Description

It was on the Silk Road that the East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the 20th century, we will examine how the West has always been linked to the East.

Beckwith describes the great Eurasian empires: Scythians, Huns, Turks, Tibetians, Chinggis Khan and the Mongols and the cultural and economic life of Central Eurasia. The Indo-European migration from the region also affected Greco-Roman, Slavic, Germanic, Persian, and Indian languages and civilizations.

This book and our SDG will place Central Eurasia into a world historical framework.

Weekly Topics

Introduction to the Silk Road and its Peoples
First Regional Empire Period in Eurasia
Material culture; Technology and Trade
Revolutions and Rebellions;
Art and Architecture along the Silk Road
Caves of 1,000 Buddhas in Dunhuang
Third Regional Empire
Technology and Trade – Metalworking; Silk making; Papermaking
Littoral Commerce
Music Along the Silk Road
Religions of the Silk Road - 2 presentations
Travelers, Pilgrims and Explorers Along the Silk Road
Modern Archaeologists and Treasure Hunters
Slaves and Barbarians
Images of The Silk Road and the Future of The Silk Road

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/10/01/seven-years-into-chinas-belt-and-road/

Bibliography

CORE READING:

*Christopher Beckwith Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Asia from the Bronze Age to the Present. (Princeton University Press, 2009)
*Susan Whitfield Silk, Slaves, and Stupas: The Material Culture of the Silk Road (UC Press, 2018)
*Frances Wood. The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia (UC Press, 2002)
NHK Silk Road – 12 videos by Chinese-Japanese television

SUGGESTED READINGS: