Fighting COVID-19 with Mongolian fiddle stories

Abstract

This article examines the recontextualization of traditional Mongolian verbal art khuuriin ülger (‘fiddle story’) by Mongolian folk singers in the context of the spread of covid-19 in Inner Mongolia, China. Drawing on the concept of intertextuality, I analyze the verbal and visual signs in 94 videos of Mongolian fiddle stories. The article argues that the minority Mongols participate in the dominant global and national discourses while at the same time creating a sense of Mongolian-ness by marrying Mongolian verbal art with public health messages related to covid-19. The article also finds that the multivocal covid-19 Mongolian fiddle stories are a medium to articulate the very heteroglot sense of the world in which minority Mongols dwell and to construct and reaffirm their multi-layered identities. The study contributes to our understanding of how traditional genres and symbols evolve in response to the pandemic.

The Use of the Health Belief Model to Assess U.S. College Students’ Perceptions of Covid-19 and Adherence to Preventive Measures

“… 42 Moreover, the study found that these audio-visual messages should be conveyed in familiar settings, such a dorm room, and recommended including appealing graphics and emojis. 43 Similarly, testimonials or peer modeling could provide students with the cues to action needed to make behavioral changes. For example, feature students showing creative ways in which they exercise and eat healthy.…”

“…For example, feature students showing creative ways in which they exercise and eat healthy. Interestingly, storytelling 43 and education-entertainment strategies 44 have been used in COVID-19 educational campaigns as ways to lead to behavioral changes.…”

Transforming Mongolian Wedding Speech Genres in Bilingual Bicultural Urban Inner Mongolia

“…Most recently, China’s forced replacement of Mongolian‐medium education with a Chinese‐dominant one has struck yet another blow to the minoritized Mongols. It has begun to shatter the well‐established Mongolian bilingual education system and push the already emaciated Mongolian language and culture to the edge of a precipice (see more at Atwood 2020; Baioud 2020; Roche and Leibold 2020; Narangoa 2020). This new assimilatory policy is devastating for Mongols because it will wreak havoc on the single most important symbol of Mongolian identity, language.…”