Join us for a compelling lecture titled “New Perspectives on Buryat-Mongolian Identity Through a Gender Lens” presented by Esuna Dugarova. She serves as a policy advisor at the UN in New York and is also a visiting professor at Columbia University.
Where: Central Cultural Palace, 7th floor, 701
When: 15:00, September 8, 2023
Contact us: 11-315100, 80208248
Title: New perspectives on Buryat-Mongolian identity through a gender lens
Abstract
The talk will examine the reconstruction of Buryat-Mongolian identity through a gender lens amid geopolitical and socioeconomic shifts. The annexation of the Buryat-Mongolian land by the Russian Empire in the 17th century led to dramatic changes in the native population. The Soviet regime further eroded the identity and cultural values of Buryat-Mongols by eliminating the traditional Mongolian writing system, interfering in the local economy and social structure, and prohibiting Buddhist learning and religious practices. Amid these shifts, women’s agency has emerged as a de facto underlying force that helps sustain collective identity in the 21st century. This is seen in the (re)creation of matrilineal genealogy, feminization of lay Buddhism, reconfigurations in work and care arrangements, and women’s leadership in preserving Buryat-Mongolian language and cultural heritage. This agency, however, has been conditioned by paternalistic institutions, growing authoritarianism, and rising neoliberal ideology in the broader context of globalizing Western modernity. Nonetheless, women have ensured the vitality of the Buryat-Mongolian transnational community, which has entailed a dynamic interplay between accommodating patriarchy, resisting Eurocentric hegemony, and transcending the status quo of unequal power relations.
