College Seminar (101-7-28)

Topic

Genghis Khan: History and Myth

Instructors

Jonathan Brack

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L05: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

While he is remembered as a world conqueror whose military campaigns left vast destructions across Asia and the Middle East, Chinggis (/Genghis) Khan also established a durable nomad-ruled empire that transformed the two great civilizations that centered in China and the Islamic world. Under Chinggis Khan and his successors, the Mongol Empire became the largest contiguous land empire in world history, stretching from Hungary to Korea, and from Siberia to Burma. Beyond his reputation as a ruthless barbaric disrupter, Chinggis Khan has also been portrayed as an enlightened, tolerant monarch and visionary statesman.
The course explores the military and political career, conquests, and imperial legacy of Chinggis Khan and his empire, focusing on the world conqueror's changing image, from his lifetime through the 21st history. We will analyze the work of medieval authors, and compare their perspectives with later textual and visual portrayals - from Europe to China and Mongolia - where Chinggis Khan's legacy was suppressed under Soviet influence and later revived as a national hero after the USSR's collapse in the 1990s.
This course is about how the history of Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Empire has been written about and represented. It's also designed to help you adjust and succeed at Northwestern. Studying history develops one's thinking and writing skills and perspective - tools essential for charting one's successful path forward, much as Chinggis Khan did in his time.

Registration Requirements

First-Years Only

Learning Objectives

Students will become familiar with key themes related to the history of the Mongol Empire; Develop skills of historical analysis using secondary and primary sources including texts, images, objects, maps, and more. This includes the ability the evaluate accounts in their historical context and assessing current scholarly discussions and debates; read complex texts "slowly" by summarizing, analyzing, and synthesizing them in order to generate and support writing; in the field of Eurasian and Mongol studies; learn how to generate research questions about the past and evidence based historical arguments

Evaluation Method

participation in class discussions (25%), Map assignment (5%), short paper (3-4 pp., 20%), Presentation on the final paper topic (10 minutes, 20%), and final research paper (5-6 pp., 30

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): Asia/Middle East
History Minor Concentration(s): Middle East, Asia

Class Attributes

WCAS College Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Weinberg First Year Seminars are only available to first-year students.
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required