HIST 419 Genghis Khan: World Destroyer or Civilization Builder?
Genghis Khan has a fearsome reputation as a world conqueror. But did the empire he created bring destruction to old civilizations, or connections across Europe and Asia that created a new one? This course focuses on this controversial question of historical interpretation in order to introduce history majors to the craft of writing history, or explaining and interpreting the past. In the first half of the course, students grapple with the problem of historiographical debate by examining historians' different views on the effects that Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire had on world history. In the second half, students use their experience dissecting a historiographical debate to write an original research paper on our main subject. The course is open to junior and second-semester sophomore history majors; other students require departmental approval.
Prerequisite
Open to History majors and minors only