Sites of Encounter in World History Resources

Gupta Empire and Srivijaya Kingdom, 300-1200

Workshop series encourages K-12 teachers to explore historical sites around the world

HSS Framework Planning

California History-Social Science Framework for K-12 Public Education

Chapter 11 - World History and Geography: Medieval and Early Modern Times

Curriculum Resources and Planning Guides / UCLA History-Geography Project

HSS Framework Resources / UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project

Grade 6-12 HSS Common Core Standards / California State Board of Education

Primary Sources

Yijing’s Descriptions of Srivijaya (c. 671 to 695 CE)

The Talang Tuwo Inscription from Palembang, South Sumatra (684 CE)

Compiled by Professor Lance Nolde, CSU Channel Islands

Recommended Readings

Hall, Kenneth R. A History of Early Southeast Asia: Maritime Trade and Societal Development, 100-1500. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. (Chapter 4).

Lockard, Craig A. Southeast Asia in World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. (Chapters 2 & 3).

Other Curriculum Materials

Intersections: World Arts and Local Lives - Audio & Lesson Guides / UCLA Fowler Museum

Weavers' Stories from Island Southeast Asia - Videos / UCLA Fowler Museum

Art of the Austronesians: The Legacy of Indo-Pacific Voyaging - Podcasts / UCLA Fowler Museum

Lesson Plans

Art in Action: Textiles of Southeast Asia / UCLA Fowler Museum

Lesson Plans for World History / UCLA History-Geography Project

How did trade connections between the Gupta Empire in India facilitate the spread of Buddhist and Hindu ideas and beliefs in Srivijaya? / UCLA History-Geography Project

Did the Caste System Unite Ancient Indian Society? / UCLA History-Geography Project


Baghdad and Nishapur, 300-1200

Workshop emphasizes medieval Baghdad and Nishapur as sites of global knowledge exchange

 HSS Framework Planning

What Does a HSS Framework-aligned History Classroom Look Like? / UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project

The Futile Quest for Coverage, Part II / Beth Slutsky, Ph.D., California History-Social Science Project

Lecture Recordings

Nishapur: Professor Beeta Baghoolizadeh (Bucknell)

Baghdad: Professor Michael Cooperson (UCLA)

Recommended Readings

Baghoolizadeh, Beeta and Alex Shams, Rustin Zarkar, "Ferdowsi's Legacy Examining Persian Nationalist Myths of the Shahnameh." Ajam Media Collective, 17 Jan. 2013.

Bulliet, Richard W. The Patricians of Nishapur: A Study in Medieval Islamic Social History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972. (Introduction & Chapter 1)

Cooperson, Michael, "Daily Life in Baghdad." In E. Selove (Ed.), Baghdad at the Centre of a World, 8th-13th Century: An Introductory Textbook (pp. 23-29). Theran Press, 2019.

Güther, Sebastian, "Knowledge and Learning in Baghdad." In E. Selove (Ed.), Baghdad at the Centre of a World, 8th-13th Century: An Introductory Textbook (pp. 83-91)Theran Press, 2019.

Curriculum Resources

Excavations at Nishapur / Metropolitan Museum

Artifacts from medieval Nishapur / British Museum

Zahak in World War II / Postcards drawn by Kem (Kimon Evan Marengo 1907-1988) for the British Ministry of Information

Historical maps of the Middle East / Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago

Other Curriculum Materials

Teaching the Middle East: A Resource for Educators / University of Chicago Library

Rethinking the Region: New Approaches to 9-12 U.S. Curriculum on the Middle East & North Africa / teach-mena.org

Lesson Plans

Daily Life in Mediaval Nishapur from Art of the Islamic World: A Resource for Educators / Metropolitan Museum

Common Core Math and Islamic Art / Philadelphia Museum of Art

Islamic Art and Geometric Design: Activities for Learning / Metropolitan Museum

How was the city of Nishapur a site of encounter? / UCLA History-Geography Project

How does poetry help us understand how people thought and felt in 1200s-1300s Southwest Asia? / UCLA History-Geography Project

What is the significance of Islamic navigation tools? / UCLA History-Geography Project


Malacca and Ottoman Empire, 1400-1800

Tracing global convergence and interconnection from Malacca & Ottoman Empire

 HSS Framework Planning

Year Course Map/Unit Guides for 7th Grade History / UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project

Sites of Encounter Course Map for 7th Grade / UCLA History-Geography Project

C3 Inquiry Design Model Unit Planning Guide / UCLA History-Geography Project

Lecture Recordings 

Malacca: Professor Leonard Andaya (University of Hawai'i at Manoa)

Ottoman Empire: Professor Nina (Ergin) Macaraig

Recommended Readings

Andaya, Barbara Watson and Leonard Andaya. A History of Malaysia, 3rd Edition. New York/London: Palgrave Macmillan Press, 2017.

Andaya, Barbara Watson and Leonard Andaya, "Malacca: Cosmopolitan Trading Port of the Early Modern World (1400-1824)." In A. Mackinnon and E. Mackinnon (Ed.), Places of Encounter: Time, Place, and Connectivity in World History Volume I. Routledge, 2012.

Ergin, Nina, "Costantinople/Istanbul: A Vortex of Peoples and Cultures (324-1500)." In A. Mackinnon and E. Mackinnon (Ed.), Places of Encounter: Time, Place, and Connectivity in World History Volume I. Routledge, 2012.

Other Curriculum Materials

When the World Came to Southeast Asia: Malacca and the Global Economy / Education about Asia by the Association for Asian Studies

Maritime Southeast Asia: Not Just a Crossroads / Education about Asia by the Association for Asian Studies

Writing Regional and National Histories in Southeast Asia - Video / Cornell Southeast Asia Program Golay Lecture 2015 with Barbara Watson Andaya and Leonard Anadaya 

Indonesian Food and the Early Modern Period - Video / UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies Panel with Barbara Andaya (UH Manoa), Leonard Andaya (UH Manoa), and Peter Lape (University of Washington)

The Sociopolitical World of Ottoman Hamams - Nina Ergin / Ottoman History Podcast

The Ottoman Empire's Sonic Past - Nina Ergin / Ottoman History Podcast

Social Histories of Ottoman Istanbul - Ebru Boyar & Kate Fleet / Ottoman History Podcast

Lesson Plans

Melaka: Bridging Global Citizenship and World Heritage / A Teacher's Guidebook by Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding

Global Asia: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow / A Teacher's Guide by University of Washington and The Seattle Times

Maritime Asia: War and Trade / Developed by Professors Adam Clulow and Xing Hang and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University

In what ways did trade in Malacca promote cultural diversity? / C3 Inquiry Design Model Lesson / UCLA History-Geography Project

Lesson Plans on Turkey / Turkish Cultural Foundation


Quetzaltenango, Marrakesh, and Dunhuang, 1000-1400

HSS Framework Planning

Sites of Encounter Blueprint / UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project

Making History Modules / UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project

Lecture Recordings 

Quetzaltenango: Professor Floridalma Boj Lopez (UCLA) and Willy Barreno  

Marrakesh: Professor Allen James Fromherz (Georgia State University)

Dunhuang: Professor Diego Loukota (UCLA)

Recommended Readings

"They Left Guatemala for Opportunities in the United States. Now They Want to Help Others Stay" / Ciara Nugent / Times

"The Stargazers" / Joshua Sokol / Science

Alberto, Lourdes, "Coming Out as Indian: On being an Indigenous Latina in the US." Latino Studies 15.2 (2017).

Fromherz, Allen James, "Marrakech: The Founding of a City." In The Near West. Medieval North Africa, Latin and the Mediterranean in the Second Axial Age. Edinburgh University Press, 2016.

Hansen, Valerie. The Silk Road: A New History. Oxford University Press, 2016.

Other Curriculum Materials

Mapping Indigenous LA / UCLA American Indian Studies Center

Reimagining Latinx / Video Series / UCLA History-Geography Project

Native Knowledge 360 / National Museum of the American Indian

Towards a Black History Framework / Video / UCLA History-Geography Project Lecture by Professor LaGarrett King, University at Buffalo

Digital Dunhuang / Dunhuang Academy

Sounds of the Silk Road / American Museum of Natural History

Cave Temples of Dunhuang / Getty Museum & Getty Research Institute

Lesson Plans

How to write a land acknowledgment statement / Amanda Sandoval @historysandoval

How does Quetzaltenango invites us to reimagine how we connect to a place across time? / Vanessa Herrera / UCLA History-Geography Project

What might we learn from native peoples of the Americas about sustainable farming and caring for the environment? / Middle School LatinX C3 Inquiry Design Model Lesson / UCLA History-Geography Project

How did encounters in Marrakesh spur innovations in the early modern world? / C3 Inquiry Design Model Lesson / UCLA History-Geography Project

Primary Sources & Activities on the city of Marrakesh / Compiled by Professor Allen James Fromherz, Georgia State University

Dunhuang Cave Day Lesson / Shane Manley, UC Berkeley Institute for East Asian Studies

International Dunhuang Project




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Published: Friday, November 1, 2019