Heartland of the Silk Roads

In six weeks, we will traverse the entire length of the silk-road trade routes, stopping at important cities, oases, and religious sites in Central Asia for detailed information regarding languages, commercial exchanges, cultural and intellectual institutions, political forces, and belief systems. These hubs of long-distance cooperation and competition contributed significantly to the integration of Afro-Eurasia and formed the early stages of what we now refer to as “globalization.”

Millward, James A., The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0199782864

Bill Hammond has long been fascinated by the sheer size and diversity of Central Asia, stemming from my years of teaching high school world history courses. This class offers interdisciplinary opportunities to explore a little-known part of the world and to revel in its rich legacies of art, science, and spiritual development.