The Silk Road: cultural interactions and perceptions
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| CLAR3085 | Classics and Archaeology | 3 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- CLAR3085
- School
- Classics and Archaeology
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
This discipline-bridging module will involve colleagues from across the three University campuses. The Silk Road will be presented as a range of archaeological, historical, geographical, political and scientific themes. Broad cultural themes will be balanced with the presentation of specific case studies, such as the Roman, Byzantine and (medieval) Islamic Silk Roads and their links with e.g. the Tang and Ming dynasties along the networks which made up the terrestrial and maritime silk and spice roads.Later examples will also be considered to provide a balance. The ways in which Silk Roads can be defined such as a consideration of trade and exchange of a wide range materials across central and eastern Asia will be considered. Furthermore scientific analysis and its role in the interpretation of trade and exchange will be considered between for example China, central Asia , Scandinavia and the Middle east. Nineteenth century and more recent perceptions of the Silk Road will be considered too. This cross-disciplinary approach will focus on a range of geographical areas during a range of time periods. Movement of peoples and things will therefore be considered from a wide range of viewpoints producing mutually enriching studies set in global contexts.
Target Students
As a School of Humanities module this is available to all second and third Year single honours and joint honours students in all the School constituent departments, subsidiary students and subsidiary students from other Schools. As a tri-campus module it is available to second and third year students in UNNC and UMC. Available to postgraduate students taking the Special Topic in Classics and Archaeology. This module will be of particular relevance to students studying archaeology, history, theology and classics. It will also appeal to any student with an interest in world archaeology, history and the concept of globalism.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 10 weeks
- One 1-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
Assessment
- 50% Coursework 1: 2500-word essay
- 30% Presentation: Documentary video
- 20% In-class Exam (Written): In-class online quiz
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
The Silk Road is an excellent example of a series of linked communities across a wide geographical space. The connections between them changed at different times. This discipline-bridging module aims to develop an appreciation of how the different disciplines that focus on the Silk Road overlap and inter-relate with each other. Thus scientific and non-scientific disciplines will be combined. An example is the combination of the contributions from history, archaeology, geography and archaeological science. The second aim is to illuminate and inform the ways in which the movement of peoples and things along the Silk Road occurred over time and helped to define it. Interpretation of the evidence is frequently not particularly straightforward. A third aim is to make students ask questions about the evidence that they are presented with from a range of different disciplines and to critically asses it. A fourth aim is by the end of the module students will have developed a knowledge of discipline-bridging methodologies gained from a number of case studies that students rarely encounter in other modules across a very broad swathe of time up to the present day Belt and Road Initiative.Learning Outcomes
A student who completes this module successfully should be able to answer questions related to a series of ways of approaching the Silk Road. The student will develop an understanding of historical, archaeological, scientific, geographical and contemporary perceptions of the Silk Road. The module will challenge intellectual understanding of individual site studies as against connected communities and the ways in which different types of data can be used to support the interpretations. The student will develop a clear understanding for why discipline-bridging is used and the types of results that can be expected. The student will also appreciate why specific techniques are used to investigate the evidence.
Intellectual
Students should be able to think in a cross-disciplinary way, bringing together contrasting data sources to interpret the origins and movement of people and things. They will also become aware of how such a Route was and is perceived, underlining cultural differences and similarities. They will be able to answer research questions in the investigation of similarly connected communities in other geographical areas and during different time periods.
Practical and professional
Students will develop further the bibliographic and writing skills gained in the first year of their degrees and in addition digital skills as a result of creating their own documentary video.
Transferable (Key) skills
Students will learn to discuss and debate interpretations and defend their ideas orally in a large group situation. They will develop problem solving abilities and their critical assessment of the various approaches to answering the same question. They will also learn about a range of techniques involved in discipline-bridging in the study of the Silk Road.