This course explores the history of interactions in the period 1000 BCE- 1000 CE between the societies of continental East Asia and the neighboring regions through archaeological remains and transmitted written records. It is organized around case studies of regions whose socio-economic and cultural development was substantively influenced by their contacts with early China, which at the same time shaped the course of Chinese history. These case studies include, but are not limited to, regions in present-day Inner and Southeast Asia (countries contiguous to China on its western and southern borders), Korea, Japan, the Eurasian steppe belt, as well as regions within China today. We will examine patterns and contexts of contact, transmission, and exchange as evinced in changes in the material record and corresponding historical narratives alongside models of social and anthropological theories on which these phenomena may be predicated.
Basic proficiency in Classical and modern Chinese required.
Open to Masters students
Meetings will be held via videoconferencing.
- Trainer/in: Annie Chan
- Trainer/in: Maxim Korolkov