From around 750 to 1200 CE, the area we call Central Asia was the origin and the home of a remarkable explosion of intellectual talent in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, psychology, poetry and other fields. Leading figures from this region are still remembered as pioneers of knowledge, and were significantly responsible for the wider “Islamic Golden Age.” It was an era of intellectual achievement unrivalled until the European Enlightenment several hundred years later. Our course will focus on the careers of several central important minds and on the reasons why this region was so productive as a source of cultural excellence.

Format: Class members will give presentations and lead discussions on personalities and topics that they will select from a list prepared by the coordinator. Presentations will be strongly encouraged but not required.

Resources/Expenses: The only necessary expense will be the main text: Historian S. Frederick Starr’s Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from The Arab Conquest to Tamerlane, which is available at Amazon (about $18) and other online booksellers. Other readings will be articles downloadable from the Web at no expense.