Cultural Heritage Program launched at the American Center for Mongolian Studies

By Michelle Borok

The American Center for Mongolian Studies has launched the Cultural Heritage Program (CHP) in Ulaanbaatar, with support from the Henry Luce Foundation in the USA.
The program will host several fellows each year in the area of cultural heritage in Mongolia. Researchers will support the documentation and preservation of both tangible and intangible cultural heritages of Inner Asia, with a focus on the people and geographic area that are now in Mongolia.
Dr. Julia Clark, a recent graduate from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, has been selected as the CHP coordinator. Dr. Clark has been conducting archaeological fieldwork in Mongolia annually since 2007, working primarily in Arkhangai, Bayan Ulgii, Khuvsgul, and Uvs Provinces. She has been the director of the Northern Mongolia Archaeology Project (formerly the Targan Nuur Archaeology Project) in the Darkhad Depression, Khuvsgul Province since 2011. Dr. Clark utilizes a variety of archaeological and ethnographic methods to investigate the introduction of food production and its effect on Mongolia and the surrounding regions, from the adoption of domesticated animals several millennia ago through the present.
One of the many initiatives of the Cultural Heritage Program has been the creation of the Humanities Reading and Discussion Group. The group meets every other Monday to discuss an academic article written in English related to Mongolian culture, as well as provide participants with a chance to engage in written assignments and presentation opportunities. This is meant to mirror graduate school class discussions abroad. The goals of the group members vary, but include the following: improve academic English speaking, writing, and reading; learn about interesting topics; and improve teaching or presenting skills. The topics vary from meeting to meeting, but are all related to cultural studies in some way. The group is free of charge and is open to anyone with an interest in Mongolian culture or academic discussion.
The first two meetings of the Humanities Reading and Discussion Group have taken place. The first article selected for discussion was about the archaeology of the Eurasian steppe and Mongolia. The next meeting will be on January 4, at 6:00 p.m. in the lower level classroom of the American Corner at Natsagdorj Library.

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Posted by The UB Post on Dec 23 2015. Filed under Domestic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.