This is a monthly listing of selected academic activities and resources related to Mongolia. This list is based on information the ACMS has received and is presented as a service to its members. If you would like to submit information to be included in next month's issue please contact the ACMS at info@mongoliacenter.org and/or the editor, Marissa Smith, at msmith@mongoliacenter.org.

====================================
ACMS Sponsored Programs and Events
New Books in the ACMS Library

Call for Papers, Conferences and Workshops
Research Fellowships, Scholarships and Grants

Position Openings
Resources
News and Events
Recent Publications
====================================

ACMS Sponsored Programs and Events

ACMS Speaker Series:  Teresa Nichols, Ph.D. Candidate Indiana University and Fulbright Fellow.  Making and Managing Mongolian Heritage.  5:30 PM.  Tuesday, March 12th.  American Corner, Natsagdorj Library.  Promoting and preserving cultural diversity and global heritage are values espoused by the majority of national governments, international organizations, and even for-profit businesses.  As Mongolia transitioned to a democratic, capitalist system in the 1990s, new infrastructure for the cultural sector and dialogues on its purpose was constructed by many interested groups.  International NGOs in particular often viewed cultural programs as a central method to democratize and empower communities, but since their legal establishment in 1997 Mongolian NGOs have struggled to form sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships with these international donors.  Surveying both Mongolian NGOs and international NGOs that work on cultural projects, there are important implications for their sustainability, as well as how ideological and financial ties are shifting over time to create new regional networks.  Public discourse and policy in Mongolia on these issues is also considered to better understand how Mongolians prioritize different cultural elements.  Though this research is still on-going, preliminary findings should be interesting to those in international aid/development, nonprofit management, and cultural studies.

 

New Books in the ACMS Library

H. Vogtmann and N. Dobretsov (Eds.). 2006. Environmental Security and Sustainable Land Use: With Special Reference to Central Asia. Springer.

E. Endicott.  2012.  The History of Land Use in Mongolia: Thirteenth Century to the Present. Palgrave Macmillan.

M. Mulder and P. Coppolillo.  2005.  Conservation: Linking Ecology, Economics, and Culture. Princeton University Press.  

P. Luvsandorj, C. Khashchuluun and N. Batnasan (Eds.).  2012.  Mongolia at the Market: Dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the School of Economic Studies. LIT Verlag. 

J. Dierkes (Ed.). 2012. Change in Democratic Mongolia: Social Relations, Health, Mobile Pastoralism, and Mining. Brill Publishing.

R. Bedeski and N. Swanstrom (Eds.).  2012.   Eurasia's Ascent in Energy and Geopolitics: Rivalry or Partnership for China, Russia and Central Asia?  Routledge.

M. Rossabi.  2012. The Mongols: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press

 

Call for Papers, Conferences, Workshops, and other Academic Programs 

Call for Articles: The Journal of the Anthropology of the Contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia (ACME) is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the anthropological studies of all societies and cultures in the Middle East and Central Eurasia. Its scope is to publish original research by social scientists not only in the area of anthropology but also in sociology, folklore, religion, material culture and related social sciences. It includes all areas of modern and contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia (Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, China) including topics on minority groups and religious themes. The journal also will review monographic studies, reference works, results of conferences, and international workshops. ACME also publishes review essays, reviews of books and multimedia products (including music, films, and web sites) relevant to the main aims of the journal. All submissions for articles are peer-reviewed. ACME is published with the financial support and collaboration of Groupe Societes, Religions, Laicites, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France. For general enquiries and Instructions for Authors, please visit: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/anthropologyiran/acme/contact/.

Call for Articles: Asian Literature and Translation (ALT) is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal established by the Centre for the History of Religion in Asia (CHRA), Cardiff University. The main objective of the journal is to publish research papers, translations, and reviews in the field of Asian religious literature (construed in the widest sense) in a form that makes them quickly and easily accessible to the international academic community, to professionals in related fields, such as theatre and storytelling, and to the general public.  The scope of the journal covers the cultural, historical, and religious literature of South, Southeast, East and Central Asia in the relevant languages (e.g. Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, Tibetan, Japanese, et al.). We particularly welcome literary translations, including extracts from longer works in progress, manuscript reports and commentarial material, new adaptations of classic texts, archive stories and debate pieces, and the discussion of new approaches to translation. Book and performance reviews, including visual material, and letters to the editor, including responses to published material, are also solicited.  Contributions are welcome on a wide range of topics in the research area as defined above. For further information see:  http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/share/research/centres/chra/whatwedo/journal-asian-lit-and-translation.html.

Call for Manuscripts: “Cyber Asia and the New Media,” Education About Asia (EAA) is the peer-reviewed teaching journal of the Association for Asian Studies. Our approximately 1,800 readers include undergraduate instructors as well as high school and middle school teachers. Our articles are intended to provide educators, who are often not specialists, with basic understanding of Asia-related content. Qualified referees evaluate all manuscripts submitted for consideration. Most of our subscribers teach and work in history, the social sciences, or the humanities. We are in the process of developing a special section titled "Cyber Asia and the New Media" for the fall 2013 issue of EAA. In this special section, we invite authors to submit manuscripts that assist instructors and students in secondary school and college/university introductory survey courses in the humanities or social sciences to better understand this contemporary topic. Manuscripts are sought where authors depict the impact of recent innovations in digital technology and communications upon politics, entertainment, economics, entrepreneurship, social movements, youth culture, education, and globalization. We will still consider feature article-length manuscripts. We are particularly interested in obtaining more teaching resources essays between 750 and 2,000 words (three to eight manuscript pages) in which authors depict how they teach about how digital technology is changing Asia. The deadline for initial submission of manuscripts is March 10, 2013. Contact the editor, Lucien Ellington at l-ellington@comcast.net.

Call for Papers, Conference: Fourteenth Annual Central Eurasian Studies Society Conference, October 3-6, 2013 University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Panel and paper topics relating to all aspects of humanities and social science scholarship on Central Eurasia are welcome. The geographic domain of Central Eurasia extends from the Black Sea and Iranian Plateau to Mongolia and Siberia, including the Caucasus, Crimea, Middle Volga, Afghanistan, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Central and Inner Asia. Practitioners and scholars in all humanities and social science disciplines with an interest in Central Eurasia are encouraged to participate. The program will feature approximately 70 panels. There will also be supplementary events, including a welcome reception on Thursday, social and cultural activities, and a keynote speaker. Deadline for submission of panel/paper proposals: 29 March 2013. Notification of Acceptance: 1-10 May 2013. Visit: http://centraleurasia.org/2013-call-for-papers/

Workshop: Postsocialist Cultural Studies: Methodology and Research, St. Petersburg (Russia), June 29 - July 5, 2013. More than twenty years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, and the dispersal of the global socialist movement. Since then, we have been living in a post-world that is variously characterized as postsocialist, post-Marxist, postmodernist, and postcolonialist. This new condition has challenged scholars to find appropriate concepts, theories, and methods. In the 1990s, such theories as "transition", "path-dependency", and "multiple modernities" became popular among post-scholars. Over the decades, these concepts have revealed their problematic character. Empirical studies of the cultural condition of postsocialism in its most problematic manifestations - class, gender, generational, regional, ethnic, confessional, etc. - reveal continuities, gaps, and hybridizations that were not predicted by ideologues. But the concept of post-socialism is still in demand. In various forms that range from memory to inertia, the socialist legacy makes its impact on cultural processes, social troubles, and the political quests in the post-Soviet and global space. In our problematic world, methodologies and reality illuminate and challenge each other. The Summer School will discuss the emerging concepts and visions that inform our research of the world after socialism. Faculty: Prof. Katherine Verdery (City University of New York, USA), Prof. Alexander Etkind (Cambridge University, UK), Prof. Almira Ousmanova (European University for Humanities, Lithuania), Prof. Vladimir Ilyin (St. Petersburg State University, Russia). Target group: Doctoral students and junior researchers. The languages of the summer school are Russian and English. Doctoral students and junior researchers who are accepted for the summer school are eligible for grants. These grants are limited and cover travel and/or accommodation costs up to a set amount. Applications should be submitted to: summerschoolkazan@gmail.com by April 15, 2013.Applicants will be notified about their acceptance no later than May 6, 2013.The application should include: letter of motivation (1 page max.), brief description of current research project (1 page max.), short CV (no more than 3 pages), contact information (email, telephone and postal address), indication of interest in applying for grant to cover travel and/or accommodation costs.

Call for Manuscripts: "Central Asia," Education About Asia (EAA) is the peer-reviewed teaching journal of the Association for Asian Studies. Our approximately 1,800 readers include undergraduate instructors as well as high school and middle school teachers. Our articles are intended to provide educators, who are often not specialists, with basic understanding of Asia-related content. Qualified referees evaluate all manuscripts submitted for consideration. Most of our subscribers teach and work in history, the social sciences, or the humanities. We are in the process of developing a special section titled 'Central Asia' for the fall 2013 issue of EAA. In this special section, we invite authors to submit manuscripts that assist instructors and students in secondary school and college/university introductory survey courses in the humanities or social sciences to better understand Central Asian cultures and history. This special section will include articles on a variety of both historical and contemporary topics. Manuscripts on early and modern history, geography, economics, culture, and contemporary geopolitics are especially encouraged. We welcome manuscripts from teachers, scholars, journalists, or others who have expertise in the topic. Prospective authors should be aware that approximately fifty percent of our readers teach at the undergraduate level and the rest are secondary or middle school teachers. Please consult the EAA guidelines, available on the website under my signature before submitting a manuscript for this special section. Pay particular attention to feature and teaching resources manuscript word-count ranges. Prospective authors are also encouraged to share possible manuscript ideas with me via email. The deadline for initial submission of manuscripts is June 10, 2013. Contact the editor, Lucien Ellington at l-ellington@comcast.net.

Research Fellowships, Scholarships and Grants 

Fulbright Regional Travel Program.  The East Asia and Pacific Programs Branch at ECA (ECA/A/E/EAP) has established a Regional Travel Program (aka “travel pot”) to support the regional travel of U.S. Fulbright Scholars (not students) in order to offer local institutions, partner governments, posts and commissions the opportunity to benefit from the academic and professional expertise of Fulbrighters based in another EAP country. The travel pot provides a way to increase the impact of the Fulbright program in the region at a modest cost.  The visit itself should be used to enhance and support the joint interests of the visiting U.S. Fulbright scholar and his or her host institution collaborators. Receiving Posts and Commissions may also utilize the Regional Travel Program to invite a scholar to engage key audiences on priority topics. Activities may include lectures, workshops, graduate or faculty seminars, master classes or recitals, curricular advising, public lectures or panel presentations.  As a general rule, programs should last at least three (3) days but not more than two (2) weeks. Funding will be available on a first-come. An individual scholar is not likely to receive more than two grants from the “travel pot” in a given program year, although exceptions may be granted.  While the Fulbright scholar may wish to use some of their free time for research or other independent academic work, such activities should not be the primary purpose of their travel nor should it represent more than a small portion of their time spent in country. Travel pot funds are to be primarily used to cover between country travels. Grantees will be funded for round-trip fare (usually via air) by the most economical route from their site to the travel destination. In the event that the program requires in-country ground travel for the scholar to transit from the arrival city to the city where the activities are taking place, these costs may also be funded by the regional travel program. Cost sharing by receiving-country institutions and/or posts and commissions is highly desirable. Cost sharing is not required in the event the scholar assumes responsibility for hotel/housing and per diem costs.  For more information on the program in Mongolia contact: Ms. UyangaAyur, Cultural Assistant, U.S. Embassy, Mongolia at: Uyanga@state.gov.  

Doctoral Scholarships: The Graduate Programme for Transcultural Studies of the Cluster of Excellence "Asia and Europe in a Global Context" at Heidelberg University welcomes applications for eight doctoral scholarships beginning in the winter semester 2013/14.The programme offers a monthly scholarship of 1.200 Euro. It further supports scholarship holders in framing their research through advanced courses and individual supervision and mentoring. Half of the scholarships are reserved for young scholars from Asia.  Applicants are expected to propose a doctoral project with a strong affiliation to the research framework of the Cluster. They must hold an M.A. or equivalent in a discipline of the humanities or social sciences with an above-average grade. Applications, including a CV, a letter of intention, a project proposal, a schedule for the dissertation, and two referees for recommendation are submitted through an Online Application System. The deadline for applications is March 15, 2013. For more information about the Graduate Programme for Transcultural Studies and the scholarships see: http://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/en/gpts or send an e-mail to: application-gpts@asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de.

 

Doctorate Scholarship: The Open Society Foundations offers supplementary grants to students from select countries in Southeastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, the Middle East/North Africa, and South Asia. The program enables qualified students to pursue doctoral studies in the humanities and social sciences at accredited universities in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Students pursuing doctorates in the medical, physical, chemical, technical or natural sciences as well as fine or performing arts are not eligible for this grant. GSGP grants are for students pursuing doctorate degrees only. Students admitted to Master’s programs with the intent to continue, but who are not clearly admitted into a PhD program, are ineligible. Please note that this is a supplementary program and not intended for full funding. Applicants must be able to demonstrate additional support from other sources. Candidates are strongly encouraged to apply online at https://oas.soros.org/oas/. The deadline for the GSGP North America award is April 1, 2013, and the deadline for GSGP Europe is May 21, 2013. Questions regarding the application can be sent to: scholar2@opensocietyfoundations.org.

Position Openings

Faculty Position, Assistant Professor: The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at St. Francis College invites applications for a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, beginning in September 2013. The specialization is Buddhism, with emphasis on Buddhist thought; subtradition is open. Command of pertinent research languages is required. Applicants must have Ph.D. in hand at the time of application. Versatility and commitment to teaching as well as scholarship are essential. Experienced teachers are preferred. In addition to Buddhism, the successful candidate will teach a variety of undergraduate courses in Religious Studies including Survey of the World's Religions and Contemporary Moral Issues. Teaching load is four courses for each of two semesters. Committee work and some administrative duties are expected. Applications must be received by April 2, 2013. 

Faculty Position: The Department of the History of Art at the University of California, Riverside announces an Assistant Professor, tenure-track position for a historian of East Asian art and architecture in any geographic area or historical period from the early modern period to the present day. We especially welcome candidates engaged in a cross-cultural approach. We seek a creative scholar with broad interests, exceptional promise, and a strong commitment to teaching the history of Asian art and architecture.  The successful candidate will expand the Asian component of our undergraduate and graduate programs; teach courses spanning the field and ranging from lower division surveys to graduate seminars; and advise students in a methodologically diverse department on a campus with strong interdisciplinary interests in Asian culture. Related UCR departments and programs in the field include East Asian Studies, Comparative Asian Studies, Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages, History and Ethnic Studies. Ph.D. required at time of appointment.  Teaching experience and a promising record of research and publication are required.  Email letter of application, curriculum vitae, writing sample (30 page maximum) and three letters of recommendation to AHSAP@ucr.edu to the attention of Tala Martinez, Academic Personnel, Asian Search Committee, Department of the History of Art, University of California Riverside. Review of applications will begin December 14, 2012 and continue until the position is filled.  Salary commensurate with education and experience.  Position begins July 1, 2013.

Faculty Position: The Department of History and Geography at Columbus State University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Asian History. The starting date is August 2013.  Specialization within the field of Asian History is open, but a focus on gender studies, international relations, or race/ethnicity will be given preference. The successful candidate will teach both introductory survey courses and upper-level/graduate courses each semester.  A Ph.D. in History (or related field) and university teaching experience are preferred but applications from ABDs will be considered.  The successful candidate will demonstrate potential for continued professional development, scholarship and community engagement.   Review of applications will begin on December 15, 2012. All applications and required documents must be submitted using the Columbus State University’s online employment site at: https://columbusstate.peopleadmin.com/.  Contact: Dr. Gary Sprayberry, e-mail to: sprayberry_gary@columbusstate.edu

Faculty Position: Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia seeks candidates for an entry level tenure-track appointment in the Department of History, beginning September 2013. Ph.D. required; teaching experience preferred. The successful applicant will have an understanding of, and a sympathy for, a coeducational, collegial, undergraduate, liberal arts environment. The annual seven course teaching load (4 in general education, 3 in the major) will require the ability to teach courses on any aspect of Asian history, except Japan. The ability and willingness to teach Chinese history is especially welcome. Secondary fields are open.  Information about the History Department, its curriculum, and its faculty can be found at http://www.rmc.edu/academics/historv.aspx.   Candidates should submit electronically a cover letter addressing teaching and research interests, a curriculum vitae, unofficial graduate transcripts, and three letters of recommendation to Prof.  Mark Malvasi c/o Ms. Mimi Wright at mimiwright@rmc.edu Review of applications will begin in mid December and will continue until the position is filled.

Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship: The Asian Studies Program and the Political Science Program at Berea College, with the support of the ASIANetwork-Luce Teaching Fellow Program, invite applications for a one-year Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship, beginning in August 2013.  This position is designed for those who have earned a Ph.D. from a North American university within the past three years in an East Asia-related field, including expertise in East Asia-United States comparative politics and/or United States relations with the East Asian region.  Applicants who are ABD may be considered, provided that they have a scheduled completion date prior to the beginning of the fellowship year verified by their graduate advisor.  Responsibilities will include teaching three courses (one in fall term, two in spring term), delivering one public lecture as part of the Colleges spring 2014 Convocations series, participating in the intellectual and cultural life of the College, mentoring students, and pursuing research and other scholarly projects.  The Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow will be expected to work closely with a faculty mentor during the fellowship year. Interested applicants should send a letter of application, c.v., graduate and undergraduate academic transcripts, a statement of teaching philosophy, evidence of quality undergraduate teaching, a writing sample, and three letters of recommendation to AsianPolitics@berea.edu.  Review of applications begins on February 1, 2013, and continues until the position is filled. 

Resources

We are pleased to announce the new website for the The Dukha Ethnoarchaeological Project.  The primary goal of the Dukha Ethnoarchaeological Project is the development of spatial theory of human behavior for application to archaeological problems.  Visit the website at: https://sites.google.com/site/dukhaethnoarch/.

We are pleased to announce the new website for Asian Politics and History Association. Asian Politics and History Association is a non-political, non-profit academic society organized by scholars of Asian studies. Established in 2011 in Hong Kong, APHA currently has members from Asian-Pacific, European and North American countries. APHA supports the Journal of Asian Politics & History, an academic journal published twice a year beginning in October 2012.  Visit the website at: http://www.aphahk.org.

Juniper: Online Database for Mongolian and Siberian Studies. This new French scientific tool is created at the initiative of the Centre for Mongolian and Siberian EPHE. It aims to bring together texts (native), images and multimedia on the peoples of Mongolia and Siberia. Several galleries of images are presented, including collections of old prints and a new series of old photographs of the Tuvan National Museum. Sheets populations gather essential information and links to documents relating to the peoples of Northern Asia.  Subject files (kinship, Personalia, shamanism and soon others) allow you to browse the data according to thematic itineraries.  The bibliography contains references to books and articles, some of which have been digitized and can be downloaded for researchers.  Visit: www.base-juniper.org.

Searchable Ornithological Research Archive (SORA).  Recently the University of New Mexico Library officially announced the launch of the new, upgraded Searchable Ornithological Research Archive (SORA). The ornithological community is once again indebted to the UNM library for investing in the open access distribution of our historical ornithological literature. SORA has been moved to a new platform that will allow the resource to grow and expand over time. Many of the SORA journal titles have been updated with additional articles, and a new ornithological title has been added to the site. SORA now offers a number of new features for users and provides tools for journal publishers to update the SORA repository directly, with little or no technical support.  All of these improvements have been needed for some time, and the UNM Libraries SORA team appreciates your collective patience; it has taken over a year to convert the entire SORA article holdings and prepare the new site for production. A number of ongoing improvements are still in the works for 2013, and as with any major system upgrade, there are a countless number of small details that still require attention. The new URL to the site ishttp://sora.unm.edu.

The Mongolist is a website dedicated to sharing knowledge about Mongolian politics, business, and society. The website is an ever growing resource built on data and information collected on the Internet and in Mongolia. The aim of this website is to make understanding the complexity of the rapid social and economic change occurring in Mongolia not only accessible but also rewarding.  The underlying principle guiding the development of all content on this website is evidence based investigation. Whenever possible, opinion, conjecture, and pure guesswork are replaced with facts, data, and extrapolation. And, when this is not possible, opinion, conjecture, and pure guesswork are advertised as such.  Visit: http://www.themongolist.com/

We are pleased to announce the new website for Asian Politics and History Association. Asian Politics and History Association is a non-political, non-profit academic society organized by scholars of Asian studies. Established in 2011 in Hong Kong, APHA currently has members from Asian-Pacific, European and North American countries. APHA supports the Journal of Asian Politics &History, an academic journal published twice a year beginning in October 2012.
Visit the website at http://www.aphahk.org.

Education About Asia: EAA has become an essential resource for teachers dealing with Asian themes or topics; both in the broad trans-continental and regional contexts.  Conceived as a publication for K-12 faculty, it has in fact proved to be extremely helpful for higher education faculty seeking insights on many subjects. The Asian Studies outreach activities of many colleges and universities have greatly benefited from EAA materials.  Register (for free) to access approximately 900 articles from all thirty-seven back issues from 1996-2008: http://www.asian-studies.org/EAA/index.htm and subscribe to the Print Edition at https://www.asian-studies.org/EAA-Subscriptions.htm.

Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center: Indiana University’s IAUNRC has updated its website to include not only its regular newsletters but podcasts, lecture videos, teaching resources and more:  http://www.iu.edu/~iaunrc/.

Mongolia Today: “This blog is an attempt by three avid Mongolia watchers to share their observations about current developments in Mongolia.” By Julian Dierkes and DalaibulaniiByambajav, social scientists at the University of British Columbia, this blog mostly follows Mongolian politics and the mining sector. Visit: http://blogs.ubc.ca/mongolia/. 

News and Events

Monthly Biobeers Talk: First Thursday of the month, Sweet Cafe (located behind the Information and Technological National Park and next to the Admon Printing Company, west of Internom Bookstore Building). People are requested to arrive after 6pm, in time for the talk to start at 6.30. Biobeers is a monthly gathering of government and NGO staff, biologists, researchers, and other professionals interested in conservation. Each month, Biobeers sponsors a half-hour presentation on a topic relevant to Mongolian conservation, followed by an informal gathering to discuss activities and issues of interest. Biobeers is an opportunity to find out what is happening in the field of conservation in Mongolia, talk informally to other researchers and peers in your field, and share information about issues critical to the environment and people of Mongolia. Biobeers is organised by the Zoological Society of London's Steppe Forward Programme and sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Society. Join the Yahoo! Group Mongolbioweb for announcements. 

The newly renamed Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, a partnership between George Mason University and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), is proud to announce their Spring/Summer 2013 course schedule. The School is now offering more courses than ever before, in a wide range of topics, all focused on training in different aspects of biodiversity conservation, from effective conservation leadership, to technical tools in statistics and field sampling. All courses are currently either 1 or 2-week intensive residential courses and they will now be held in a brand-new, sustainably-built Academic Center on the grounds of SCBI in Front Royal Virginia. Most courses can be taken either for graduate credit or continuing education units. See our upcoming offerings below and check out our website for more course details and pricing. If you haven’t visited our website (http://SMConservation.gmu.edu) recently, check it out to see updated photos and descriptions of our brand-new facilities. We have now hosted two graduate/professional courses in the new buildings and we are VERY excited about our new home.  You can also look there for more details about each course, course costs, and credits earned or email us at SCBItraining@si.edu.

Recent Publications

A History of Land Use in Mongolia: The Thirteenth Century to the Present. (Palgrave Macmillan). Elizabeth Endicott.  2012.  A History of Land Use in Mongolia examines conceptual and practical issues of land use during eight centuries of Mongolian history.  The book analyzes how Mongolia's pastoral nomadic herding population historically has dealt with secular and religious forms of authority in the ongoing struggle for control over pastureland and water resources.  The author's findings derive from a number of field trips to the Mongolian countryside as well as a diverse array of written sources including Russian geographic treatises, historical texts, Mongolian press accounts, and Western economic analyses of the present day herding sector.

A Kazakh Teacher's Story: Surviving the Silent Steppe. (Stacey International ).  Mukhamet Shayakhmetov.  2013.  This book begins where 'The Silent Steppe' left off. It is early 1945, and the author, Mukhamet, still recuperating from serious war injuries, has travelled thousands of kilometres back to his home village in the eastern Kazakh steppe.As he encounters scenes of desperate poverty, he quickly realises the immense sacrifices made by local people, and particularly women, while the able-bodied men were away fighting. Mukhamet endeavours to pick up the pieces of his pre-war life, working hard to support his extended family, marrying, continuing his education, and eventually embarking on a life in teaching dedicated to giving young people the best education possible.Through his insightful portraits of local party bosses, district officials and bureaucrats, and tales of the vicissitudes of daily life, a broader, more personal picture emerges of life under Stalin, and of his pervading shadow decades on. The author's moral integrity, stoicism and profound respect for the struggles of the common people stand out in this memoir of a life of self-effacing dedication.

Energy Access, Poverty, and Development: The Governance of Small-Scale Renewable Energy in Developing Asia (Ashgate Studies in Environmental Policy and Practice). (Ashgate Pub Co).   Benjamin K. Sovacool and Ira Martina Drupady. 2012.  This book showcases how small-scale renewable energy technologies such as solar panels, cookstoves, biogas digesters, microhydro units, and wind turbines are helping Asia respond to a daunting set of energy governance challenges. Using extensive original research this book offers a compendium of the most interesting renewable energy case studies over the last ten years from one of the most diverse regions in the world.Through an in-depth exploration of case studies in Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka, the authors highlight the applicability of different approaches and technologies and illuminates how household and commercial innovations occur (or fail to occur) within particular energy governance regimes. It also, uniquely, explores successful case studies alongside failures or "worst practice" examples that are often just as revealing as those that met their targets.Based on these successes and failures, the book presents twelve salient lessons for policymakers and practitioners wishing to expand energy access and raise standards of living in some of the world's poorest communities. It also develops an innovative framework consisting of 42 distinct factors that explain why some energy development interventions accomplish all of their goals while others languish to achieve any.

The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Steppe Warriors (Complete Illustrated History 1). (I. B. Tauris).  Christoph Baumer. 2012. The epic plains and arid deserts of Central Asia have witnessed some of the greatest migrations, as well as many of the most transformative developments, in the history of civilization. Christoph Baumer's ambitious four-volume treatment of the region charts the 3000-year drama of Scythians and Sarmatians; Soviets and transcontinental Silk Roads; trade routes and the transmission of ideas across the steppes; and the breathless and brutal conquests of Alexander the Great and Chinghis Khan. Masterfully interweaving the stories of individuals and peoples, the author's engaging prose is richly augmented throughout by color photographs taken on his own travels. For all the complexity of the history, Dr. Baumer, a noted authority on Central Asia, never loses sight of the sweeping grandeur of its overall setting. Volume 1 focuses on the geography of the area now occupied by present-day Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, northern Afghanistan, western and central Mongolia and parts of southern Russia and northern China. Discussing the changing climates of the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Ages, the author explores subjects as diverse as glacial retreat; the invention of the wheel; the legendary Cimmerians and Amazons; Hellenism and Zoroastrianism; and the Oxus Treasure. Future volumes will explore the later historical periods of the region.

The Short Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.  (Paths International Ltd.). Wang Hong and Zhang Shunsheng.  2013.  The late Ming Dynasty (1572-1644) and the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1722) saw the true splendour of short essays in China. No other period in the history of short essays in ancient China can match them in the quality and number of works, literary schools, or the variety of styles. Compared with those written before or after, the short essays in these periods were richer in the choice of topics, and freer in form, focusing not only on real social life, but also on worldly experience and life's little delights. They are a rich and vital part of China's literary and cultural heritage. The 127 short essays in this wonderful book are considered to be the very best examples from an era of China's history that's synonymous with beautifully crafted short essays. 82 essays are from the Ming Dynasty and 45 essays are from the Qing Dynasty, written by more than a hundred different Chinese authors from both dynasties. These are arranged in the order of the authors' birth dates and tenderly translated into English by leading Chinese translators Wang Hong and Zhang Shunsheng, who have faithfully represented the styles and literary achievements made by the featured essayists. It's a wonderful book that will delight fans of classic Chinese short essays, as well as providing the perfect introduction to readers new to the genre.

Mongolia’s Nomads: Life on the Steppe.  Nina Wegner, Taylor Weidman. 2012.  For millennia, pastoral herders have lived on the Mongolian steppe, moving with their livestock according to the seasons. They still live in traditional felt tents, subsisting on the meat and milk of their animals, and living “as free as the country is wide.”  But today, Mongolia is on the fast track for change: desertification and climate change are threatening pastures and herds, while some of the world’s largest reserves in coal, copper, and gold are positioning Mongolia to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Nomads now face a choice that will shape the future of their country: withstand new threats on the steppe, or give up herding in search of new opportunities. The Vanishing Cultures Project traveled to Mongolia in 2012 to document the ancient traditions of nomads and to understand their current struggles. Packed with first-person interviews, perspectives, and anecdotes from herders, Mongolia’s Nomads reveals what ancient nomadic philosophies and traditions are still practiced by herders, where these customs come from, why they are so important, and how they may be altered forever by shifting climates, development, and new ways of life.  Available at: http://www.vcproject.org/mongolias-nomads/.

Reindeer Herders in my Heart: Stories of Healing Journeys to Mongolia.  Sas Carey.  2012. Join Sas Carey as she follows her calling to a remote community of nomadic reindeer herders in the northernmost reaches of Mongolia. Live her experiences and encounter the spirit world, truth, ancient ways of healing, and a strong heart connection. A registered nurse, energy healer, educator, writer, and filmmaker, Sas is the founder and director of Nomadicare, which works to support the healthcare and cultural survival of Mongolia's nomadic herders.  Available at: http://nomadicare.org/new-book/.

La Mongolie en QueteD’Independence: UneUtilisationStrategique du DeveloppmentMinier.  (L’Harmattan Press).  Antoine Maire.  2013.  Mongolia is famous for its steppes and dreams of escape and travel it can generate. However, there is a widespread fear but deeply rooted, that of a possible disappearance of the Independent Mongolia or a limitation of sovereignty. Mongolia, however, can rely on the wealth that is major mining development, which covers the exponential current economic growth. Here is an insight into the strategy of independence of this country. 

The Hungry Dragon: How China’s Resource Quest is Reshaping the World.  (Routledge).  Sigfrido Caceres and Sophal Ear.  2013.  This book explores China’s quest for energy sources, raw materials and natural resources around the world, with a specific emphasis on oil. China’s ubiquitous presence in Africa, Asia and Latin America is reshaping the world with regards to economics, politics and national security. It offers a comprehensive examination of China’s energy security strategy.  The first two chapters delve into Chinese relations with energy markets and the world, and the global geopolitics of China's resource quest. This introductory section is complemented by three in-depth country case studies: Angola, Brazil and Cambodia. The two concluding chapters cover opportunities and risks to China, and examine how strategies can be developed into tangible actions.  The volume also examines a number of overlapping debates regarding the varieties of capitalisms (autocratic vs. democratic), the urgent need for rebalancing as the world undergoes global financial crises and contestations to traditional powers, and the issues surrounding natural resource extraction in the context of global governance, neoliberalism and poverty traps.

Symbolism and Power in Central Asia: Politics of the Spectacular.  (Routledge).  Sally Cummings.  2012.  With the collapse of communism, post-communist societies scrambled to find meaning to their new independence. Central Asia was no exception. Events, relationships, gestures, spatial units and objects produced, conveyed and interpreted meaning. The new power container of the five independent states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan would significantly influence this process of signification. Post-Soviet Central Asia is an intriguing field to examine this transformation: a region which did not see an organised independence movement develop prior to Soviet implosion at the centre, it provokes questions about how symbolisation begins in the absence of a national will to do so.  The transformation overnight of Soviet republic into sovereign state provokes questions about how the process of communism-turned-nationalism could become symbolised, and what specific role symbols came to play in these early years of independence. Characterized by authoritarianism since 1991, the region’s ruling elites have enjoyed disproportionate access to knowledge and to deciding what, how and when that knowledge should be applied. The first of its kind on Central Asia, this book not only widens our understandings of developments in this geopolitically important region but also contributes to broader studies of representation, ritual, power and identity.

Rangeland Stewardship in Central Asia: Balancing Improved Livelihoods, Biodiversity Conservation and Land Protection.  (Springer).  Victor Squires.  2012.  This volume of 18 chapters is the work of more than 30 authors, many of whom are natives of the Central Asian region or are researchers who have dedicated a large part of their working lives to studying the development dynamics in this vast and fascinating region.  The work focuses on the 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. But it also traces the attitudes of land users to the land dating from before the late 19th century, when Russian conquest and colonization occurred, and through the upheavals caused by Soviet-style collectivization and sedentarization. The book is rich with new data presented in 68 easy to understand charts/graphs (many in color) and 50 Tables. Information was generated for this book by experts working in-country. It presents for the first time in English a digest of plethora of previously inaccessible Russian reports and scientific literature that will be invaluable for development agencies, including UN, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Bank as well as to students of this vast and fascinating region who seek up to date and authoritive information.

A  Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs. (Pan Aves Publishing).  Matthew P. Martyniuk. 2012. A comprehensive illustrated guide to the birds of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and their dinosaurian forebears. Each species is illustrated in multiple views with size and distinguishing features highlighted. Includes introduction summarizing current research into bird origins and evolution, and what we know (and don't know) about the life appearance and habits of the first birds.