Digitizing Mongolian
with Marissa J. Smith (PhD)
This eight-session course will promote international interest in and development of the digitization and use of Mongolian language sources by practitioners and researchers in a range of fields and sectors, strengthening participants’ skills in fields of data science, digital humanities, and Mongolian language and culture.
Live sessions from March 10 to April 28
Pacific Standard Time Eastern Standard Time Ulaanbaatar Time Pacific Standard Time
5:00 pm (Wednesdays)
Eastern Standard Time
8:00 pm (Wednesdays)
Ulaanbaatar Time
8:00 am (Thursdays)
Recordings of lectures for all sessions available to enrollees on the LearnDash platform.
Course Overview
The course format will include presentations by participants and guest experts as well as introductions to the Mongolian script and the histories and cultures of information in Mongolia, group sessions in which participants read texts from a range of times, places, and communities together, and discussions of applications of this knowledge. At the end of the course, participants can expect to be able to read texts in the Mongolian script, have knowledge about online as well as physical repositories of texts in the Mongolian script, and be part of an interdisciplinary and multi-sector network of practitioners using texts in the Mongolian script.
Course sessions will be held online, using LearnDash as a common repository of resources, and Zoom as the platform for synchronous, interactive sessions.
The course is open to interested participants of all backgrounds. No prior experience with Mongolian language will be expected.
Course Outline
Session 1. Digital Sources | March 11 Thursday, 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8), 60 min
Session 2. Digital Tools | March 18 Thursday, 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8), 120 min
Session 3. Review of Scripts | March 25, Thursday 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8), 120 min
Session 4. The Transcription of Grammar in “Classical Mongolian” | April 1, Thursday, 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8), 120 min
Session 5. Reading a Text – Pre-19th C., Chronicles | April 8, Thursday, 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8), 120 min
Session 6. Reading a Text – 19th C., Buddhist | April 15, Thursday, 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8), 120 min
Session 7. Reading a Text – 20th C., Revolutionary | April 22, Thursday, 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8), 120 min
Session 8. What’s Next For the Mongolian Script? | April 29, Thursday, 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8), 120 min
Instructor
Marissa J. Smith, PhD
Research Associate, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Marissa J. Smith, PhD is a cultural anthropologist with over ten years of research experience in Mongolia and has conducted fieldwork in Erdenet, the Darkhad Depression, western Mongolia, and Arkhangai. She has previously been a visiting member of the Emerging Subjects of the Mongolian Economy research group at University College London in 2018 and is currently Research Associate at the Institute for East Asian Studies at UC-Berkeley. In addition to Mongolian, Dr. Smith has also studied Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Mandarin Chinese, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Russian.
“Attending the renewable energy field school was the best decision I made in 2019! I was already attending a fulltime graduate program in Canada, but the field school added rich value to my learning. As the world is becoming more globalized, looking at how Mongolia is responding to the challenges of supplying cleaner energy was a valuable experience. Our instructors came with a vast amount of knowledge and a passion to teach.”
Liz B.
Participant of Mongolia Field School 2019 
“As a sociology major student, this program was very helpful to explore urban issues and migration processes in contemporary Mongolia. Through this program, I sharpened my academic capabilities while refining soft skills essential for my future studies.”
Batkhuu B.
Participant of Mongolia Field School 2019 
“The ACMS field school is a unique experience that has changed my life and teaching. In most programs, international participants are isolated from the country in which we are studying except for controlled visits to local people and sites. Not so with ACMS! Half of the participants in each field school are from Mongolia, ensuring that local and international participants have a chance to understand each other’s perspectives.”
Janis M
Participant of Mongolia Field School 2019