HNRS-270 | The Silk Road-Global

Full Title: The Silk Road-Global

Topic Description:

Did globalization exist in the pre-modern period? Can contemporary globalization be traced back to the ancient and medieval period? The Silk Road was the first transcontinental trading route between East and West, connecting the eastern end of the Asian continent (China, Japan, and Korea) to the Roman Empire as it passed through Mongolia, Central Asia, Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean area. Through this long-lasting transportation channel, people not only traded luxury goods and commodities, but also exchanged ideas, religious beliefs, artifacts, various foodstuffs, and forms of entertainment. This course will scrutinize the history, daily life, and material culture of people along the Silk Road from the third century B.C.E. to the sixteenth century C.E. We will trace the steps of merchants, travelers, and monks in order to better understand the multi-facetted and multi-layered interactions of East and West as well as the interdependence of regions and peoples in the pre-modern world; in other words, globalization in a pre-modern context.

Counts as Global? Yes

Topic Approved: November 2017