Speaker Series – Pawel Szczap: Ulaanbaatar – the ugly duckling of Mongolian Studies

Location: American Corner Reading Room, Natsagdorj Library

For many Mongolians and visitors alike today’s Ulaanbaatar remains somewhat of a stain on the otherwise appealing image Mongolia. Home to half of the country’s population and the center of many crucial economic, political, social as well as cultural developments the city de facto forms a reality both different and inseparable from the rest of Mongolia. Yet, as a habitat in stark opposition to the traditional Mongolian milieu Ulaanbaatar is sometimes neglected as a proper research area even by the Mongolian Studies community. Many important gaps in the bulk of Ulaanbaatar-related research remain to be filled. Drawing on several research examples and interests this talk will explore the possible importance of Ulaanbaatar to the general field of Mongolian Studies as well as point to specific problems crucial for further developing this field in statu nascendi.

About the Speaker

Paweł Szczap is a PhD student at the University of Warsaw. Over the past 9 years he has visited Mongolia several times in order to study and conduct research. With a background in Mongolian Studies he investigates modern social phenomena from a cultural and linguistic-oriented point of view. His PhD research concentrates on Ulaanbaatar toponyms. Before shifting his main research interest towards Ulaanbaatar he has dealt with topics like nationalist discourse in Mongolia and the impact of mining on Mongolian culture. He is currently developing the Ulaanbaatar Studies project (https://ubstudies.wordpress.com )