The Khan and the Emperor
The Khan and the Emperor: Genghis, Khubilai and the Mongol Empire, 15 April – 20 May 2017: I taught this course at the Oriental Institute in the spring of 2017.
This course offers the student the opportunity to study the history of the Mongol Empire by examining its two most important figures. First, the founder of the empire and the conqueror who began it all: Temujin, later known as Genghis Khan. Second, the last of the Great Khans and founder of the Yüan Dynasty in China: Khubilai, grandson of Genghis. Through these two khans–one a conqueror the other an empire builder–we can more deeply understand the Mongol Empire and trace the lasting impact left by the empire and its greatest personalities.
For more information, see: Course Website
Silk Road Odysseys
Silk Road Odysseys: an Exploration of Central Eurasian History Through Travel Literature, 23 April – 28 May 2016: In the spring of 2016, I taught a course for the Oriental Institute which was open to registration by the public.
Course Materials for Students
This course is designed to introduce the intrepid student to the complex and fascinating history of Central Eurasia through vicarious adventures on the so-called Silk Road. Whether you are seeking to discover a new body of travel and adventure literature, or only vaguely know where Central Eurasia might be—or even if you are already on your way to becoming a Central Eurasia expert and are hoping to spend more time with the sources—you’ll find what you’re looking for in the Silk Road Odysseys course. We’ll structure our six-week course thematically, approaching the history of Central Eurasia by way of the most important issues and problems in this rich subject. Our readings will be selected from the earliest, incredulous records of distant, strange lands; through rich medieval travelogues that have made the Silk Road famous; to the modern travel writers searching for a lyrical past by submerging themselves in the contemporary realities of modern Central Eurasia.
Introduction to the History of Central Eurasia 1
In conjunction with the goals of the Committee on Central Eurasian Studies and a perceived need for general courses on the history of Central Eurasia, I designed this course as a survey of the history and methods of studying Central Eurasia. This course was the first of a two-quarter sequence, surveying the history of Central Eurasia from pre-history to the Russian expansion. The second course of the sequence, Introduction to the History of Central Eurasia 2, surveyed the period from the Russian expansion into Central Eurasia up to the present and was designed and taught by a colleague in the Department of History.
Michael J. Bechtel 