Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
SIT Academic Director Letter
For those who are curious about the voyage on which I am soon to depart, here is a selection from a letter sent to me by the program’s Academic Director.
Our program focuses on ‘culture and development’ in Mongolia. Through this guiding theme we will investigate the process by which traditional and historical culture adjusts and manages the problems and trends of contemporary fast-track development. Mongolia is a relatively small developing country, which has been thrust onto the world stage politically, economically and socially. This is crucial during a time when the U.S., World Bank, UN, etc. are becoming ever more effective in domestic workings of countries and when cultural and bio-diversity is threatened by commercial investment.
Mongolia’s belated entrance on the global scene means both that its development process is fairly young and that the country as a whole is unusually self-conscious about which trends it sets into action. Mongolia’s efforts are to develop balanced policies wide-open to Western involvement with strong nationalism rooted in a still pastoral culture spreading over a vast countryside.
Among the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, few nations compare to Mongolia in the size, diversity, and health of its natural ecosystems. Covering 1.564 million square kilometers, Mongolia encompasses an area larger than Britain, France, Germany and Italy combined. It is the seventh largest country in Asia and one of the largest land-locked countries in the world. With only 2.7 million inhabitants, its population density, 1.7 persons per sq. kilometer, is the lowest in Asia.
Although threatened by commercial exploitation, Mongolia still contains relatively intact examples of Asia’s deserts, steppe forests, mountains, and rare species of wild creatures and plants that inhabit them. The traditional culture of the semi-nomadic herder still thrives, as one-third of the country’s people still move by horse and camel, herding their sheep, cattle, and goats through an annual cycle of pastures, governed by the limits of natural systems. To consider culture within Mongolia, one must consider the natural surrounding environment. The two are interdependent, continually needing to adapt to the needs and demands of each other.
Our program will explore the degree to which local cultures have been shaped by the geographic and environmental features of their surrounding landscapes, as well as how the ever-increasing demands of a developing country and growing population have put pressure on the abundance and availability of natural resources. The country now faces the challenge of developing the nation’s infrastructure and economy while at the same time protecting the natural environment.
It is critically important for you to understand that this is an academic program, with an experiential component. The education you will receive in the classroom through lectures, course materials and discussions will provide a framework of information that will enhance the education you receive from direct, active, intimate involvement with your surroundings. The various components of our program are designed to expose, and subsequently immerse, you in many diverse elements of Mongolian culture, while the assignments are designed to help assimilate the academic with the experiential.
on Monday, August 20th, 2007 at 11:38 pm:
I am reading all about your very exotic life here in Newton….Bon Voyage!!!!
on Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 at 1:56 am:
Hi Alex,
Its Siobhan from Dad’s office. Just reading your fascinating tales of your travel’s. Have you ever considered becoming a reporter or a novelist. I love the way you recount your stories thus far. Stay safe and enjoy.
Siobhan