Experience Mongolia without leaving campus. ASIA3084 is a two-week intensive course that examines Mongolian history, culture, and society through a combination of lectures and structured practical activities. The course has been delivered successfully for seven years as an in-country program in Mongolia, but this year the course will be offered for the first time on-campus. This two-week intensive course will continue a strong emphasis on experiential learning, allowing for comparative conceptual examples and varied themes across history, anthropology, archaeology, Asian Studies, Mongolian language, and international relations. Morning lectures will introduce key historical, social, and environmental themes, while afternoon sessions will involve engagement with Mongolian cultural practices, including the construction of a Mongolian yurt (ger), traditional Mongolian dance, language and food preparation. These activities will be integrated with the academic objectives of the course and used as material for critical reflection and analysis. This course is open to undergraduate students of all disciplines across the ANU and is particularly relevant for students interested in Asian studies, Inner Asian history, environmental humanities, pastoralism, nomadic societies, cross-cultural and ethnographic approaches to learning.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Describe the current challenges of Mongolia from a cultural and historic perspective
- Comprehend the historical, economic and political underpinnings of Mongolia's domestic politics, national identity and national security
- Discuss the tension between nomadic herding culture and sedentary industrial development as part of a growing capitalist economy
- Demonstrate introductory familiarity with Mongolian language and cultural terms
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate cross-cultural forms of analysis effectively to a broad audience
Work Integrated Learning
Projects
Students will engage with lectures in the mornings and applied, practical components that are more immersive in approach in the afternoon, which will involve working toward various project forms of assessement, including oral presentations, online journal entries and a final analytical essay that will include an interview component.
Other Information
Must have completed 24 units of university courses
Students are required to fill in an accompanying form to answer a few questions, as a competitive selection process to gain access to this course.
Click https://anu-au-sa.terradotta.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=11030 for more information.
Indicative Assessment
- Book or film review: personal analysis versus online analysis. Presentation and class discussion of review (10-minute individual presentations, 20%) (20) [LO 1,2,3,5]
- Oral Group Reflection - small groups present on a cultural practice (e.g. food sharing, dance or instrument as performance, ger structure and layout) within the Mongolian historical and social context (Final session, 15-minute presentations, 20%) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Daily Reflective Journal: connecting lectures with experiential components (150-250 words per post, between 1500-2500 words in total, 30%). (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Research Essay: based on core themes with an oral history or contemporary interview component (2500 words, 30%) (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The total workload for the course is 130 hours including in class time and independent study.
Inherent Requirements
To complete this course, students need to participate in person in physical course activities, workshops and site visits at the ANU campus and within the ACT. Students must understand and respect the needs of other participants and act professionally throughout the course. If there are any questions regarding the course schedule and the requirements for successful completion, please contact either the course convenors for specific information, or the relevant college and/or school mobility team.
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the School of Culture History and Language to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
There is no prescribed text but some references are noted here and a longer list will be available for the students on the course via Canvas.
Preliminary Reading
Abrams-Kavunenko, Saskia Enlightenment and the Gasping City: Mongolian Buddhism at a time of environmental disarray (2019) Available Online.
Baabar, B., and C. Kaplonski, Twentieth Century Mongolia, Folkestone: Global Oriental (2005). Menzies: DS798.75.B3313 2005
Bayandelger, Manduhai Tragic Spirits: shamanism, gender and identity in contemporary Mongolia (2013) Available online.
Bruun, Ole and Li Narangoa, Mongols from Country to City : floating boundaries, pastoralism and city life in the Mongol lands Copenhagen: NIAS (2006) Menzies: DS798.75 .M66 2006
Bulag, Uradyn Nationalism and Hybridity in Mongolia (1998) Menzies: DS19 .B85 1998
Empson, Rebecca Harnessing Fortune: personhood, memory and place in northeastern Mongolia (2011) Menzies DS798.4.E47 2011.
Endicott, Elizabeth A History of Land use in Mongolia: Thirteenth Century to the Present (2012). Available online.
High, Mette Fear and Fortune: spirit worlds and emerging economies in the Mongolian gold rush (2017) Available Online
Fijn, Natasha, Living with Herds: Human-Animal Coexistence in Mongolia, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press (2011). Hard copy in library and available online
Heissig, Walther The Religions of Mongolia London: Routledge And Kegan Paul (1980). Menzies: BL2370.M7.H3
Humphrey, Caroline and H. Ujeed A Monastery in Time: the making of Mongolian Buddhism (2013) Available online.
Humphrey, Caroline and Onon, Urgunge Shamans and Elders: experience, knowledge and power among the Daur Mongols Menzies BL2370.S5H86 1996.
Khazanov, Anatoly M. Nomads and the Outside World (1994) Menzies GN387.K45123 199 (2021) Available Onlin Online
Plueckhahn, Rebekah Shaping Urban Futures in Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar, dynamic ownership and economic flux (2020) Available Online.
Rossabi, Morris, Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists, (2005). Menzies: DS798.84 .R67 2005
Sneath, David, and C. Kaplonski The History of Mongolia Folkestone: Global Oriental (2010). Menzies: DS798.5 .H57 2010
Assumed Knowledge
No prior knowledge of Mongolia or Mongolian language is required, but looked upon favourably in the selection process. Students planning to take this course are encouraged to take Mongolian language (e.g., MNGL1002) and/or culture courses (e.g., ASIA2016).
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $4500 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $5820 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modern Mongolia: Empire, Economy and Environment | ||||||
| 6441 | 01 Jul 2026 | 24 Jul 2026 | 24 Jul 2026 | 30 Sep 2026 | In Person | N/A |