Mark Elliott (Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations)
First-Year Seminar 61M | 4 Credits (Fall 2024) | CANVAS SITE
Friday, 12:00 PM – 2:45 PM
The words Silk Road conjure up images of camel caravans crossing vast deserts and traversing lofty mountains with precious cargoes of textiles and porcelain. From ancient Chinese travelers and intrepid Buddhist pilgrims to plucky Venetians, swashbuckling Swedes, and adventurous Americans, the Silk Road has produced countless storytellers with enchanting accounts of East meets West. But what do we really know about the Silk Road? What if it turns out that much of what we believe about the Silk Road turns out to be a myth? This seminar invites you to embark on your own Silk Road journey, exploring the invention of the idea of the Silk Road, the material and historical reality behind the fabled Eurasian trade routes, and the ways in which different Silk Road stories serve today as artistic inspiration, political capital, and economic stimulus. In the process, we will come to understand the peculiar biology of Bombyx mori, study attitudes toward cultural patrimony, and get hands-on experience in the Harvard Museum collections, where the Universitys own history and that of the Silk Road intersect. The course aims to introduce you to the history of what we know as the Silk Road and to problematize that history in various ways; to expose you to the idea that globalization is a process with no beginning and no end; to challenge you to think about the role of culture in society and politics yesterday and today; and to persuade you that travel is the only way out of the prison of our own consciousness.
Note: Students are required to participate in a trip during class time to the Harvard Art Museums.