Photo of multi-level Japanese temple

The Tōdai-ji in Japan (752 CE), the largest wooden structure of the preindustrial world

Expanding the Ancient World Workshop:

Global Connections in the Late Antique and Early Medieval World

Erik Hermans

Villanova University

This workshop will take place online; a Zoom link will be provided via email to registered participants.

Registration is required at THIS LINK.

Expanding the Ancient World is a series of professional development workshops and online resources for teachers. Keyed to the NYC Department of Education Social Studies Scope and Sequence, this program is designed to offer K-12 educators opportunities to develop their knowledge of the ancient world and to provide classroom-ready strategies for teaching the past with reliable sources. Featuring inquiry-based workshops, flexible lesson plans, and up-to-date research, Expanding the Ancient World aims to equip teachers with information and skills that they can share with their students. CTLE credits will be offered to New York State teachers.

During the second half of the first millennium CE, societies across the globe were connected with each other through conquest, trade, intellectual exchange, and climatological phenomena. While some of these connections have reached world history textbooks under the umbrella term 'silk road networks', the actual impact, nuances, and the limits of global connectivity in Afro-Eurasia and outside of it are hard to grasp and even harder to teach. This workshop aims to equip teachers with a nuanced understanding of the extent of global connectivity in the period in question. It will include an assessment of the central and peripheral position of different regions and polities around the world, such as West Africa, Western Europe, the Abbasid Caliphate, Tang China, the Eurasian Steppes, the Pacific Ocean, and Mesoamerica. The workshop will conclude with a discussion of how a grasp of premodern global history informs a proper understanding of global power dynamics during modern centuries.

Workshop led by Erik Hermans (Villanova University).

Participants will receive 1.5 CTLE hours.

If you have any questions regarding the Expanding the Ancient World program please email .

Please check isaw.nyu.edu for event updates.

ISAW is committed to providing a positive and educational experience for all guests and participants who attend our public programming. We ask that all attendees follow the guidelines listed in our community standards policy.