research assistant

My research assistant, Fall 1999.

One of the most important - and underacknowledged - person for many anthropologists is their research assistant. This is Bota, who worked with me for a few months in late summer and the fall of 1999. I've worked with various people over the years, usually finding someone through friends, or asking at the university. Bota quickly picked up an understanding of the general ideas behind my research, and so for the short period she worked for me, was useful for bouncing ideas off of as well.

The picture she is standing in front of is one dealing with political repression. It's done in a style that is based on Sharav's famous painting that depicts a day in the life of Mongolia. Sharav's picture, and the one here, depict numerous things that make up life in Mongolia, or in this case, political repression. In the painting behind Bota there are people being arrested, tortured and shot, while monasteries are looted and religious relics destroyed.