Why should pupils learn about the Silk Roads?

It has been the same for history teachers all over the country: the dramatic shift in perspective after reading Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Roads. Frankopan’s groundbreaking scholarship transported me to distant lands. His book introduced me to cultures and civilisations previously unknown. I wanted my pupils to venture along the same journey of discovery, with Frankopan’s scholarship as their guide.

Richard Kennett’s keynote speech at the Yorkshire History Forum in 2018 reinforced my belief in the necessity of a customised curriculum. I had encountered a hostile attitude towards immigration and multiculturalism among several of the pupils attending my school. By exposing my pupils to distant cultures and global events in the medieval world, I aimed to broaden their appreciation of the contribution of non-Western civilisations to the modern world. Through their study of the Silk Roads, I wanted pupils to recognise how the interconnectedness of economies, cultures, and societies has brought benefits that pupils often take for granted, such as the principles of mathematics. Above all, I wanted to ignite pupils’ curiosity about the vast world around them and the individuals who had shaped it...