Call for Papers: Russian State University for the Humanities

Russian State University for the Humanities Centre for Typological and Semiotic Folklore Studies international conference “The Mongols: Traditional Culture and Modern Times”, October 13-15, 2016.

The conference is expected to become an integrated workshop for researchers from different countries interested in various aspects of Mongolian culture. The event is aimed to facilitate the exchange of research practices, new ideas, themes, approaches and projects, and for the coordination of further plans in our relatively narrow professional community. The event will focus on the traditional and contemporary culture of Mongolia and its reflections in folklore, rituals, literature, language, sociocultural phenomena and processes. We expect the participants to give presentations in folklore studies, philology, social and cultural anthropology of Mongolian peoples and their neighbors, as well as in cross-disciplinary studies within this area. We will be happy to present the results of our ten-year project, which included the collection and systematization of field work materials.

Since 2006 the folklorists of RSUH have organized 12 expeditions to Mongolia, Buryatia, North Kazakhstan and Inner Mongolia. Their goal was to collect matter to study the region’s oral traditions in an area and comparative typological perspective. The field work allowed us to acquire data on the contemporary state of folklore and mythological traditions of different ethnic groups in numerous regions of Mongolia: Khalkha (including those of the Gobi), Dariganga, Üzemchin, Barga, Khamnigan, Daur, Mongolian Buryat, Darkhad, Khotogoid, Uriankhai, Dörbet, Myangad, Olot, Zakhchin, Trans-Baikal Khori, Ust-Ordynsky Bulagad, as well as Mongolian Kazakh, including the migrants from Mongolia and China living in Pavlodar oblast (Kazakhstan). In RSUH, Mongolian studies have been carried out by the Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies and the Centre for Typological and Semiotic Folklore Studies. The department of Southern and Central Asian History and Philology produces orientalists specializing in philology and history of Mongolia with the profound knowledge in Tibetan history, written tradition and religions (headed by A.D. Tsendina). The Centre for Typological and Semiotic Folklore Studies carries out scholar research in mythology and oral traditions of Mongolian ethnic groups (headed by S.Yu. Neklyudov). If you are interested in participating in this event, please submit your application form, the title of your paper abstracts (up to 300 words) by the 1st of June 2016. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us by email: asolovyova@yandex.ru.

The conference will be held at Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow, Miusskaya square 6). Working languages: Russian and English. Lunches and accommodation fees for presenters will be covered by the hosting institution.