Lecture
Schedule:
|
WEEK'S
TOPIC |
READINGS
AND DISCUSSION |
TRADE & TRIBUTE: A
THEORECTICAL DISCUSSION
|
|
|
January 9-13:
Course introduction. Tribute and Trade along the Silk Road. |
Reading: Foltz, 1-21. Discussion reading: “Cross-cultural contacts and exchanges” (on e-reserve) Web-based exercise due by Friday
(see p. 3 of syllabus for instructions)
|
|
EAST ASIA: THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT |
|
|
Monday January 16th |
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
Classes dismissed; offices closed. |
|
January 18-20: Chinese Culture. Characteristics of the Chinese Imperial Court. Importance of Central Asia. |
Reading: “Early Chinese Cosmopolitanism” (on
e-reserve) Discussion reading: “Historical Notes on the Chinese World Order”(on e-reserve) |
|
“Practice” Map Quiz #1 |
Tuesday 1/18 |
|
THE SILK
ROAD |
|
|
January 23-February 27: Han Dynasty. Xiongnu and Roman Empires |
Reading: Whitfield, 1-26. Discussion Film: The Glories of Changan |
|
January 30-February 3: The Rise of the Silk Road Trade. Han to Tang
Dynasties. |
Reading: Whitfield, 1-26. Discussion Film: A Thousand Miles Beyond the Yellow River |
|
February 6-10: Religions along the Silk Road: Zoroastrianism, Christianity,
Manichaeism, and Judaism |
Reading: Foltz, 23-36, 61-87. Discussion reading: “The Glory of the T’ang” (on e-reserve) |
|
QUIZ #2, Monday 2/6 |
|
|
February 13-17: Religions along the Silk Road: Buddhism. The Cave
Paintings of Dunhuang and Others. |
Readings: 1. Foltz, 37-59. 2. Whitfield: 113-137, 155-173. Discussion Film: The Art Gallery in the Desert & British
Library Dunhuang images (in class) |
February
20- 24: The Islamization of the Silk Road region.
|
Reading: Foltz, 89-109. Discussion Reading: “Xinjiang: China’s Pre- and Post-Modern Crossroad”(http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/vol3num1/2_xinjiang.php) |
|
QUIZ #3, Monday 2/20 |
|
February
27- March 3: Tibet and Xinjiang's Role in Central Asian
History.
|
Reading: Whitfield, 27-94. Discussion
Film: The Soghdian Merchants. |
FRIDAY, MARCH 3rd
|
FIRST THINK PIECE PAPER DUE
|
March 13,
Monday - Classes resume after Spring Break 8:00 a.m
|
WEEK'S
TOPIC |
READINGS
AND DISCUSSION |
March 13-17: Caravans and Conquest: Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta,
and Kublai Khan
|
Reading: Foltz, 111-144. Discussion
Film: The Dark Castle
|
THE SPICE TRADE
|
|
March 20-24: The Fall of the Silk Road & the Rise of
the Spice Trade. What was the true
nature of Zheng He's Voyages?
|
Readings: Levathes, 19-106.
Discussion Film: 1421: When China Discovered America? (Part
One) |
QUIZ
#4, Monday 3/20
|
|
March
27-31: What was the true nature of Zheng He's Voyages?
(Cont.)
|
Reading: Levathes, 107-203. Discussion Film: 1421: When China Discovered America? (Part
Two) |
|
April 3-7: Pre-colonial Indian Ocean Trade and
Exchange |
Reading: “Shipping and Spices in Asian Seas” (on
e-reserve) Discussion Film: Spice Island Saga |
|
QUIZ #5,
Monday 4/3 |
|
|
April 10-14: Pre-colonial
Indian Ocean Trade and Exchange (cont.) |
Readings: “Trade in the Indian Ocean at the dawn of the 16th
century” (on e-reserve) Discussion Reading: Ibn Battuta (TBA) |
|
|
|
April 17-21: Early Europeans
along the Spice Routes
|
Readings: 1. “Malacca in Malay History to 1641” (on
e-reserve) 2. “The West arrives in Asia” (on
e-reserve) |
|
FRIDAY,
APRIL 21st |
SECOND
THINK PIECE PAPER DUE |
|
April 24-28:
Early Europeans along the Spice Routes (cont.) |
Readings: 1. “Malacca in Malay History to 1641” (on
e-reserve) 2. “The West arrives in Asia” (on
e-reserve) |
|
QUIZ #6, Monday 4/24 |
|
|
May 1: Final Discussion, Concluding Points and
Student Evaluations |
Final
Discussion |
|
MONDAY, MAY 1st |
LAST DAY OF CLASS |
|
MONDAY, MAY 8th |
EXAM DUE BY 3 PM in MCVR 242 |