NYPL Researcher Spotlight: Esuna Dugarova
This profile is part of a series of interviews chronicling the experiences of researchers who use The New York Public Library's collections for the development of their work.
Dr. Esuna Dugarova is a UN Policy Advisor on sustainable socio-economic development and gender equality. In parallel with her policy work, she also serves as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs where she conducts research on transnational relations, local agency, and ethnonational identity of Buryat-Mongols, an ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia (see a documentary account of her fieldwork). Esuna holds a Ph.D. in Asian Studies from Cambridge University. She has authored over 50 publications and knows seven languages. Esuna is also the founder and head of the Global Buryat Academy which preserves the endangered Buryat-Mongolian language and culture.
What research are you working on?
Currently, I focus on examining women’s agency in ensuring the vitality of the Buryat-Mongolian transnational community amid geopolitical and socioeconomic shifts. Based on my research conducted in The New York Public Library and several fieldworks in Buryatia, Mongolia, and India, I have found that women have emerged as a de facto underlying force in the 21st century that helps sustain collective Buryat-Mongolian identity. This is seen, for example, in the feminization of lay Buddhism that supports the revival of the Buddhist tradition, reconfigurations in work and care arrangements under market-based economic conditions, and women’s leadership in preserving the Buryat-Mongolian language. Yet, this agency has been conditioned by paternalistic institutions, growing authoritarianism, and rising neoliberal ideology in the broader context of globalizing Western modernity. Navigating these arrangements has entailed a delicate interplay between accommodating patriarchy, resisting Eurocentric hegemony, and transcending the status quo of unequal power relations.
While doing my extensive research in the Library, I realized that in the existing scholarship, the history of Buryat-Mongols has not only been relegated to the margins of imperialist discourse but it has also been largely gender-blind. There is a limited understanding of women’s experiences and little recognition of their contributions to society. My research addresses this gap by shaping a more holistic ethnocultural landscape and creating a more inclusive narrative that recognizes women’s agency and resilience within and beyond borders.
When/how did you first get the idea for your research project? What brought you to the Library?
The idea came to me when I published my first book Zvezda kochevnitsy: v garmonii mezhdu Vostokom i Zapadom [The Star of the Nomadess: In Harmony between the East and the West] in 2017 which offers my personal reflections about studying at Cambridge University and living in the UK through the lens of Buryat-Mongolian cultural heritage. It was around that time that I moved to New York to work at the United Nations and discovered The New York Public Library a few blocks away from my workplace. The Library has become my second home in NYC where I spent most of my spare time reading about the history of Buryat-Mongols. Books and articles by notable Buryat-Mongolian scholars such as Dorzhi Banzarov (1822-1855), Mikhail Bogdanov (1878-1919), Galina Galdanova (1942-2001), et al., to name just a few, have informed my understanding and deepened my knowledge about complex political, social, and economic issues that affect Buryat-Mongolian ethnonational identity. This knowledge has served as a bridge to my roots and enabled me to stay connected with my homeland across space and time while empowering me to pursue my intellectual endeavor.
How do you maintain your research momentum?
I actively engage with my community as part of the Global Buryat Academy where we have five lectures and classes per week on Buryat-Mongolian culture and language held in our mother tongue. We have excellent teachers who are the custodians of local knowledge and traditions. This all creates a conducive environment with insightful conversations that nourish my soul and contribute to my research. I also often participate in various conferences and discussions with other scholars, which provides a meaningful space for exchanging thoughts and providing feedback. This year alone, I have nine international conferences and workshops to present my research, which keeps me energized and focused. In addition to this, I maintain a regular routine of writing articles for peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. It can be intense and laborious but is very rewarding intellectually. Above all, I have a strong sense of purpose and responsibility to share my knowledge with current and future generations of Buryat-Mongols and with a broader global society, which motivates me to keep moving forward.
After a day of working/researching, what do you do to unwind?
I am involved in Buddhist activities, attend every new art exhibition in my favorite museums, support my mentees around the world in their exciting pursuits, and actively participate in the vibrant life of New York City.
Khilgantuiskii datsan in the Kyakhtinskii raion—one of the first major Buryat monasteries built in 1741 and reconstructed in the 1990s.
Photo: Esuna Dugarova