Paper short abstract:

Mongolian lives have long been shaped by non-capitalist temporalities: either because of Buddhist or animist beliefs, involvement in herding, or because of their state's communist history. My presentation examines their active resistance to capitalist temporalities whilst living in Los Angeles.

Paper long abstract:

In the 1890s Los Angeles' leaders created La Fiesta, a multi-day festival, to help economically reinvigorate the city (Deverell 2004). One element of the festival was an evolutionary parade; it involved Native Americans to represent the city's 'sleepy' past and culminated in Americans who symbolized the fated dominance of Anglo industrial capitalism. In contemporary LA cultural identity is often still linked to capitalist temporalities. This presentation examines the city's Mongolian community who ground their resistance in their identity as Mongolians. My presentation will center on how this resistance is visible in both their private and public lives.

As an example of Mongolian attempts to combat the imposition of industrial time I will first discuss the choice many Mongolian men have made to become long distance truckers. Trucking is fascinating because at first glance it seems such an unlikely site of resistance; one is subordinated to a schedule, must keep a log-book, and is GPS tracked. And yet Mongolians argue it offers them a freedom, unlike other labour. In my presentation I will explain how this can be.

Trucking is but one example of LA's Mongolians' withstanding the imposition of capitalist temporalities on their lives. Lacking the funds to purchase permanent spaces of their own Mongolians are heavily reliant on public spaces, like parks, to hold cultural celebrations. However, my research suggests that even these spaces permitting processes are shaped by capitalist logics. Despite this, I argue that the ways Mongolians use the space resists attempts at routinization and standardization.