With an emphasis on matters of artistic exchange, this course delves into premodern processes and patterns of movement which we have now come to know as “globalization”. We will be looking at cultural transmissions through land and maritime trade routes, known collectively as the “Eurasian steppe” and “Silk Routes”, from the early Iron Age to the end of the Mongol Empire’s hegemony in Eurasia. Why do we find Roman glass in ancient Chinese tombs? How did Persian textiles find their way to Nara, Japan? Why did Greek craftsmen settle in the Northern Indian subcontinent? We will explore how trade, war, diplomacy and migration were continuously shaping the artistic, sociopolitical and economic landscapes of Eurasian empires and communities until the end of the 15 th century. Students will view mobility through various new lens by exploring the diffusion paths of artworks as well as music, literature, religions, ideologies and political movements from East Asia all the way to Europe.