本課程的主題為蒙古帝國，它於十三世紀初由成吉思汗所建立，是人類歷史上最大的陸上帝國。這門課將會介紹蒙古人獨特的草原游牧文化，它又如何轉化為蒙古人軍事的優勢，以及其奠基者成吉思汗如何在這個基礎上再加上攻城技術與政府制度。即便在成吉思汗過世後，其子孫持續擴展蒙古帝國的領土，並且引入東亞與中東的制度，建立起獨特的蒙古政治制度。我們也會探討蒙古帝國對世界歷史的影響。
　　歷史上有許多著名的作家都述及蒙古征服史。除了大衛‧莫爾根的《蒙古人》一書與梅天穆的《世界歷史上的蒙古征服》等教科書以外，學生們還會閱讀中國、歐洲與阿拉伯旅行家的遊記，還有《蒙古秘史》等重要著作。另外也會介紹近代學者如何分析蒙古時代的攻城戰。學生們因此有機會對蒙古帝國的不同觀點做比較。另外課堂上也會播放俄國導演謝爾蓋‧波德羅夫執導的電影《鐵木真：開天闢地》（2007）作為輔助教材。
This course is an introduction to the Mongol Empire, founded by Chinggis Khan (known in the West as Genghis) in the early 13th century and is the largest land empire in world history. In this class, we will look at the Mongols’ unique steppe nomadic lifestyle, how it prepared them for military success, and then how Chinggis Khan added rapid adaption to siege warfare and governmental institutions to that foundation. Even after Chinggis Khan’s death, the empire expanded under his sons and grandsons, selectively adding East Asian and Middle Eastern institutions to their own institutions to create a distinctively Mongol style of government. We will also explore the impact of the Mongol Empire in world history.
The Mongol conquest is known through many writers. In addition to David Morgan’s The Mongols and Timothy May’s The Mongol Conquests in World History, we will look at Chinese, European, and Arabic travelers, as well as the famous Secret History of the Mongols written by a Mongol, twenty-five years after Chinggis Khan’s death. We will also look at how a modern scholar has analyzed siege warfare during the Mongol era. Students will thus have an opportunity to compare differing views of the Mongol empire and see how the background of the writers influences their view of the Mongols. We will also watch and analyze the recent movie Mongol (2007) directed by Sergei Bodrov.