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Profs & Pints: Mapping the Silk Road

Profs and Pints presents: Mapping the Silk Road, with Justin M. Jacobs, associate professor of history at American University and editor of The Silk Road, the journal of the Silkroad Foundation.

You probably can thank the Silk Road when you sip tea, write on paper, or watch fireworks burst across the sky. Without it, such Eastern innovations would not have reached the West nearly as quickly to become such an entrenched part of our culture. Join Justin Jacobs, an American University historian of archeology and editor of the journal The Silk Road, for a fascinating talk on this crucial path across the Eurasian land mass and its impact on people, goods, and ideas.

Professor Jacobs will describe archeological finds unearthed along the Silk Road, including evidence of ancient marriage contracts, travelers' phrasebooks, and weapons used by bandits and warriors. He'll discuss the pivotal role played in world history by nomads such as the Mongols, and fill listeners in on the lively debate among scholars over the question of whether Marco Polo actually went to China.

You'll leave with a better understanding of world history and more appreciation of much that spices up your life. (Tickets $10 in advance or $12 at the door.)