Travels on the Silk Road

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Travels on the Silk Road

• Funded by a Mellon Inter-institutional Grant
• Kerry Pannell
• DePauw University
• October 13, 2004

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Goals of the Trip

• To provide research and teaching inspiration to
  those in related fields
• To create connections between faculty in various
  fields from several different institutions
• To generate interdisciplinary discussion that
  fosters new thinking about the cultures of the
  region

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Cast of Characters

• Yung-Chen Chiang
• And Jeff Kenney from DePauw (at Gaochang ancient
  city)
• Lisa Overton Morrisette from Denison
• Phillippe Rocques from Vassar (at the sand dunes
  near Dunhuang)

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From Denison

• Susan Tavakolian and Marlee Meriwether from
  Denison (Gaochang ancient city)
• Sohrab Behdad from Denison (in a rug factory in
  Samarqand)

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From Denison and Middlebury

• Bahram Tavakolian from Denison (at a musical
  instrument shop in Kashgar)
• Jennifer Adams from Middlebury College (with Lisa
  Overton Morrisette, at Shahi Zinda)

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Uzbekistan
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Bazaar in Samarqand
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Caravanserai along the Silk Road
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Kyrgyzstan
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Kyrgyz People near the Torugart Pass
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China
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Kashgar (in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region)
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Near Turpan
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Silk along the Silk Road
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Handmade Silk Rugs
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Children Along the Silk Road
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Musicians
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More Characters
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Goals Accomplished

• I learned an amazing amount about Central Asian
  and Chinese history, religion and culture from my
  colleagues
• Revised my syllabus for First Year Seminar
  World Economic History
• Incorporating material on young women working in
  textiles comparing the US (19th - early 20th
  centuries) with women in Nigeria (mid-20th
  century) and Uzbekistan today
• Enjoyed much music and art that I wouldnt have
  been exposed to if I hadnt been there
• Will revise my Urban Economics course to
  incorporate cities in China
• Saw the Chinese economic boom first-hand

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And the Road goes on forever