The Mongolia Society, Inc.

MonSoc News & Events

The Society’s 2024 Annual Meeting & Panels, October 4-5, 2024

September 27, 2024

The 2024 Mongolia Society Annual Meeting, sponsored by The Mongolia Society, US-Asia Institute, Mongol American Cultural Association (MACA) and the Embassy of Mongolia to the USA, will be held October 4th and 5th.

The schedule of events are listed here:

Friday, October 4, 2024

Location: Library of Congress, Jefferson Building, 10 First Street SE, Ground level, Washington, DC 20540 - www.loc.gov/visit/directions / Google Maps

2:00 pm General tour of the Library of Congress, ending in the Asian Reading Room, which will have a selection of special items from the Asian Division’s Mongolian collection. Please email monsoc@iu.edu if you are attending the tour for a head count.

Saturday, October 5, 2024

Location: US-Asia Institute, First Floor, 232 East Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20003 - Google Maps

8:30 am Annual Meeting of The Mongolia Society

• Call to order: Ambassador (Ret.) Michael Klecheski, Mongolia Society President

• Welcoming Remarks: Ms. Mary Sue Bissell, President, US-Asia Institute

• Opening Remarks: His Excellency Batbayar Ulziidelger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the USA

• Mongolia Society Annual Business Meeting: Ambassador (Ret.) Klecheski

9:30-11:20 am Mongolian Music and Performance Traditions (Chair: Prof. Sunmin Yoon, University of Delaware)

Panelists:

• Dr. Saruul-Erdene Myagmaryn (Library of Congress) & Mr. Erkhembayar Khalkhyn (Khovd Aimag Theather), “Linguistic Features of Jamtsyn Badraa’s Song Lyrics”

• Prof. Charlotte D’Evelyn (Skidmore College), “Bifurcated Sonic Worlds of the Morin Khuur”

• Prof. Peter K. Marsh (California State University, East Bay), “The Year of the Fiddle, 2024: Why Now?”

• Dr. Gabriel Bamana (Independent Scholar), “On the significance of the Morin Khuur in the Mongol Tradition”

11:30-12:45 pm Mongolian History and Language (Chair: Prof. Melissa Chakars, St. Joseph’s University)

Panelists:

• Prof. Dotno D. Pount (University of Pennsylvania, University of Delaware), “Geography of Cult of Chinggis Khan: Liturgies and Memories”

• Dr. Batjargal Badamjav (Mongolian State Conservatory for Music Literature), “Anthem of Genghis Khan: Historical-Cultural Approach” (Via Zoom)

• Mr. Joshua Sims (Ph.D. Student, Indiana University), Dr. Mia Gong (University of California, Santa Cruz), & Prof. Jonathan Washington (Swarthmore College), “Parallels Between Central Asian Turkic and Mongolic Past Tense Systems”

Lunch

2:00-3:50 pm Modern Mongolia (Chair: Prof. Orhon Myadar, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa)

Panelists:

• Dr. Vera Kuklina (The George Washington University) & Dr. Mariia Kuklina (Postdoctoral Scholar, ARCTICenter of UNI), “Studying the impact of climate change on nomadic communities based on community-engaged research of dzuds in Khovsgol”

• Mr. James R. Baugh (Ph.D. Candidate, Indiana University), “Beijing Shougang v. Mongolia: A Case Study of International Investment Arbitration in Mongolia”

• Mr. Michael Lake (Independent Scholar), “The Legacy of J. Batmönkh: Dialogue in the Interests of our People”

• Former Ambassador Battsetseg Shagdar (Independent Scholar), “Mongolia Soft Power and Smart Diplomacy in Long- And Short-Term Perspectives”

4:00-5:30 pm Mongolian Traditions Today (Chair: Ambassador (Retired) Michael Klecheski)

Panelists:

• Ms. Nerguitsetseg Sandagdorj (Ph.D. Candidate, Lycee at Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Mongolia), Ms. Ülziikhuu Rentsen (Ph.D. Candidate, Capital City Education Department, Mongolian National University of Education, Mongolia), “Explaining Play-Learning Through Informal Education” (Via Zoom)

• Mrs. Dorjderem Tseren-Ochir (Sodon Chimee Language Center, Mongolia), “A few words about a book written by a great scholar: Sudar Orshvoy of the Sacred Mountain and Water Foundation of Mongolia”

• Dr. Khishigsuren Dorj (Independent Scholar), “The Fire Tradition of Mongols”

7 pm, Reception - Embassy of Mongolia, 2833 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007 - Google Maps

* * * * *

We ask those who attend or present at the 2024 Mongolia Society conference to make a donation to help defray the cost of organizing it.

• Regular attendance donation (after September 15, 2024) for Mongolia Society members to attend in- person is $90 and $140 for Non-members. *

• Regular attendance donation (after September 15, 2024) for Mongolia Society members to attend by zoom is $65 and $115 for Non-members. *

To make the attendance fee donation, click on the “Donate” button www.mongoliasociety.org/donate and when prompted to add “Additional information,” please write “Annual Meeting.” You may also directly contact Executive Director Susie Drost at monsoc@iu.edu.

* The Society is offering a special discounted membership rate when new members join and pay the Annual Meeting Attendance Donation at the same time. It will cost only $115 for new US members and $125 for Foreign members to both join the Society and attend the Annual Meetings and panels. To join the Society, go to the “Membership and Support page” www.mongoliasociety.org/membership on the Mongolia Society website.

Naadam Essay Competition 2024

May 15, 2024

In honor of Naadam, the Mongolian Heritage Society, in collaboration with the Embassy of Mongolia, is holding an essay competition. This competition is open to all high school and college students.

Essays will respond to the following prompt:

Naadam is a festival that has been celebrated throughout all of Mongolia, with some sources claiming it to be a 2,000-year-old tradition. In 2010, the festival was added to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and today, it has become internationally known as cities across the globe take part in Naadam. In a minimum of 500 words, discuss a brief history of Naadam and why it still holds importance today.

Contest Information

Three essays will be recognized and will receive prizes:

• First place - $1,000 

• Second place - $500

• Third place - $300

Essays must be written in English and include a reference list (this will not count towards the word count).

The submission deadline is 11:59pm EST June 15, 2024. Results will be revealed on July 11, 2024.

For more details and submission information, please see the Mongolian Heritage Society website.

The Mongolia Society Expands Its Social Media Presence

May 15, 2024

As part of our mission to promote the study of Mongolia, its history, language, and culture, the Society is seeking new ways to reach out to our members and potential new members.

To this end, we've expanded the size and accessibility of our main website and are now extending our reach into social media, including establishing new Society pages in Instagram and Threads. 

Our current Facebook page is also undergoing a renovation. We've created a new Facebook page that we hope will allow us to better communicate with you, our members, as well as the general public. The current Facebook page–which is actually a “group” page–will be closing on June 30th. We ask that you join us there.

If you are new to the Society Facebook site or are subscribed to the Society’s Facebook group page, we ask that you reconnect with us at our new page. 

Please click the following link and then “like” and “follow” the page: · The Mongolia Society's New Facebook page

 The Society’s President, Ambassador Michael Klecheski (Ret.), Presents a Lecture on Mongolia’s Independence

March 1, 2024

Ambassador Michael Klecheski, the U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia from 2019 to 2022, presented a Mongolia Society lecture, “Mongolia’s Third Neighbor Policy in Practice: A Case Study from a former U.S. Ambassador’s Years in Mongolia,” on February 20, 2024. Lecture attendees–students, faculty, and Mongolia Society members–gathered around a large discussion table at the Global and International Studies Building on the campus of Indiana University, Bloomington, or watched via a Zoom link.

A video recording of this lecture is available here: YouTube

For the full story and award winners, please see our News and Events page.  

Urgent Request for Funds to Support Mongolian Families in Need

April 2, 2024

The Friends of Mongolia in partnership with People In Need is currently raising funds to provide relief to over three hundred Mongolian herder families currently facing a natural disaster caused by extreme winter weather and snow.

Nearly eighty percent of Mongolia has been dealing with deep snows this winter, which has caused over 500,000 livestock to perish as of mid-March. The snows have also blocked access by herder families to supplies, medicines, and food for survival. The situation is especially dire for many families in the Eastern provinces.

People in Need is running a large-scale disaster relief program in cooperation with the Mongolian government and a host of international donors. The Friends of Mongolia is seeking to support these efforts by raising $5,000 before May 1, 2024, to support this relief program.

You can help by clicking the link below and donating $50 or more to this effort!

https://www.friendsofmongolia.org/become-a-friend/donations

MonSoc Celebrates the Mongolian Lunar New Year, 2024

March 1, 2024

The Society celebrated Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year, on Saturday, February 2, 2024, at the Ferguson International Center on the Indiana University-Bloomington campus.

The event drew dozens of people, including the Society’s President, Ambassador (Ret.) Michael Klecheski, and many from the Bloomington Mongolian American community. It included music and dance, food, and a powerful sense of community, not only locally but also with relatives and friends in Mongolia, too.

The following images of the event were taken by Zolboo Dashmyagmar. You can see more of her images on the Society’s 2024 Tsagaan Sar event page.

The Society wishes to thank all the groups and institutions that supported this celebration, including the Department of Central Eurasian Studies and Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center (at Indiana University, Bloomington), the Mongolian Student Association, and the Bloomington Mongolian community. 

The latest edition of the Mongol Survey

Winners of the 2022-2023 Best of the Next Generation of American Mongolists Competition

June 7, 2023

­­The Mongolia Society and the Embassy of Mongolia are pleased to announce the winners of the 2022-2023 Best of the Next Generation of American Mongolists Competition.

Funded by the Embassy of Mongolia to the United States and conducted by The Mongolia Society, this competition recognizes the top three individuals whose combination of thoroughness and quality of research, knowledge and use of primary sources in original languages, and scholarly promise and commitment to advancing the field of Mongolian Studies best exemplifies the Next Generation of American Mongolists.  The competition was open to master’s- and doctoral-level students and new PhDs. Materials submitted were judged in a “blind” review by a panel of judges with proven academic credentials in Mongolian studies. 

Overall, the quality of the seven (7) essays submitted was outstanding and the Society hopes to publish many of them in the Journal of The Mongolia Society.

For the full story and award winners, please see our News and Events page.  

Report From The Society’s 61st Annual Meeting & Conference, October 2022

November 7, 2022

The 61st Annual Meeting & Conference of The Mongolia Society was held jointly with the Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) on the Indiana University, Bloomington campus, October 20-23, 2022. The meeting and conference were well-attending, both in-person and virtually. The conference, held at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, featured the participation of 27 panelists on 7 different panels. The conference schedule is available here: Webpage or PDF.

The Society was honored to have Ambassador U. Batbayar, Ambassador of Mongolia to the United States, attend the event, during which he met with administration officials at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Indiana University-Bloomington (IU). Together they discussed educational cooperation in the framework of the March 15, 2022, "Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation" between Indiana University and the National University of Mongolia. The Ambassador delivered the Opening Remarks at the General Meeting & Conference and visited with members. 

Additional photographs and more information about the conference is available on our News and Events page.

The Mongolia Society remembers Dr. György Kara

October 19, 2022

It is with great sadness that the Society receives the news of the passing of Dr. György Kara, or Khar Dorj, as he was known to his many students, friends, and colleagues. A long-time member of the Society, Dr. Kara was a beloved instructor, mentor, and colleague. Our hearts and thoughts are with his family at this time.

The Mongolia Society will be remembering Dr. Kara and honoring his enormous contributions to Mongolian Studies in a forthcoming issue of the journal Mongolian Studies.

For the full story, please see our News and Events page.

IN BRIEF: MORE NEWS, EVENTS, & UPDATES

UPDATE ON DR. ALICIA CAMPI: Our dear colleague, Alicia Campi, is now residing in a long-term nursing facility at Manor Care Potomac where she continues to receive post-stroke care and therapy. She welcomes visitors (daily from 11am to 6pm) and greeting cards (but, please, not gifts). We wish her a happy holiday and look forward to her full recovery. 

• Dr. Alicia Campi, Room 125, First Floor Wing, Manor Care Potomac, 10714 Potomac Tennis Lane, Potomac, MD 20854