The Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MAS) in association with the Mongolian National University is very honoured to host the 13th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) in Ulaanbaatar from Sunday 21st July to Saturday 27th July 2013. The joint convenors will be Dr S. Chuluun (Institute of History, MAS), Dr U. Bulag (University of Cambridge), and Dr Ulrike Roesler (University of Oxford). It is with great pleasure that we now extend this invitation for proposals for papers and panels.
The convenors will work with a number of co-sponsors in Mongolia including the Centre of Mongolian Buddhists, the National Library, the National Museum of Mongolian History, the National Archives, and others. The meeting will be held in the premises of the National University of Mongolia.
We will be pleased to cover the costs of infrastructure, conference lunches, two evening events with dinner, and transportation within Mongolia for all international participants, but regret that under the present economic situation we will be unable to offer funding for international travel and accommodation. Although we will of course try to secure further financial backing from other bodies, we urge you to make every effort to obtain independent funding.
Accommodation: There are various types of accommodation available in Ulaanbaatar, ranging from hotel rooms to student dormitories. We will negotiate very reasonable rates for members of IATS. An online booking service will be available from June 2012.
Registration fee: USD $250
An online registration system will be available shortly: information about the website will be circulated in due course.
Please note that the convenors, the president, and the secretary general of IATS, in consultation with the advisory board, would like to call the following points to the attention of all prospective participants:
1. Participants are generally required to present a paper. Papers will be subjected to a time limit of 20 minutes and may be presented in any of the four working languages of the IATS: English, Tibetan, French, and German. Exceptionally, a certain number of presentations in Mongolian will also be accepted on this occasion.
2. If you are proposing a panel, roundtable panel or workshop, you must submit a brief description (less than one page) by 1 October 2012.
3. Participants should not present papers that have been read at other conferences or published elsewhere. All papers should present the results of original research and should not simply be a restatement of material and data already available elsewhere in secondary literature. Papers should be based on the use of primary sources (written or oral) in original languages or should otherwise provide a substantial advance in the field of Tibetology.
4. All participants are required to submit an abstract of their papers.
a) Students attending an IATS seminar for the first time are asked to provide one letter of recommendation from a suitable faculty member at their institution and to submit a short curriculum vitae, listing publications and work.
b) All participants who will be attending for the first time or whose first IATS conference was the 12th seminar held at the University of British Columbia, including students, are also asked to submit a one-and-a-half-page abstract of their paper by 1 January 2013. This also applies to participants in roundtable panels or workshops.
c) All others are asked to send in a brief abstract (less than one page) by the same date.
d) All abstracts will be screened and papers may not be accepted if they are deemed not to conform to international standards of academic work.
e) Independent scholars are encouraged to submit papers.
5. Those who wish to attend only as observers, such as students, should submit a description of approximately one-and-a-half-pages of the current state of their work and research interests as well as a letter of recommendation from their academic institution by 1 January 2013. This also applies to independent scholars who may submit a letter of recommendation from an established Tibetologist.
6. Participants may organize round table panels or workshops on specific subjects, but it is their responsibility to contact others whom they would like to include and to keep the organizers informed about such plans. Those participating in a round table discussion should note that they cannot also present a paper in another session of the conference as well.
7. If you intend to participate in the 13th IATS seminar, please fill in your application and abstracts by 1 January 2013. Notice of acceptance/rejection will be sent by late February 2013.
8. If you are accepted as a participant in the 13th IATS seminar, it is absolutely necessary that your registration fee is received by 31 March 2013. We have to pay the seminar expenses in advance, well ahead of the actual event!
9. All participants are requested to organize their own visas and travel insurance. The Mongolian Academy of Sciences will not be responsible for any of these issues. Letters of invitation for visas will be provided if requested.
The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 1 January 2013. Acceptance of applications will take the form of a letter of invitation that will enable you to obtain a visa for Mongolia.
However, we realise that in the case of applicants from certain countries, a letter of acceptance from the IATS may be required in order for you to obtain a passport, in which case the 1 January deadline may not give you adequate time.
For applicants who are in this situation, we suggest that you submit your application and abstract by 1 October 2012, and if the review is favourable, you will be sent a letter of acceptance in November 2012.
The website for the 13th Seminar is at http://www.iats.info/the-thirteenth-seminar-of-the-iats-%E2%80%93-ulaanbaatar-2013/. For general information about the IATS, visit http://www.iats.info/
Communications about the 13th Seminar should be sent to: iats2013@innerasiaresearch.org
