Class Description
While often remembered for conquest and destruction, the Mongol Empire also enabled remarkable cultural exchange, diplomacy, and innovation across Eurasia. This seminar explores the Mongol Empire as a powerful force of transformation in the premodern world. Rather than focusing on modern borders, it examines the vast zones of interaction created by Mongol expansion—from China to Persia, Russia to the Middle East. Students will study military strategies, administrative systems, and the empire’s long-lasting impact on art, science, religion, commerce, and even cuisine. Through historical texts and material culture, we’ll reconsider the Mongols not just as conquerors, but as connectors of civilizations.
Nina Wieda is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University. Her MA in Nationalism Studies from Central European University and PhD in Slavic Literatures from Northwestern inform her interest in the cultural history of Eurasia. A native of the Caucasus coast just across the Black Sea from Istanbul, she has also taught at Middlebury College.
What to Expect
Format: In Person
Class Capacity: 28
Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged
Materials List
No Required Materials
A Brief Syllabus
- The Steppe World Before Genghis Khan
- The Rise of Genghis Khan
- Conquest and Catastrophe
- Governing the World: Law, Administration, and Religion
- Trade, Travel, and the Pax Mongolica
- Collapse, Legacy, and Reinvention
Cost and Registration
This class is full, but you can still register for the waitlist on Learning Stream.
6 Sessions, $270 ($243 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($270), Community Supported ($250), and Sponsor ($290). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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