Participants will travel to Omnogobi (“South Gobi”) Province and meet with different groups of people – such as herders, small business owners, government officials, and mining company representatives – to examine how they are variously navigating processes of change and anticipating and planning for different kinds of futures.  Excursions to the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine complex, the Gurvan Saikhan National Park, herding areas, and the site of a controversial railway project will illuminate divergent and sometimes contentious perspectives regarding the ways in which the Gobi should be developed and protected. Students will grapple with these differences and consider how they shape resource use and governance practices, planning and design initiatives, social and livelihood dynamics, and broader political concerns.

During the course students will learn ethnographic research methods and scenario building techniques to explore possible futures for the Gobi in light of contemporary factors and forces such as climate change, groundwater depletion, economic booms and busts, herder-mine conflicts, and increased connectivity with China due to the Belt and Road Initiative.  An anticipated outcome of this course is the creation of a “Scenarios for Gobi Futures” multimedia report that can be used as a resource for participants, policymakers, and other stakeholders interested in the future of the Mongolian Gobi. 

This is an interdisciplinary course that draws insights from the fields of anthropology, geography, development studies, and other disciplines.  It aims to instill in students an awareness of the social and environmental dimensions of resource extraction in arid landscapes and an understanding of the varied meanings and experiences of development.  Participation does not require previous knowledge of Mongolia.