Worms in the anthropocene : the multispecies world in Xu Bing’s Silkworm series

In a visual art project titled Dear Climate, a group of American artists and scholars designed “a collection of agitprop posters and meditative audio experiences that help you meet, befriend, and become climate change.”i These posters are designed to promote environmental awareness, and particularly, multispecies co-existence in the Anthropocene age, as reflected in posters with slogans such as “BIODIVERSITY IS THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY”; “PARTY WITH THE BEES IN THE BUTTERFLY BUSH”; “MEET THE BEETLES”; and “SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH AN INSECT.” Human beings encounter insects on a daily basis and yet rarely give them much attention. When they are noticed, they are often exterminated or turned into economic resources for human consumption and utilization. What does it mean to spend quality time with an insect? What is the role of art in cultivating such an attitude in the contemporary world?Accepted versio

Rulers and rascals : the politics of gold mining in Mongolian Qing history

M1 - ArticleThis article examines the politics of gold mining in the Mongolian cultural region during the Qing period and today. By drawing on archival material and accounts by travellers of the period, the authors situate the current mining boom within its greater historical context. Since the exploration of gold has been surrounded by enduring notions of exclusivity and purity, the article shows how mining for gold has historically been closely related to Mongolian practices of political rulership. By examining the current mining boom in Mongolia from a broader historical perspective, the article argues that this extractive economy involves much more than a search for profit.PostprintPeer reviewe

Silk Roads in the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Development of a National Heritage Inventory

A UNESCO project, Support for the Preparation for the World Heritage Serial Nomination of the Silk Roads in South Asia, afforded the opportunity to research evidence for Silk Roads exchange in South Asia. The first part of the paper explores the challenges of archaeology in the Kingdom of Bhutan, located on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas. GIS-based approaches to model earlier settlement patterns and trade routes are considered. This led to a discussion with Bhutanese colleagues, in the Division for Conservation of Heritage Sites (DCHS), regarding the need for a digital national heritage inventory: to help manage and protect heritage resources, and to improve the communication of the rich heritage of the country to its people. The second part of this paper explores some of the issues around that debate, and the steps taken to implement the chosen solution, the Getty Conservation Institute/World Monuments Fund ARCHES heritage inventory system