HUMN 1301: Humanities
Through the Arts
Aesthetic Encounters
on the Silk Roads
GPC
• 3rd largest in the University System of Georgia
w/ 23,000 students
• Five campuses around metro Atlanta
• Dunwoody Campus is the fastest growing with
10,000 students
• We have 3 East-West Center fellows at Dunwoody
• Cultural Diversity: more international students than any other USG
institution, including African, Caribbean, Eastern European, Indian,
Vietnamese, Iranian, Pakistani, Korean, Afghani, Iraqi, and
• Diversity of Academic Background
• New Chinese language and culture club at Dunwoody campus
Re-designing GPC’s Study Abroad
to China
China-themed Learning Community,
Year of China, and China Study Abroad
• HUMN 1301-200 (CRN 24168) and ECON 2105-204 (CRN 20414) are
joined in a Learning Community for six credit hours.
• The courses are scheduled so that discussions in economics are
complemented by a survey of seven major art forms- film, drama,
music, literature, painting, sculpture and architecture.
• This Learning Community is designed for business majors
participating in the GPC china program: however all eligible
students may enroll.
• The GPC China Program culminates in a five week study abroad
Learning Community in Shanghai, China where SURB 1105 and
ENGL 2111 will be taught. I
• If you have any questions about the China Program, or about this
Learning Community, please contact Prof. Fred Bounds (770-2745153), 404-428-6630,Frederick.Bounds@gpc.edu), or Prof. Liam
Madden(770-274-5547, 770-883-8811, William.Madden@gpc.edu).
HUMN 1301: Humanities thru the Arts:
Aesthetic Encounters on the Silk Roads
Course Overview
• Week 1: Overview: Chinese History and the Silk Routes
• Week 2: a. Introduction to spoken Chinese: U of H’s
“Say it in Chinese” DVD set.
b. Viewing and discussing High Museum video series
on the Qin Emperor’s Tomb.
• Week 3: Analects of Confucius & “The Ethics of Confucian
Artistry”
• Week 4: Mapping the Silk Road: Intercultural Cartographies
and Historiographies (group work)
• Week 5: Presentations (Building a virtual museum—selection
& interpretation)
• Week 6: Midterm Assessment: Objective Exam & Essay
HUMN 1301: Overview (cont.)
• Week 7: Mahayana Buddhism & Chan Buddhist Thought & Practice
a. The Buddhist Art of Dunhuang
b. The Heart-Mind Sutra
c. The Kung Fu Connection & Tai Chi Workshop
d. 845 C.E.
• Week 8: a. Tang Dynasty/Chang An (Cultural Commerce in the
Golden Age of the Silk Road)
b. Prince Pirooz, Yang Gui Fei, Persian Star-Crossed Lovers
& “The Story of Ying Ying”
c. “The True History of Tea”
d. 845 C.E.
• Week 9: Islam & The Silk Routes
• Week 10: The Three Perfections: Song Dynasty Painting as Selfexpression & Dissent
HUMN 1301: Overview (cont.)
• Week 11: a. Khublai Khan, The Il-Khanate & Marco Polo
b. Music
• Week 12: a. Ming China & The Voyages of Zheng He
b. Film
• Week 13: Discussion & Evaluation of Virtual Museum Exhibits
• Week 14: Review for Final Exam & Exit Conferences
Co-curricular activities include:
• Guest lecturers from local experts
• Decatur Book Festival
• Annual Teaching the Middle East Workshop (USG)
• Atlanta Asian Film Festival
• Visit to Hindu Temple , Lilburn GA
• Dragon Boat Race
• Dunwoody Campus Chinese Language & Culture Club
Texts
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Analects of Confucius (Norton selections & Ames)
“Ethics of Confucian Artistry”
Tang Poetry (Norton Selections)
Chan Buddhism (Hershock)
“The Heart-Mind Sutra”
The Monkey and the Monk (selections from Anthony Yu)
Life Along the Silk Road (selections from Whitfield)
Religions of the Silk Road (selections from Foltz)
Silla, Korea, and the Silk
Reality Through the Arts, Spore
Non-Western Art: A Brief Guide, McKenzie
High Museum
Sinescope
Types of Assignments
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Assigned Readings
Group Work (Mapping & Inventorying “Art”)
2 Aesthetic Encounter Reports
Midterm: objective and essay
Virtual Museum Exhibits & Critiques
Final Exam (objective and discussion)