This week on Sinica, we discuss the controversy surrounding the decision by Beijing to selectively replace Mongolian-language instruction in schools in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with Mandarin — and how people both in Inner Mongolia and in Mongolia are pushing back. We’re joined by Christopher Atwood, one of the nation’s leading specialists in Mongolian history and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and by Christian Sorace, an assistant professor of political science at Colorado College.
7:28: A historical overview of Mongolian history through independence
19:03: The demography of Inner Mongolia
23:09: What the bilingual education policy would actually do
35:07: The impetus for pushing language policy
Recommendations:
Jeremy: Buying books from your local bookstore. He also recommends the website bookshop.org, which allows you to support local bookstores.
Christopher: Ravelstein, by Saul Bellow, and the album At Fillmore East, by the Allman Brothers Band.
Christian: As a new father, he’s recommending a children’s book: Telephone Tales, by Gianni Rodari.
Kaiser: The Vow, a true crime documentary series available on HBO Max.
