TOPIC for HIST 600 sec 01 -  FROM MARCO POLO TO THE DRUG TRADE: Silk Road in History

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Described as the world's first great superhighway, linking China and Japan to the Mediterranean World across Central Asia, the Silk Road was a driving force in history.  The peoples along the way not only traded luxury goods, but also ideas, religions, art, culinary and musical traditions.   This course will explore the trade links between East and West, and the art, people and ideas associated with those routes.   Primary-source literature will help us understand the great ideas and movements associated with the Silk Road from the medieval period to the present day.  These include Islam, Buddhism, the Indian royal epics, Christian crusading and Mongol expansion as well as new approaches to travel literature and the dynamics of cross cultural interactions. Course meets History major requirements for Group III and counts toward the Middle Eastern Studies Minor.