Mapping Mongolia
Subtitle: situating Mongolia in the world from geologic time to the present
By: edited by Paula L. W. Sabloff
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Philadelphia
Language: eng
Number of pages: 273
ISBN-13: 9781934536186
Subjects: Maps; Ethnology; Congresses; Geography
Description: With its small population and low GDP, Mongolia is frequently deemed "unique" or tacked onto various area studies programs: Inner Asia, Central Asia, Northeast Asia, or Eurasia. This volume is a response to the concern that countries such as Mongolia are marginalized when academia and international diplomacy reconfigure area studies borders in the postsocialist era. Would marginalized countries such as Mongolia benefit from a reconfiguration of area studies programs or even from another way of thinking about grouping nations? This book uses Mongolia as a case study to critique the area studies methodology and test the efficacy of another grouping methodology, the "-scapes" method proposed by Arjun Appadurai. Could the application of this approach for tracing individuals' social networks by theme (finance, ethnicity, ideology, media, and technology) be applied to nation-states or peoples? Could it then prevent Mongolia from slipping through the cracks of academia and international diplomacy? Experts from ecology, genetics, archaeology, history, anthropology, and international diplomacy contemplate these issues in their chapters on Mongolia through the ages. Their work includes over 30 maps to help situate Mongolia in its geologic, geographic, economic, and cultural matrix. By comparing maps of different time periods and intellectual orientations, readers can consider for themselves the place of Mongolia in the world community and the relative benefits of these and other grouping methodologies. -- Description from http://www.booktopia.com.au (Oct. 18, 2011).
Notes: Papers originally presented at a conference held in Philadelphia, May 6-11, 2007.

Includes bibliographical references and index.