Program of the Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh (USA). He received his MSc in Anthropology at the University of Montreal (Canada) during which time he researched the development of societal complexity in Northern China. Since 2001, Jean-Luc has been involved in research in Mongolia. As senior co-PI of the Khanuy Valley Archaeology Project since 2006, he is currently conducting multidisciplinary field research in the Khanuy Valley region of north-central Mongolia, where he is studying the development of societal complexity among early mobile pastoralists of the Late Bronze Age (mid-second to mid-first millennia BCE).

Lucy Rees, PhD Candidate, University of Leeds, England

Hearing Mongolian Identity: Tradition, Change and Social Commentary in Mongolian Films and their Soundtracks

March 5th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Lucy Rees

This talk provides an overview of the main themes and issues raised by filmmakers and film composers throughout seven decades of Mongolian cinema. A discussion of a number of the most influential films will illustrate how filmmakers and film composers have expressed the socialist ideology, Mongolian cultural traditions, and social problems associated with the transition to a market economy. Both Mongolian-made films and collaborations with foreign film studios will be explored.

Lucy Rees is working towards a PhD in Mongolian film music at Leeds University, England. She is spending the 2008-2009 academic year in Mongolia to conduct research towards this PhD. She has a Master's Degree in Film Music from Kingston University, London (Distinction) and Master's Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Wales (Distinction) and an honours degree in Classical music from the University of Birmingham, England. Her research interests include film music, ethnomusicology, and composition.

Merle Schatz, M.A, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology

Contact-induced language change in Inner Mongolia

February 19th, 2009, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Merle Schatz

Ms. Schatz will present some of her research results on bilingualism (Chinese, Mongolian) and contact-induced language change in Inner Mongolia. Diglossia and bilingual education in Inner Mongolia lead to code-switching and linguistic transfer phenomena in the vernacular language of Inner Mongolia. New mixed Mongolian-Chinese word creations seem to defy the rules of the particular language family. The literary genre bensen üliger is part of the oral tradition in Inner Mongolia and its language reflects the mixed Mongolian-Chinese word creations and language use that she has observed in Huhhot. The main focus of her presentation will therefore be code-switching and linguistic transfer aspects.

Dr Roger Van Der Veen, Human Issues Consultant

Christianity meets Social Work in Mongolia

November 20th, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Dr. Roger Van Der Veen

Mainstream Christianity arrived in Mongolia in 1990 shortly after the constitution was changed and a market economy was ushered in. Today about one percent of the population is mainstream Christian. While Christianity is experiencing limited growth in the Western world, it is thriving in the developing world, and Mongolia is no exception. This lecture will offer a glimpse on where mainstream Christianity and social work have been converging and where they could be travelling together, based on the work and perspective of Dr Roger Van Der Veen (Human Issues Consultant), on his fifth trip to Mongolia, who has been involved with the Mongolian Association of Social Work Educators, Joint Christian Services International, Union Bible Theological College (UBTC), and the National Cancer Centre.

Dr Roger Van Der Veen is a Human Issues Consultant who provides training, counselling, and debriefing to missionaries, church planters, social workers, and aid workers from Mongolia and other countries. His substantive employment in Australia is as a practitioner in the field of mental health. His previous employment includes health and hospital work, child protection, immigrants and refugees, workplace counselling, and seven years as a university lecturer in counselling and community development. He lives in Australia with his wife and two children.

Daniel J. Murphy, PhD Candidate, University of Kentucky

‘Going on Otor’: Strategies of Mobility in Pastoral Mongolia

November 6th, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Daniel J. Murphy

Daniel Murphy's research examines the political ecology of resource use and resource access among herders in Bayankhutag soum, Khentii. This talk will focus on a kind of mobility called “otor” that is critical both in periods of low-level environmental stress such as drought and in conditions that could lead to disaster such as zud. The talk will examine the range of factors that shape and influence: (1) herders’ decisions to make otor migrations,(2) the methods by which herders access campsites and pasture, including the claims they make on those resources, and (3) the ways in which they defend their right to use those resources or exclude others from use. In particular, the researcher will discuss the changing nature of animal ownership and labor in the pastoral economy, the mix of informal and formal resource management institutions, and the dynamic cultural politics of use rights as critical elements in understanding this resource use strategy. This research argues that otor mobility is not a simple response to risk and environmental stress , but is also a complex socio-cultural and political economic phenomena.

Daniel Murphy is a Phd Candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. His research focuses on the anthropology of globalization and economic development, political ecology, and the comparative study of pastoral societies. His current Phd research focuses on the political ecology of resource use among pastoralists in the contemporary herding economy of Bayankhutag soum in Khentii. This talk is based on data collected in Bayankhutag soum from June – July 2006 and from December 2007 – October 2008. The early phase of the research was conducted with support from the University of Kentucky Graduate School and Office of International Affairs and with a Susan Abbott Jamieson Award for Pre-Dissertation Research from the Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky. The current research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Program, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the National Anthropology Honor Society – Lambda Alpha, the University of Kentucky, and the National University of Mongolia’s Foreign Relations Department, the Department of Anthropology, and the Center for Development Research. He is also grateful to the American Center for Mongolian Studies for additional support, and the herders and government officials of Bayankhutag and other soums in Khentii aimag.

S. Enkhtsetseg, Lecturer, School of Foreign Service, NUM

Resource abundance: blessing or curse for Mongolians

October 23rd, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

S. Enkhtsetseg

Mongolia is a developing country which dependent on the natural resource and agricultural sectors. Countries with large primary export sectors often grow more slowly than their peers – a phenomenon recognized in mainstream economics as the “resource curse”. Mongolia’s mining sector is a major contributor to the economy, accounting for about 17 percent of GDP, 65 percent of industrial value added and 58 percent of export earnings. It shows that we are facing the ‘resource curse’.S. Enkhtsetseg will focus on clarifying the problems related to the ‘resource curse’ in Mongolia and suggest ways to avoid it in this lecture.

S.Enkhtsetseg is a lecturer at the Department of International Economic Relations, School of Foreign Service, NUM. She has a BA in International Relations, MA in both International Economic Relations and International Relations received from the School of Foreign Service, NUM.

Enkhjargal Adiya, PhD student, University of Pittsburgh

September 25th, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Gender Equity in Hgher Education in Mongolia: Research Findings

Enkhjargal Adiya

Ms. Enkhjargal investigates reasons for the lower participation of males than females in Mongolian higher education. She explores the cultural and societal norms that affect gender equity and access to higher education in Mongolia, as well as economic factors. Her research is intended to contribute to the understanding of why this gender imbalance persists in Mongolian higher education, especially since in all spheres of life, including politics and certainly business, males predominate in leadership positions.

Ms. Enkhjargal is a PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. She will co-present her lecture with John C. Weidman who is Professor of Education and Sociology Chair at the Department of Administrative and Policy Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Geoffrey Aung, Summer Research Fellow, ACMS

September 11th, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

The Structural Aesthetics of the Third Wave: Movement, Developmentalism, and the New Cooperative Herding Economy in Post-2001 Mongolia

Geoffrey Aung

Between 1999 and 2001, a series of severe winters known as dzuds marked a shift in rural economic development work in Mongolia. In the 1990s, a comparatively atomized and livestock-focused approach to rural business growth struggled to keep pace with significant urban-to-rural migration and the challenges of transition from a centrally planned economy to a liberalized free-market economic system. But since the dzuds, a re-orientation towards support – from government as much as from non-profit NGOs and the private sector – for more diverse economic activity, often organized around herding cooperatives (horshoo or horshoolol), has taken place. Based on ethnographic fieldwork on the Gobi Regional Economic Growth Initiative, this lecture aims to examine the history of rural economic development in Mongolia since 2001, suggesting that the new cooperative herding economy shares certain parallels with collective economic models of the Soviet past. As such, the so-called “Third Wave” of collective rural institutions traces the outlines of a new critical theory of developmentalism in late-modern Mongolia.

Geoffrey Aung graduated from Columbia University in 2008, with a B.A. in Anthropology. He first came to Mongolia as part of the Spring 2007 SIT Study Abroad program, and he returns this summer thanks to support from the American Center for Mongolian Studies and the Department of Socio-Cultural Anthropology at the National University of Mongolia. Upon completion of his research in Mongolia, Geoffrey will travel to the Thailand-Burma border, where as a Fulbright Scholar he will conduct research on the relationship between migrant labor from Burma and economic development in Thailand.

Alice Obrecht, DPhil candidate, London School of Economics

August 28th, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Non-governmental Organizations, Theories of Justice and the Mongolian Context

Alice Obrecht

This talk will explore how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a more centralized role in fulfilling obligations of justice. Ms. Obrecht will look at how this role changes between state-based versus cosmopolitan approaches and what that implies for the strengths of either approach. Her method is to paint a portrait of the type of agent an NGO is, therein describing the kinds of rights and obligations associated with that agency and how it is different from other types of agency. To achieve this, she will draw on her empirical research on NGOs in Mongolia, highlighting overarching themes that run across Mongolian and international NGOs’ views of themselves and of the other agents with whom they interact.

Alice Obrecht is a DPhil candidate in the department of philosophy, logic and scientific method at the London School of Economics. Her thesis is on the ethical agency of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and accountability. For 2007-2008 she is conducting empirical research on NGOs in Mongolia with funding by the Fulbright Commission and the Central Research Fund of the University of London.

Otgontugs Banzragch, PhD Candidate, Columbia University

June 26th, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Education and labor market in Central Asia

Otgontugs Banzragch

Otgontugs Banzragch will discuss her dissertation research which is primarily an empirical study using Living Standard Measurement Surveys (LSMS) conducted by the World Bank Central Asian transition countries. Her research focused on trying to estimate returns to schooling and education in these countries.

Otgontugs Banzragch worked at School of Economic Studies at the National University of Mongolia until 1995 as a lecturer in Economics. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Moscow State University and Master of Arts in Economics at the University of Manchester, UK. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Economics and Education at Columbia University, USA.

J. Kelly Cluer, CEO, Altan Rio Mongolia LLC

May 29, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Mongolia’s Mineral Sector in Limbo: Perpetually Awaiting Elections…

Mongolia’s mineral development sector is in limbo due to failure of the government to consummate investment agreements and approve development of several important mining projects – projects that could add materially to the wealth of the nation. Here we suggest that the only insurmountable perils facing the mining industry today are reactionary plans for more government control of the sector, including provisions for taking majority ownership positions in large deposits, and unsustainable tax regimes. This aberrant shift in policy will erode the incentive for private mining companies and explorers, particularly targeting those from Western economies that are the very companies which under more attractive (and transparent) investment conditions would invest heavily in exploration, discover new resources and build new sustainable First-World mines. It is concluded that the mining policy issue is of critical importance to all Mongolians and its timely resolution with true maximum social benefits is an opportunity, and a challenge, without parallel in Mongolia’s fledgling market economy.

Mr. Cluer is a US-based geologist with a B.Sc. degree from Idaho State University and M.Sc. degree from the University of Arizona and has been working in and around Mongolia for 10 years, with key involvement in several large-scale development projects including the Boroo and Gatsuurt gold deposits. He has more than 20 years of international experience in the mineral exploration and development sector, having worked for companies such as Tenneco Minerals, Independence Mining, Santa Fe Pacific Gold, Uranerz, Cameco Gold and Centerra Gold. More recently he has partnered with other venture capitalist entrepreneurs to create Altan Rio, a privately funded global exploration company currently working in Nevada, Brazil and Mongolia.

Thomas Spoorenberg, PhD Candidate, University of Geneva, Switzerland

May 15, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

The demographic consequences of the economic and social transition in Mongolia

Thomas Spoorenberg

After 70 years of socialism, Mongolia embraced political and market reforms in 1990. The dislocation of the socialist system and the accompanying economic re-organization (shock therapy and privatization) affected dramatically the living conditions of the Mongolian population. What are the demographic consequences of this political and economic transition? This is the question addressed in this presentation.In comparison to other economic and social questions, the demographic consequences of the transition have been less studied. This research proposes to analyze the recent mortality and fertility trends and patterns to assess the impact of the transition on demography in Mongolia. The Mongolian case will be compared to other former socialist countries whose experiences are well-documented.

Thomas Spoorenberg, PhD student and teaching assistant, Laboratory of Demography and Family Studies, Department of Economic History and Department of Econometrics, University of Geneva (Switzerland), is on academic leave at the Population Teaching and Research Centre, National University of Mongolia. He earned a Bachelor and Master in Economic and Social History at the University of Geneva and went to Belgium for a Research Master in Demography. His research interests focus on Asia, both contemporary and historical Asia. He has worked and published on pre-industrial China and Japan, as well as contemporary India, Mongolia or “a somewhat not so Asian country” Switzerland.

Dr. David Sneath, University of Cambridge

April 17th, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Creating Peoples: Nation-state history and Notions of Identity

Dr. David Sneath

Dr. Sneath argues that national populist thought pictures tribal and ethnic entities in ways that were analogous to the ideological construction of the nation. Tribes and peoples continue to be conceived of as proto-national units, sharing common cultural and social forms. But if we suspend our commitment to the notion of "ethnic identity" as separate from power relations, we can see that national designations such as "Mongol" represent historical processec of political designation rather than self-forming community.

"Dr. Sneath is the Director of the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at Cambridge University and a lecturer in Social Anthropology. He is a Fellow at Corpus Christi College where he is Deputy Tutor for Advanced Students and Director of Studies in Archaeology and Anthropology. David completed his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge in 1986." [Source: http://www.innerasiaresearch.org/david_sneath.htm]

Anne Riordan, Fulbright Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison

April 10th, 2008, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

The Millennium Development Goals and Education for Students with Disabilities in Mongolia: Perceptions of Stakeholders and Teachers

Anne Riordan

In light of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), focus on "Universal Primary Education," it is important to understand to what extent current Mongolian practices align with the 2nd Millennium Development Goal as it relates to inclusive education, and the factors that influence it. This lecture focuses on Mongolian perceptions of disability, specifically looking at what it means to be "disabled" in the Mongolian educational context. Through qualitative interviews and focus groups with teachers and stakeholders, we can begin to understand how these groups shape their ideas about disabilities, and the factors that influence the way they understand disability.

Anne Riordan is a Fulbright Fellow in Mongolia, currently conducting research on Mongolian teachers' perceptions of disability in the classroom. She is pursuing a master's degree in Special Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Anne graduated from DePaul University, Chicago with a degree in Secondary Education in 2003, and served in the United States Peace Corps, Choibalsan City, Mongolia 2003-2005. While conducting research as a Fulbright Fellow, Anne is hosted by and works with the American Center for Mongolian Studies (Ulaanbataar).

Dr. Christopher Kaplonski, University of Cambridge

February 28th, 2008, 5pm Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

The Oral History of Twentieth Century Mongolia: Memory, Narrative and the State

Christopher Kaplonski, PhD

The Oral History of Twentieth Century Mongolia is a collaborative research project of the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at the University of Cambridge and the International Association for Mongol Studies in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The project began in the fall of 2005, and Dr. Christopher Kaplonski is the manager of the project. More at: http://www.mongolianoralhistory.org.

Bryan Miller, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Pennsylvania

January 24th, 2008, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Reconstructing the Hunnu Empire through History, Archaeology, and Ethnography

Bryan K. Miller

Delineations of ancient steppe polities often adhere to the spatial and ethnic assumptions of the documents which bear them witness. Despite the undisputed presence of these nomadic expansive states, the broad and equal attribution of culture-historical names distorts and dulls our understanding of the social, cultural and economic variations within and between these nomadic groups that ruled over the steppes. The present research will attempt to utilize a spatial paradigm and incorporate several disciplines and their associated resources – environmental reconstructions, ethnographic studies of land-use and steppe economies, archaeological remains of cemeteries and settlements, and inherited and excavated documents – in order to more fully consider all aspects of the nomadic empire known as the Xiongnu and understand the resources and networks it utilized to garner control over the northern steppes.

Bryan K. Miller is a Ph.D. Candidate in the East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department of University of Pennsylvania. He received his MA in Archaeology from the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA in 2000, after which he began research in Taiwan and Mongolia and managed the Xiongnu excavations portion of the Khanuy Valley Project. He is presently in Mongolia on a dissertation grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to study resources related to the Hunnu (Xiongnu). His greater research interests concern historical and archaeological investigations of early empires in East Asia.

Jaspal Sandhu, PhD Candidate UC Berkeley and Fulbright Fellow

December 6th, 2007, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Transition, Technology, and Community Health Workers: Bagiin Emch in Mongolia

Jaspal Sandhu

Bagiin emch, mid-level health professionals that work in the Mongolian countryside, are a critical part of the national health care system, providing primary care to pastoralist households that would otherwise be unable to access health services. This research is focused on developing a comprehensive understanding of information management practices of bagiin emch in order to design improved information systems to support their work. The talk will discuss key issues of a workforce in transition and how these relate to the design and use of technology. The primary fieldwork in this research consists of short-term participant observation with bagiin emch from 15 sums in 3 aimags.

Jaspal S. Sandhu is a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley and a Fulbright scholar in Mongolia. His research focuses on the use of human-centered design methods to improve technology for rural health. In addition to Mongolia, he has worked on projects with rural populations in California, India, Guatemala, and Uganda. He received his Master's and Bachelor's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lecture Materials:

Abstract (pdf)

Brian White, ACMS Resident Director and Joel L. Fleishman Fellow in Civil Society

November 22nd, 2007, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

An Intellectual Commons in Mongolia: Strategies for Coordinating Library and Archive Information Resources Using a Virtual Library Consortium

Brian White

The Internet offers compelling solutions to many problems in transitioning societies such as in Mongolia. One particular idea is the development of an intellectual commons in which knowledge is universally accessible and freely shared, providing greater equity in the social, economic, and political arenas. If Mongolia were to have an intellectual commons, what would it look like and how would it be achieved? What has been done in Mongolia already, and what remains to be done to achieve such a vision? Coming off a one month sabbatical at Duke University as a Joel L. Fleishman Fellow in Civil Society in which he grappled with these very questions, ACMS Resident Director Brian White will explore the interrelation of technology and society in forming a virtual library consortium as the catalyst for developing an intellectual commons in Mongolia.

Lecture Materials:

Thomas Spoorenberg, PhD Candidate, University of Geneva, Switzerland

November 8th, 2007, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

The demographic window, development, and population policy implications in Mongolia

Thomas Spoorenberg

Among Asian countries, the population of Mongolia presents a unique feature. Until 2050, due to rapid fertility decline, Mongolia will count the highest proportion of adults in Asia. This phase, called the demographic window, is highly favorable to economic development, investment in the social system, and human development. However, the length and size of the demographic window depends largely on population policies. Through four population projection scenarios, the presentation will focus on their implications for Mongolia.

Thomas Spoorenberg is a PhD student and teaching assistant at the Laboratory of Demography and Family Studies, Department of Economic History and Department of Econometrics, University of Geneva (Switzerland), on academic leave at the Population Teaching and Research Centre, National University of Mongolia. He earned a Bachelors and Masters in Economic and Social History at the University of Geneva and went to Belgium for a Research Masters in Demography. His research interests focus on Asia, both contemporary and historical Asia. He has worked and published on pre-industrial China and Japan, as well as contemporary India, Mongolia and “a somewhat not so Asian country” Switzerland.

Lecture Materials:

Abstract (pdf)

Aimee "Mimi" Kessler, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University

October 25, 2007, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

The Great Bustard in Mongolia: Research and Conservation

Aimee Kessler

The range of the Great Bustard, one of the world's heaviest flying birds, once stretched from Portugal to China. Now that range is highly fragmented and this species is endangered in many countries where it was once common. An estimated 1500 Great Bustards remain in Mongolia. Aimee Kessler researches populations of the Great Bustard in Mongolia and Kazakhstan using satellite telemetry to map habitat use patterns and genetic studies to determine population structure. Her team is also involved in public educational programs in regions where the bird is found. She will talk about the ecology of this species using photographs from the field and discuss the preliminary results of her research. Aimee Kessler is a graduate student at Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences. She specializes in conservation biology in Central Asia. She began traveling to the Former Soviet Union in 1993 and speaks Mongolian, Russian and Uzbek. She grew up in Carlsbad, California.

Sean Armstrong, Fulbright Fellow

October 11, 2007, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

The Importance of Motivational Interviewing Theories for Behavior Modification in Healthcare

Sean Armstrong

Sean Armstrong is a recent graduate of University of Michigan's School of Public Health where he focused on how globalization has affected behavior change. He is a Fulbright Fellow in Mongolia studying the cultural understanding of alcoholism and how this impacts the success of treatment options. The person-centered and autonomy-building approach of Motivational Interviewing is receiving increased attention as behavior-related illnesses become more responsible for the disease burden internationally.

Lecture Materials:

Uranchimeg Tsultem, PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley

September 27, 2007, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Mongolian Art during the Mongol Empire

Uranchimeg Tsultem

Uranchimeg Tsultem is a doctoral student at the University of California - Berkeley, focusing her research on the state of the Art of Mongolia and Tibet. In her talk, she will showcase some images and architecture from 13-14th century made during the Mongol rule of China and Persia. The lecturer will discuss some details of the Mongol royal portraiture, the Forbidden City, and suggest some new ideas about Mongolian art of the period. Also some contemporary images of Chinggis Khaan will be discussed and analyzed.

Lisa Fink, Fulbright Fellow

September 13, 2007, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Shifts in Mongolian poetry in early 90’s

Lisa Fink

Lisa Fink is a poet and American Fulbright scholar in Mongolia translating contemporary Mongolian poetry into English. At the same time, she is studying the Mongolian language at the National University of Mongolia and conducting a survey across the country of changes in Mongolian poetry since the democratic transition. She will discuss the craft and theory of literary translation as it relates to contemporary Mongolian poetry, with examples from major Mongolian modern poets, and the shifts that have occurred in Mongolian poetry since the 1980s.

Lecture Materials:

Presentation (pdf)

Dr. Alicia Campi, President of the Mongolia Society

August 30, 2007, 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No. 5 NUM

Mongolian Studies in the U.S. - A Progress Report

Dr. Alicia Campi has spent many years working on issues related to Mongolian Studies and the US-Mongolian bilateral relationship. She has worked as an advisor to the US Department of State, including negotiating the establishment of the Peace Corps program in Mongolia in 1991, and has worked for various organizations focused on Northeast Asia. She is currently the President of the Mongolia Society and the Chinggis Khan Foundation. She holds a PhD in Mongolian Studies from Indiana University, M.A. in East Asian and Mongolian Studies from Harvard University, and an A.B. in Far Eastern History from Smith College.

Michael Kohn (Author of the Lonely Planet Guide to Mongolia)

July 9, 2007 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Dateline Mongolia: An American Journalist in Nomad's Land

Mr. Kohn

Michael Kohn spent three years working at the Mongol Messenger in the late 1990s, an experience told in his new book Dateline Mongolia. Michael discussed the book, recalling his experiences from that period and explaining how the early years of Mongolia's democracy will effect its domestic and foreign policy for generations to come. Michael was on hand to answer questions and sign copies of his book.

Michael Kohn has been a frequent visitor to Mongolia for the past 10 years. He has written about Mongolia for the Associated Press, the New York Times, the BBC and the San Francisco Chronicle. Michael is the author of the Lonely Planet guide to Mongolia, as well as the books, "Lama of the Gobi" and "Dateline Mongolia." Michael has also written guides to Tibet, India Central Asia and Israel.

Lecture Materials:

*Not Available

Related Links:

David Gilroy (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Ganzorig (National University of Mongolia)

June 28, 2007 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Movements of the Giant River Fish, Hucho Taimen, in Mongolia's Eg-Uur Watershed

Mr. Gilroy and Mr. Ganzorig

David Gilroy and Ganzorig spoke about their research tracking the seasonal and daily movements of taimen in rivers in Northern Mongolia. Both are student researchers working within the "Mongolia Taimen Project."

Lecture Materials:

*Not Available

Related Links:

Mongolia Taimen Project

Abstract (pdf)

Dr.Vesna Wallace, University of California in Santa Barbara

June 21, 2007 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Buddhism and Law During the Bogd Khaan State and Its Heritage

Dr. Vesna Wallace

Vesna A. Wallace is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at University of California in Santa Barbara. In the course of the last six years, during summer months she has conducted research in Mongolia pertaining to several areas: Buddhist revival in Mongolia, Mongolian Buddhist literature, and the historical relationship between Buddhism and law in Mongolia.

Her talk addressed the ways in which the legal system during the Bogd Khaan state was influenced by Buddhist thought and in turn influenced the Buddhist life in Mongolia during that period. It also includes a discussion of the ways in which the law makers of that period tried to revise the penal laws instituted by the preceding Qing administration in Mongolia.

Lecture Materials:

Abstract (pdf)

Related Links:

Dr. Wallace Bio

Dr. L. Dale Lawton, FSO/GSO, US Embassy in Mongolia

June 7, 2007 5:00 PM Room 305, Building No.5 NUM

Campaigns, Ethics, and Social Responsibility

Dr. Lawton

In political campaigns, most people focus on the horse race: who will win and who will lose. But political campaigns do more than just elect leaders. Through the use of mass advertising, modern political campaigns reach out to potential voters from a broad spectrum of socio-economic backgrounds. The tone and content of these advertisements tell people about the candidates and their plans, but what other messages do they deliver? Do certain types of ads scare voters away from the political process? Do candidates and parties have a responsibility to the public beyond simply electing their candidate? And if they do what is that responsibility? This talk exploref the results of research into the effects of campaign advertising and what those results may mean for democratic societies in general as well as in emerging democracies like Mongolia.

L. Dale Lawton is a Foreign Service Officer of the United States of America. He is currently serving as the General Services Officer at the US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Dale's previous assignment was to the embassy in Accra, Ghana, from 2004 to 2006. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he worked in the U.S. non-profit sector on projects dedicated to improving the quality of political campaigns in America. Dale has a PhD in Government from the University of Virginia.

Lecture Materials:

Presentation (pdf)

Dr. Bob Beatty, Washburn University

May 31, 2007 5:00 PM Room 407, Building No.5 NUM

Using TV advertisements to win elections in the USA: The case of Kansas

Dr. Beatty

Television ads have become the most important tool for American political campaigns in the last twenty years, both at the national and state level. What type of ads are most effective? How are the ads supposed to get people to vote for their candidate? Do negative ads work like they used to? Dr. Beatty used the examples of TV ads used in Kansas - a state often thought representative of the "average" state in America - to discuss how TV ads can be important political communication tools not only in the United States, but also in Mongolia.

Dr. Bob Beatty is an associate professor of political science at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, USA. He is the author of the 2003 book "Democracy, Asian Values and Hong Kong" and producer of the 2005 documentary "The Kansas Governor." Dr. Beatty received his Ph.D from Arizona State University and is the host of public affairs TV programs in Kansas. His current research involves the study of the use of TV commercials by political candidates in Kansas elections.

Lecture Materials:

Abstract in English (.pdf)

Related Links:

Dr. Beatty's personal webpage at Washburn

Dr. Cliff Montange, Montana State University

May 24, 2007 5:00 PM Room 407, Building No.5 NUM

Community development through locally-driven research, education, and service in the Darhad Valley, Northern Mongolia

Dr. Montagne

Cliff Montagne directs the BioRegions Programs, which supports community initiatives for research, education, and service in the Darhad Valley, Hovsgul Aimag, northern Mongolia. This program brings American university students, faculty, and citizens to learn from Darhad people about the culture and ecology. The program then cooperates with the community in conducting projects in research, education and service to enhance public health, education, environmental preservation, and economic development. The program also provides opportunities for Mongolians to participate in the Darhad projects or affiliate with Montana State University as students or visiting scholars.

Lecture Materials:

*Not Available

Related Links:

Bioregions

Dr. Richard Vogel, SUNY, Fulbright Faculty, NUM

May 17, 2007 5:00 PM Room 407, Building No.5 NUM

Technology incubators as a tool of regional economic development

Dr. Vogel

The overall intent of an incubator is to promote economic growth by attracting new business investment in targeted and emerging industries. Incubated firms are generally provided with subsidized and low cost facilities, access to specialized resources, and consultation services with a variety of research, product, legal, and marketing specialists, giving the incubated firms the opportunity to concentrate on research and product development that may eventually become commercially viable.

Dr. Richard Vogel is a Professor of Economics at State University of New York at Farmingdale, and was on sabbatical and on a 1-semester Fulbright Teaching Fellowship as Visiting Faculty in the dept. of Mathematcal Economics in the School of Mathematics at NUM when he gave his lecture. He has a Ph.D from Florida International University, M.A. Georgia State University, B.A. Florida Atlantic University, all in economics.

Lecture Materials:

*Not Available

Laura Puckett, Fulbright Fellow

May 10, 2007 5:00 PM, Room 407, Building No.5 NUM

American Wilderness: Conquest, Conservation, and the American Character

Laura Puckett

Laura Puckett is an American Fulbright scholar studying Mongolian language with the goal of looking at how a sense of place is established and expressed through modern Mongolian poetry. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from Davidson College in North Carolina in 2004, she spent the last 3 years teaching, leading wilderness trips, and writing for the web and print. Her talk addressed how the American concept of wilderness was created over the course of the country's history, culminating in the 1964 Wilderness Act, and how wilderness figures in the American imagination.

Lecture Materials:

*Not Available

Dr. Craig Janes, Simon Fraser University, Canada

May 3, 2007 5:00 PM Room 407, Building No.5 NUM

Assessing the Vulnerability of Mongolia's Herders to Climate-Related Hazard: Progress Report from a National Study

Dr. Janes

Craig Janes is an epidemiologist and medical anthropologist who has worked in Mongolia since 1996 on topics related to health care reform, maternal mortality, reproductive health, and rural health care. In his current project he is conducting a nationwide study of the health consequences of vulnerability to climate hazards among Mongolia's herding households. Dr. Janes is currently based at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, where he is Associate Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. This lecture is his second time to participate in the Speaker Series.

Lecture Materials:

*Not Available

Related Links:

S.Oyunsuren, National University of Mongolia

April 26, 2007 5:00 PM Room 407, Building No.5 NUM

The World-wide Scramble for Energy Resources and Mongolia

Mrs. Oyunsuren

Petroleum (oil) is a strategic raw material that supports the economic growth and protects the national security of any country. How secure is Mongolia in terms of its oil demand and supply? How independent/dependent are we on energy resources? What role does this dependence play in security issues for small countries like Mongolia? Those and other questions were addressed in this lecture given by Mrs. S. Oyunsuren.

Mrs. S. Oyunsuren is a doctoral student at the School of Foreign Service, National University of Mongolia, and General Secretary of Mongolian Association of Middle Eastern Studies (MAMES). She specializes in International Relations and Middle East Studies.

Lecture Materials:

D. Munkh-Ochir, Institute for Strategic Studies

November 16, 2006, 5:00 pm

Mongolian Defense and Military Policy in 21st Century

Major Munkh-Ochir

What is Mongolia's Defense Policy for the 21st century? How is it being reformed? What challenges and shortcomings is it likely to face in the coming decade? Answers to those questions were presented in this lecture. D. Munkh-Ochir (Major, Mongolian Army) is Senior Analyst at the Institute for Strategic Studies. He has both an academic and practitioner background and is involved in a range of disciplines, with a focus on Mongolia's diplomatic history, national security and defense policy. He talked about post-Cold War security issues in the region and subsequent changes to Mongolia's national security perceptions and policies.

Abstract (pdf)

Roberta Hawkins, Paul Marmer, Korice Moir - York University (Canada)

November 9, 2006, 5:00 pm

Perspectives on Integrated Water Resources Management

York students

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a collaborative process promoting sustainable water resource use that balances social, environmental and economic objectives. It encourages a participatory approach toward the integration of science, policy and stakeholder involvement. The discussion will focus on ecological conservation, demand management and gender issues related to water management. After the presentation, participants will be encouraged to share their own thoughts and experiences on how IWRM can be applied to the Mongolian context.

Lecture Materials:

Dr. Soninkhishig, National University of Mongolia

5pm, October 26, 2006,

Recent Diatom Research and International Cooperation in Mongolia

Dr. Sonya

Dr. Soninkhishig of the National University of Mongolia’s Department of Biology presented the second lecture of the American Center for Mongolian Studies Fall Speaker Series. Dr. Soninkhishig discussed diatoms, which are unicellular, photosynthetic organisms that live in every kind of water and are used in applied research such as documenting past climate changes and water quality monitoring. They have silica wall structures which preserve well in the lake sediment cores, and they also respond quickly to environmental changes because of their short life spans.

Lecture Materials:

Presentation slides (pdf)

Dr. D.Tumen, National University of Mongolia

October 12, 2006, 5:00 pm

Relics: Excavations of Chinggis Khan’s Era

Dr. Tumen

Professor D. Tumen of the National University of Mongolia’s Department of Anthropology presented presented recent discoveries at archeological excavations in Mongolia dating from the 12th to 14th century. Dr. Tumen earned her Doctor of Science degree from department of anthropology at the Moscow State University in 1992. Her research includes paleo-anthropology, human-skeletal biology and paleo-demography.

Lecture Materials:

Jayne Belnap, US Geological Survey

June 22, 2006, 5:00 pm

Land Use and Resource Conservation: Finding the Balance

Jayne Belnap

Global dust storms have become a major issue in the past 20 years, as evidenced by a decline in air quality in eastern China, Korea, and Japan. The Mongolian Gobi desert has long been considered a source of dust for these storms. In her lecture, Jayne Belnap shared her team's research into the origins of these sand storms. She also discussed the problem that the growing population of herders and livestock is having on grazing areas in Mongolia and offered possible solutions for how Mongolia's land resources could be used effectively.

Lecture Materials:

The Honorable Pamela Slutz - United States Ambassador to Mongolia

June 8, 2006, 5:00 pm

American and Mongolian Relations

Amb. Slutz

Ambassador Slutz reflected on the history and current state of relations between Mongolia and the United States drawing upon her three years of experience as Ambassador to Mongolia.

A reception followed the talk that featured the awarding of prizes to the 2006 ACMS Fellowship Grant and 2006 Research Paper Competition winners.

Lecture Materials:

Introduction by ACMS Resident Director

Lauren Bonilla and Retta Breugger, US Fulbright Fellows

May 25, 2006, 5:00 pm

Exploring Homeland in Mongolia through Oral History and Song

The concept of nutag or "homeland" is a key part of Mongolian cultural identity. The feelings that Mongolians attach to the land of their birth remain strong throughout their lives and are often expressed through stories and song. Lauren Bonilla and Retta Brugger, two American Fulbright research fellows, explored these expressions of homeland for a year in the Altai region of Khovd province. They spoke, in particular, about the importance of the Altai Mountains as expressed through song and the feelings of nostalgia many Oirats (western Mongolians) hold for their spiritual homelands.

Lecture Materials:

Dr. J. Baysakh, National University of Mongolia

May 11 , 2006, 5:00 pm

Beyond Russia and China: Mongolia's Search for a New Balance in its International Relations

Dr. Baysakh

Dr. Bayasakh, Professor of International Relations at the National University of Mongolia, examined the history of Mongolia's relations with its two powerful neighbors, China and Russia, and described the growing importance of its "horizontal" relationships with Western Europe, Asia and North America, new ties that he believed would transform Mongolia's ties with its two closest neighbors.

Lecture Materials:

Dr. Amanda Fine, Wildlife Conservation Society

April 27, 2006, 5:00 pm

Disease at the interface of human, livestock and wildlife life: Mongolia's role in a globaleffort to understand the spread and threat of avian influenza

Dr. Amanda Fine

Amanda Fine, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Ulaanbaatar, described in her talk how "interface" diseases, those that affect human, wildlife and livestock populations, require coordinated responses from the veterinary, wildlife and human health sectors. She explained how the traditionally separate fields of wildlife biology, veterinary medicine and public health are coming together to understand and prevent the spread of avian influenza in Mongolia and around the world.

Lecture Materials:

Abstract in English (pdf)

Dr. Kent Harbison, Visiting Professor, NUM

March 23, 2006, 5:00 pm

An Overview of the American Consisution's Bill of Rights

Dr. Kent Harbison

The Constitution of the United States of America is the oldest written active constitution in the world. It declares a democracy and protects personal rights of all american people. Dr.Kent G.Harbison, a visiting scholar at the National Univeristy of Mongolia talked about what are these rights of citizens and how the Constitution protects them.

Lecture Materials:

Dr. B. Lkhagvasuren, The Institute of Biology, MAS

March 9, 2006, 5:00 pm

Endangered Wildlife Species in Mongolia: Present Status and Conservation Priorities

Mongolia is home to a wide variety of fascinating and endangered species of mammals that inhabit ecosystems in high mountains, forests, steppes and deserts. Dr. Badamjav Lhagvasuren, head of the Mammalian Ecology Laboratory at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Biology, spoke about the current condition of Mongolia’s endangered mammals and described some of the problems faced by scientists as they seek to protect them in Mongolia.

Lecture Materials:

Dr. L.Munkh-Erdene, National University of Mongolia

February 23, 2006, 5:00 pm

The Mongolian Nationality Lexicon: From the Chinggisid Lineage to Mongolian Nationality

Dr. Munkherdene

Dr. Lh. Munkh-Erdene, professor of ethnology at the National University of Mongolia, explored the importance of the Chinggisid lineage genealogies that trace the descendents from Chinggis Khan and showed how they provided the basis for the modern concept of the Mongol nation.

Lecture Materials:

Layton Croft, Vice-President for Corporate Affairs, Ivanhoe Mines

December 15, 2005, 5:00 pm

Personal perspective on the Current and Future Impacts of Mining in Mongolia

Mr. Croft

Layton Croft is Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs, Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia, Inc., and an advocate of the benefits of mining for Mongolia and Mongolians. Mr. Croft, an American citizen who has lived and worked in Mongolia in a variety of capacities for nearly 10 years since 1994, presented some of his own thoughts on opportunities and challenges that mining presents to Mongolia.

Lecture Materials:

Charles Mayer, Luce Foundation Fellow

November 17, 2005, 5:00 pm

Press Freedom in Mongolia: “A Reality Check”

Mr. Mayer

Charles Mayer is a Senior Producer at National Public Radio in the United States. During his year-long stay in Mongolia as a Henry Luce Scholar, Mr. Mayer served as the General Editor of the daily newspaper Ardiin Erkh. He also worked with other organizations including Mongolian National Radio. He spoke about the free press in Mongolia, and about how free press can influence the democracy.

Lecture Materials:

Joan E. Kane, Consul, US Embassy in Mongolia

November 3, 2005, 5:00 pm

How to Get an American Student Visa?

Packed House

Joan E. Kane joined the Department of State in 1990 and has worked in US Embassies in Mexico, Spain and Peru. She assumed her position as Consul at the US Embassy in Mongolia in 2004. She described the new procedures on how Mongolian students can apply for Student Visas to the United States.

Lecture Materials:

*Not Available*

Dr. Lkh. Udval, Executive Director, EARC

October 6, 2005, 5:00 pm

How to Get Into Graduate School in the USA

Dr. Udval

The Educational Advising and Resource Center (EARC) in Ulaanbaatar, provides advice and resources to Mongolian students seeking to study abroad. Dr.Udval has degrees from Russia and Germany and lectures often to students about graduate study in the United States. She shared with audience members the possibilities for Mongolian students to study abroad.

Lecture Materials:

*Not Available*

September 22, 2005, 5:00 pm

Perspectives on Mongolian Pastoralism

Mr. Sternberg

A recipient of the 2004-2005 Fulbright award, Troy Sternberg examined the political implications of Mongolian pastoralism, focusing on the suitability of the market economy and effectiveness of the Mongolian government in the countryside.

Lecture Materials:

Charlie Seeman, PhD, Western Folklife Center, Elko, Utah

September 8, 2005, 5:00 pm

Sagebrush to Steppe: The Lives of the Cowboys of America and Mongolia

US Cowboys

The ACMS Speaker's Series gets underway in the 2005-2006 school year with a lecture by Dr. Charlie Seeman, Director of the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. Those who ride horses and tend livestock speak a common language across nations and cultures, and the American cowboy has much in common with the Mongolian malchin, including a love of horses and a reverence for wide open spaces, a legacy of independence and a culture challenged by a changing modern world. In his talk, Dr. Seeman discussed issues common to herders around the world such as grazing practices, water quality, environmental impacts, and meat prices.

Lecture Materials:

Abstract in Mongolian (pdf)

Elizabeth Endicott, Middlebury College

June 23, 2005, 5:00 pm

A Historian's Perspective on Land Use in Mongolia: What does the past tell us about the future?

Dr. Endicott

Elizabeth Endicott, Professor of History at Middlebury College, in Middlebury, Vermont, focused on the relationship of Mongolia’s pastoral nomadic herders to their land from the thirteenth century to the present, paying particular attention to the evolving concepts of "land rights" and the role of political authority in determining pasture access and land use.

Lecture Materials:

Craig R. Janes, University of Colorado in Denver

June 16, 2005, 5:00 pm

Poor Medicine for Poor People? Assessing the Impact of Liberal Economic Reforms on Health Care Equity in Post-Socialist Mongolia

Dr. Janes

Dr. Craig R. Janes was Professor and Chair of Health and Behavioral Sciences department, University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado. Based on his research on public health sector in Mongolia for last few years, he examined the factors that have influenced Mongolian’s access to health care in the country since 1990.

Lecture Materials:

Robert Deliege, Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve

May 27, 2005, 5:00 pm

Anthropology: the Malinowskian model and its future

Refreshments

Dr. Robert Deliege is Professor of Social Anthropology in the Institute Orientalist at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. For more than three decades, he has studied the problems facing the caste and tribal systems, particularly the Untouchable castes, in India, and has written extensively on anthropological history and theory.

Lecture Materials:

Guido Verboom, Alliance for Religions and Conservation

May 12, 05, 5:00 pm

Fluttering Robes: The Dynamics of Buddhism in Mongolia

Mr. Verboom

Religion is a dynamic phenomenon within human society that is often considered a cultural universal. In other words, all cultures are believed to have religious aspects. In general a religion is expressed in both belief and action. Both are however far from static and change in the cause of history. Although often, within a religion, claims are made on ancient teachings, the religion itself is in a continuous process of redefining itself. In this case we will look at the dynamics of Buddhism in Mongolia.

Guido Verboom is the Mongolian representative of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC). He has a background in cultural anthropology and has been working in Mongolia since 2000 on projects related to Buddhism and culture.

Lecture Materials:

Kevin D.Robinson, Fulbright Scholar, University of Pittsburgh

April 14, 2005, 5:00 pm

Climate Change in Mongolia?

Mr. Robinson

Is Mongolia’s climate undergoing change? What will be the effects of ‘global warming’ on life in Mongolia? Kevin Robinson, a graduate student in the Department of Geology and Planetary Science at the University of Pittsburgh, in the USA, and a US Fulbright Research Scholar in the Department of Botany at the National University of Mongolia described the efforts of a team of international scientists to create a 2,500 year record of northern Mongolian climate using measurements taken from lake sediments in Hovsgol aimag. He presented the methods and results of these studies, in which he participated, and suggested their broader implications for climate change in Mongolia and Inner Asia.

Lecture Materials:

Prof. Ozkul Chobanoglu, Department of Turkology, NUM

March 24, 2005, 5:00 pm

Continuity and Change between Turkish and Mongolian Folk Beliefs

Professor Çobanoglu is guest lecturer in the Department of Turkology at the National University of Mongolia. He has published extensively in Turkish and English, and his most recent research has focused on historical relationships between Turkish mythology and shamanism and Mongolian folk beliefs.

Lecture Materials:

Dr. Dennis Ojima, Colorado State University

November 22, 2004

Considerations of the effects of socio-economic and global change on ecosystem dynamics of the Eurasian Steppes of the Mongolian Plateau and Kazakhstan

Dr. Ojima

Dr. Ojima is a professor at Colorado State University in the United States and has conducted extensive research on the relationship between land use and environmental change in Mongolia and northern China for many years.

Lecture Materials:

Prof. Joerg Janzen, National University of Mongolia

November 18, 2004

Changing Patterns of Pastoral Mobility in Mongolia

Dr. Janzen

Professor Joerg Janzen is a scientist from the Free University of Berlin and Director of the Center for Development Research (CDR) at the National University of Mongolia. He is a social and economic geographer and ethnologist working interdisciplinarily together with colleagues and students of different subjects. His research focuses on all issues concerning nomads and mobile livestock, as well as the present situation and future perspectives of nomadism in Mongolia.

Lecture Materials:

Introduction by ACMS Resident Director (pdf)

L. Oyun, MD, Mongolian Ministry of Health

October 14, 2004

The Circles of Sexuality: Exploring the Known and Unknown

L. Oyun is a medical doctor now working as the Officer of Health Education at the Directorate of Medical Services in the Mongolian Ministry of Health. She holds an MA in Public Health from the State University of New York-Albany and is now completing her doctorate on Human Sexuality at Widener University, Pennsylvania, USA.

Lecture Materials:

Dr. Clyde Goulden, International Consultant

September 9, 2004 - Inaugural Lecture

Finding Solutions to Complex Environmental Problems in Developing Countries

Dr. Goulden

Dr. Clyde Goulden presented the inaugural lecture of the ACMS Speakers Series. Dr. Goulden is an International Consultant for the Hovsgol-GEF Project and Director of the Institute for Mongolian Biodiversity and Ecological Studies in the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

His paper explored some of the environmental and social problems found in the Lake Höwsgöl region and highlighted some of the results of his multi-year development program in the region.

Lecture Materials:

Introduction by ACMS Resident Director (pdf)

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