History of the Silk Road

Foltz argued that “The Silk Road was more than just a conduit along which religions hitched rides east; it constituted a formative and transformative rite of passage. No religion emerges unchanged at the end of that arduous journey.” Choose one of the major religions Foltz discussed in his book (Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, Manicheanism, or Islam) as your example and examine how this religion interacted with and was changed by: 1. Trade on the Silk Road, 2. The other religions discussed by Foltz, and 3. The political entities I described in my lectures. Your paper should be 800-1000 words and must address all three of these aspects.

Your paper must include the following or else you will receive an “F” and you will have to rewrite it:

• A clear thesis (argument) that ties your paper together.
• At least two specific examples from least two of the Foltz chapters that support your argument.

Formatting and other guidelines:

Your paper must be 800-1000 words, doubled spaced using 12 point Times New Roman Font. 

You do not need to use citations for the in-class lectures or even state where the information came from, just treat it as general knowledge. When you are referring to Foltz you may simply cite it in your text. For example, you may simply say “As Foltz said/argued on page 32…” and either follow it with a direct quotation (and then use quotation marks) or simply paraphrase. You may quote text from Foltz, but do not quote more than three sentences from Foltz directly in your paper, instead try to paraphrase what Foltz said.