New Lectures in History (300-0-26)
Topic
Nomads in World History
Instructors
Jonathan Brack
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L06: Mon, Wed, Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
In contrast to prevailing stereotypes of nomads as improvised, marginal wanderers or their romanticized depiction as exemplifying a simpler way of life, pastoral nomadic societies had a decisive role in shaping global history. From the late second millennium BCE to the eighteenth century CE, pastoral nomads emerged, often from the fringes of Eurasian civilizations, and wielding substantial military force influenced sedentary states, empires, and societies, from China to the Middle East and Europe. Beyond their military prowess, however, they also functioned as cultural agents. Sedentary people - Chinese, European, Muslim or others - portrayed them as violent intruders negatively impacting their cultures; yet nomads also facilitated and directed the exchange of goods, people, animals, religions, ideas, and technologies across civilizational boundaries, and maintained a relationship of interdependence with their settled neighbors. This course offers a comparative perspective on the role nomadic societies had in world history, spanning the early nomadic empire of the Xiongnu in nowadays Mongolia, Chinggis Khan's universal empire, the Berber Arabs of North Africa, and the Turkish armies in Asia Minor. We will explore how modern historians navigate the paucity of sources about nomads and the polities they established, and untangle narratives predominantly crafted by members of the sedentary societies.
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area