B. Given the fact that Mongols in China are identified with the steppes and nomadism, and given the very concrete problems with maintaining a nomadic life, as detailed by Williams, Zhang, and others, what ethnic markers are left for the Mongols? What basis for identity might they have if nomadism continues to diminish, or even if it stays at its present level of about 15 percent of the Mongol population of Inner Mongolia? Think of the elements of ethnic identity that we have discussed in this class and that are laid out in Ways of Being Ethnic--history, culture, and kinship--and explore the ways in which each of them might be a basis for identity in the near future.

C. This one is for people who have some familiarity with the controversy over Samuel P. Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" ideas. If we take these ideas seriously, we find a key civilizational border between agrarian China and pastoral Central Asia, well described in Dee Williams's writings about different ecological regimes and the different ideas of nature, society, and human relation that Williams says emerge from these ecological regimes. The agricultural Mongols described by Khan, at the same time, seem to be caught between civilizations. Different interpretations of the story of the Sisters of the Grasslands seem to point to a reinforcement of this boundary, even as a "transnational Mongol community" springs up on all sorts of websites. Does this mean that the situation of culture contact in Inner Mongolia is permanently unstable? Why or why not?

D. This one is for Chinese history freaks only. Please don't attempt it if you don't know Chinese history well. But, if you do, this could be fun: evaluate Bulag's statement on page 4 of his book, The Mongols at China's Edge that "Ming China...was already a full-blown nation-state."

E. The western part of Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region contains one of China's largest coal fields (along with another one in nearby Shanxi, a mostly Han area). Coal extraction involves huge environmental impacts, including land degradation, air pollution, and traffic congestion (which also brings air pollution). But because the coal, when burned mostly in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, contributes greatly to the horrendous air pollution in that region, there have recently been plans to gasify the coal at plants near the mines, and burn it much cleaner in the coastal regions. Evaluate coal mining and coal gasification in Inner Mongolia as an environmental justice issue.

General guidelines for essays
All essays should be submitted by email to the instructor by 5:00 p.m. on the posted due date. Essays that are submitted late on the due date will be graded down one notch (e.g. A- to B+ or B to B-); essays that come in after the due date will be graded down two notches (e.g. A to B+ or B+ to B-). Essays will be returned with extensive comments by one week from the announced due date and time.

Essays should be between 1500 and 2000 words in length, not counting bibliographic references. You may use any style (footnotes, endnotes, or embedded author and date) for references, as long as it is clear where you have gotten your information. Quotations should always be referenced, as should any information that is taken explicitly from a given source.

If you need help with essays, it is available at the Anthropology Writing Center. It offers services including

• brainstorming for research papers
• cutting down too-long papers to reach the word limit
• developing a thesis for response papers
• editorial feedback on the structure of a paper
• interpreting "uninterpretable" prompts and assignment instructions
• building rhetorical and composition skills with people whose first language is not English