VI. Asynchronous content

Wednesday, October 13, Asynchronous content, complete on your own time. 

Based on a survey that participants were invited to complete, there is a preference for more reading and discussion of climate change in Mongolia rather than for carrying out interviews or designing research as we wrap up our course. There is one main reading that everyone is encouraged to read: a recent IFRC (Red Cross/Crescent) report on the impacts of climate in Mongolia. You can download the full 50+ page report here: https://reliefweb.int/report/mongolia/climate-change-impacts-health-and-livelihoods-mongolia-assessment

This report is quite different from what we have looked at so far. It is meant to be comprehensive, so it covers many climate-linked issues that we have not touched on, and its scope includes urban areas, especially ger districts, as well as rural areas. It is written for a wide audience, not necessarily an academic audience. As you read, the methods behind the findings that are discussed may not be transparent, but I would like you to think about them anyway. How many and what types of research studies do you think are represented in this report? Do you trust this account, and/or are you left with questions?

In addition, even though we are not pursuing the idea of designing hypothetical research as a capstone assignment in our course, please keep an eye out in this report for inspiration for potential research that you might want to pursue. In other words, please prepare to share with the class (or a discussion group) what caught your attention and what you would like to research more yourself if you had the chance.

I will create a forum so that we can begin the discussion by posting reflections, questions, etc. before Saturday’s class. I will post a few links to additional articles of interest, but the IFRC is the source we will really focus on in our discussion.