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This course centers Uzbekistan and its Central Asian neighbors in the history of the silk roads – past and present. We will trace the paths of the Mongol, Sogdian, and Timurid empires, survey stunning Islamic architecture, and follow the movement of people, goods, and knowledge on the silk roads. We will also engage with environmental history by challenging simplistic narratives of “hydraulic civilizations” and “oriental despotism” to understand the unique adaptations of pastoral nomadism, urban design, and indigenous irrigation systems, among other developments.
This course is for 2 credits as part of a Maymester program.