grapesThe students in ICI Faculty Committee and New School Professor L.H.M. Ling’s course, “Non-Western Approaches to the World”, organized a research initiative that provides deeper engagement in re-imagining international relations today. An Evening on the The Silk Road  serves  as a context to learn about alternative ideas of what comprises international relations.

Professor Ling’s class  selected food as the lens through which they learned about the social, political, economic and spiritual relations of the past. Cross-cultural interaction on the Silk Road is analyzed by considering four elements: thinking, doing, being and relating. Their research was guided by the following abstract questions by which they thought about the future of the international system:

 

  • Thinking: How did the various peoples along the Silk Road understand difference?
  • Doing: What did they do about it?
  • Being: What was their worldview?
  • Relating: How did their worldview help them deal with Others?

 

The research project and this accompanying blog  to produce a summer short course for June 2015. Students conducting research for this summer short course will not only learn about the Silk Road but also gain practical experience in how to conceive of a course, design a syllabus, and teach it as a trial run during Spring 2014. Through a valued partnership with Chartwells, the university dining service, students will embark on multiple food excursions to learn about sourcing Silk Road ingredients in modern day Manhattan. Check back regularly for more updates….and recipes!