Silk Routes: Caravans of Gold and Beyond

Date: Wednesdays, Oct 23 - Nov 20, 2019 - 06:30PM - 08:30PM
Final Class: Sat, Nov 30, 2019 - 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Price: $210, $180 Friends, $150 students and seniors (course fee does not include ROM admission)
Half-price parking available during the course.

Join scholar Sudharshan Durayappah for an introduction to the fabled Silk Routes. Drawing from art in the Museum’s Collection and in the exhibition Caravans of Gold, this course will explore the ideas and products that were exchanged along the trade routes from the 7th to 18th centuries and will delve into the central importance of West Africa for the development of medieval global networks. Students will discover how the cultural exchanges of the trade routes shaped our past and inform our present.

This is Part 2 of Cultural Exchange: The Art of the Silk Routes held this past spring, but it is equally appropriate for newcomers to the content. Please note that the final class will not be held on Wednesday — it will be held on Saturday, November 30, from 10 am to 12 pm at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Bio:

Sudharshan Durayappah teaches in the Department of Historical and Cultural Studies at the University of Toronto. The courses he offers include Iconography, Ancient History, Arts of 6–9th Century Silk Routes, and Hinduism in the Diaspora. His publications include contributions to Ritual Innovation: Strategic Interventions in South Asian Religion (2018); World Without Walls: Being Human, Being Tamil (2011); and Sacred Play: Ritual Levity and Humor in South Asian Religions (2010). He is also a history teacher in the Education Department of the Royal Ontario Museum.