I am perhaps the only Art teacher in our group....so I must comment that the "ARTifacts" are what shape our understanding of Chinese history (or any history for that matter) and Professor Dube has been doing an outstanding job of complimenting the maps and data with beautiful, pictorial images from the Chinese culture.
I have taught a variety of subjects in my career as a middle school teacher, and I believe it makes me a well rounded instructor, but I always seek to show my students that all subjects have a connection and I am happy to see that Art is providing a huge connection with our understanding of culture in this seminar.
Why is this important?
Contemporarily we know that funding for the Arts suffers, we know that special education students, ELD students and students who simply are visual learners benefit from history lessons where the ART of the culture studied is included. Students can feel, understand and make analysis from historical "ARTifacts" possibly better than they can from a written source of history.
By the way.....I am still dreaming of the giant carved Bhuddas they are floating in my mind's eye tonight....can't tell you the date or the exact dynasty of their creation, but I know I saw the photographs Saturday....it's Monday night almost Tuesday
One of my favorite quotes...."Earth is just EH...without ART."