Brock University History 3P60 – Winter 2014
The World of Genghis Khan
Inner Asia since 500 BCE
David Schimmelpenninck
Office: GLN 229
Tel: 688-5550, ext. 3507
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: Thursday 1300-1430, or by appointment
Lectures are on Thursday 900-1100 in TH 241
Seminar 1 meets on Thursday 1200-1300 in MC G310
Seminar 2 meets on Monday 1100-1200 in MC J209
Films will be shown on three Thursday evenings, Jan 16, Feb 27 and Mar 20
in TH 259 1900-2200 (This is the “LAB” on your timetable)
Course Overview
This course surveys the history of nomadic Inner Asia, the area now
comprising Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, and the Islamic republics of Central
Asia. It will provide an overview from 500 BCE to the present. The
approach is chronological, although we will pay considerable attention to
the nomadic worldview and Inner Asia’s encounter with the settled world.
Selected topics include religion (Shamanism, Buddhism and Islam), the
nomadic invasions of Europe and China, the Silk Road, the Great Game,
and modern nationalism.
Hist 3P60 – The World of Genghis Khan
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Requirements & Grading
•
Prospectus – 5% of grade
A 1-page statement of intent for the paper to be written during the term. Must
include full bibliographical citations of at least 5 books, 3 articles and 3 web sites you
plan to use. Due at the start of lecture on February 6.
•
Paper – 25% of grade
A 10-page paper on a topic relevant to the course. Due at the start of lecture on
March 27.
•
Seminar Preparation – 20% of grade
Prepare and lead 1 seminar during the semester.
•
Seminar Participation – 20% of grade
Attendance at seminars is mandatory. You will also be expected to do the
required readings before all seminar meetings and to participate in the discussions.
•
Map Quiz - 5% of grade
A brief test about basic Inner Asian geography at the start of the second seminar.
•
Final Exam – 25% of grade
A 3-hour exam at the end of the term, which will be based on the lectures and the 4
lecture texts (Beckwith, Golden, Morgan, Pommaret).
Hist 3P60 – The World of Genghis Khan
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Housekeeping
•
Students will maintain proper decorum during lectures and seminars. This means
refraining from conversations or any other behaviour that may distract others.
•
As in all classes at Brock, cellphones, smartphones, iPods must always be turned
off during lectures and seminars.
•
You may use computers in class, but only to take lecture notes.
•
I will respond to polite email messages, but cannot always do so instantly. Please
do not worry if you haven’t heard from me within three days.
•
I will consider extensions for medical or personal emergencies, but they must be
substantiated by a doctor’s note or other documentation and will be granted entirely
at my discretion. Emergencies do not include ill-tempered computers, nor the
exigencies of other courses, jobs, or your love life.
•
Work handed in late without my permission will be penalised by 20% of that
assignment’s grade for every 24 hours after the date it is due.
•
I will provide more details about the assignments during seminar meetings.
•
Plagiarism will not be tolerated and automatically results in failing the assignment
as well as a notice on the student’s official transcript. Papers must be submitted to
Turnitin.com before the due date.
•
To pass the course you must get a passing average grade and complete all
assigned work, including the final exam.
•
Two or more unexcused absences from seminars will jeopardise your chances of
earning a passing grade for this course.
Hist 3P60 – The World of Genghis Khan
Lectures,
Readings
and Films
(A detailed list of reserve readings and films is on page 6)
Jan 9
1. Overview
No Seminar
Lecture Texts: Beckwith 1-28; Morgan 5-29.
Jan 16
2. Landscape
3. The Nomadic Alternative
Lecture Texts: Christian, “The Geography and Ecology of Inner Asia” :;
Beckwith 29-57; Morgan 5-29; Golden 1-20.
Seminar – Introduction
Screening of Urga at 1900 in TH 259
Jan 23
4. Of Ayils and Shamans
5. The Barbarians
Lecture Texts: Beckwith 59-92; Morgan 30-48; Golden 21-34.
Seminar
Map Quiz & Nomad vs Settler
Jan 30
6. Attila
7. The Silk Road
Seminar Texts: Beckwith, 320-363; Solovev, “Panmongolism” :
Lecture Text: Beckwith 93-111, Golden 50-62.
Seminar
Herodotus
Feb 6
8. Turkic Empires
9. The Quriltai
Seminar Text: Herodotus, The History, Book IV :
Lecture Text: Beckwith 112-182; Morgan 49-73; Golden 35-49, 63-75.
Seminar
The Secret History
Seminar Text: The Secret History of the Mongols :
+ Paper prospectus due at start of lecture.
4
Hist 3P60 – The World of Genghis Khan
Lectures, Readings and Films, cont’d
Feb 13
10. The Mongol Way of War
11. Mongol Rule over Eurasia
Lecture Texts: Beckwith 183-197; Morgan 72-173; 76-90.
Seminar
William of Rübruck
Feb 20
Winter Break
Feb 27
12. Central Asia
13. Timur
Seminar Text: The Journey of William of Rubruck :
Lecture Text: Beckwith 197-225; Golden 91-105.
Seminar
Tamburlaine the Great
Seminar Text: Marlowe, Tamburlaine :
Screening of The Man who Would Be King
Mar 6
14. Manchus and Kalmyks
15. The Great Game
Lecture Texts: Beckwith 225-240; Golden 105-121; Hopkirk, The Great Game :
Seminar
The Great Game
Mar 13
16. Lamaism
17. Tibet
Seminar Texts: Burnes, Travels into Bukhara :; Ignat’ev, Mission to Khiva and
Bukhara :; Bayani, “The Russian Conquest of Khiva” :
Lecture Text: Pommaret 13-99
Seminar
Tibetan Buddhism
Seminar Text: Fourteenth Dalai Lama, “A Survey of the Paths of Tibetan Buddhism” :
Screening of Kundun in TH 259
Mar 20
18. The Empires Strike Back
19. “When Serfs Stood up in Tibet”
Lecture Texts: Beckwith 241-262; Pommaret 101-127.
Seminar
Liberation or Oppression?
Mar 27
20. Mongolia after Genghis
21. Inner Asia Today
Seminar Texts: Avedon, In Exile from the Land of Snows 35-61 :; Ma, China’s
Minority Nationalities 199-219 :
Lecture Texts: Beckwith 302-319; Morgan 174-206; Golden 122-139.
Seminar
Inner Asia Today
Seminar Texts: TBA
+ Paper due at start of lecture on Thursday, March 27.
4
Hist 3P60 – The World of Genghis Khan
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Texts and Films
1. Required Texts
- These are for sale at the Brock University Bookstore
Christopher Beckwith, Empires of the Silk Road. Princeton: Princeton U.P., 2009.
Peter Golden, Central Asia in World History. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2011.
David Morgan, The Mongols. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007
Françoise Pommaret, Tibet: A Wounded Civilization. New York: Abrams, 2002.
Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Boston: St Martin’s, 2012.
- Recommended. This is the History Department’s guide for writing essays.
2. Texts on-line
John E. Avedon, In Exile from the Land of Snows. New York: Vintage, 1986, 35-61.
Bayani, “The Russian Conquest of Khiva” in Scott Levi & Ron Sela, Islamic Central
Asia. Bloomington: Indiana U. P., 2010.
Alexander Burnes, Travels into Bokhara. Vol. 3. London: John Murray, 1839.
David Christian, “The Geography and Ecology of Inner Asia,” idem, A History of Russia,
Central Asia and Mongolia. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998, 3-20.
Fourteenth Dalai Lama, “A Survey of the Paths of Tibetan Buddhism”
(http://www.lamayeshe.com/index.php?sect=article&id=421)
Herodotus, The History. Book IV (http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.4.iv.html).
Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990, 1-8, 57-76
Sally Hovey Wriggins, Xuanzang: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road. Boulder:
Westview, 1996, 3-50.
N. P. Ignat’ev, Mission to Khiva and Bukhara. Tr J. Evans. Newtonville, ORP. 1984.
Ma Yin, ed, China’s Minority Nationalities (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1989), 199-219.
Christopher Marlowe, “Tamburlaine the Great, Part 1”
(http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1094/1094-h/1094-h.htm)
William of Rübruck, The Travels (http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/rubruck.html)
3. Films
Urga (Nikita Mikhailkov, 1992)
The Man Who Would Be King (John Huston, 1975)
Kundun (Martin Scorsese, 1997)