The Silk Roads: Arts, History and Exploration

A Royal Asiatic Society Summer School

July 8, 2019 – July 11, 2019
The course costs £600; go here to find more information on the programme and contact information

Royal Asiatic Society, 14 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HD

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In July the Royal Asiatic Society will be running a four day course entitled The Silk Roads: Arts, History and Exploration. The course is intended for a general audience, with spaces limited to 12–15.

The influence of the interactions enabled by the Afro-Eurasian trade routes known as the Silk Roads are much in discussion today, especially with China’s Belt Road Initiative. But what is the story of the Silk Road? Does such a concept make sense? What does it mean in terms of the history and arts of pre-modern Afro-Eurasia?

In this four-day course, leading scholars on the historical Silk Road will introduce the term, its history and the twentieth century explorations which brought the role of central Asia to the fore. The course will then look in some details at aspects of Silk Road art and technologies: silk production, books and printing, glass, ceramics and metalware. The participants will have the chance to see original manuscripts and books at the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society, introduced by their curators.

This is a course intended for a general audience. No prior knowledge is required, although a short bibliography will be supplied for those wishing to do some reading in advance. The group will be limited to 12–15 people and therefore there will be ample opportunity for questions and group discussion.