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IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 1040: Exploring the Blurred Boundaries between History and Fantasy across Medieval Eurasian Cultures

Wednesday 8 July 2020, 09.00-10.30

Organiser:Fumihiko Kobayashi, Independent Scholar, New Jersey
Moderator/Chair:Hyunhee Park, Department of History, John Jay College, City University of New York
Paper 1040-aBetween History and Legend: Contemporary Portrayals of Genghis Khan from East and West
(Language: English)
Margaret Kim, Department of Foreign Languages, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Mentalities
Paper 1040-bIlkhanid Chinoiserie and East Asian Utopias in Islamicate Culture
(Language: English)
Kaveh Hemmat, Department of History Philosophy & Theology Benedictine University Illinois
Index terms: Art History - General, Historiography - Medieval, Islamic and Arabic Studies, Political Thought
Paper 1040-cChinggis Qan and a Revival of Legendary Unicorn Jiaoduan 角端
(Language: English)
Paehwan Seol, Department of History Chonnam National University Gwangju
Index terms: Geography and Settlement Studies, Historiography - Medieval
Paper 1040-dAn Exploration of Unburnable Material Lore that Eurasian Traders Brought to Medieval Japan
(Language: English)
Fumihiko Kobayashi, Independent Scholar, New Jersey
Index terms: Folk Studies, Historiography - Medieval
Abstract

This session explores the blurred boundaries that lie between history/reality and fantasy/unreality by focusing on some of the bizarre yet verisimilar stories considered by us today to be either historical episodes or artistic creations in medieval times. Although such boundaries do not always disturb our understanding of history, they often help us to look deeply at people's experiences of an event. Focusing on medieval Eurasian cultures found in Europe, Central Asia, Muslim states, and East Asia, this session lays the ground for reconsidering the compatible spaces that lie between history and fantasy, which inspire our curiosity about people's daily-life experiences.