Maps and images have provided a unique access to many scholarly domains as well as diverse literary and visual genres. We would like to invite inquiry in the topics related to the transmission of representation of space along the Silk Road, for two thousand years the most important connection between the Far East, the Middle East and Europe. "Visual knowledge" has been chosen as the central theme to encourage comparisons in methodological approaches across disciplines such as art history, Asian studies, astronomy, cartography, climatology, cultural studies, geography, history of religion, history of science, Islamic studies, Medieval studies, post-colonial studies, travel literature, etc.

City and country maps, landscape paintings and crude drawings have shaped the perceptions of space and time in singularly complex ways. Astronomical and mathematical sketches have deeply influenced our understanding of the cosmos. Texts and images of deities and saints have merged into many religious traditions. The Silk Road has allowed the transmission of such representations. While scholars have thoroughly studied the transmission of texts across cultures, much less is known on the ways in which visual representation has been copied and adapted to new circumstances -- or faked. A selection of the conference papers will be published with an academic publisher of international reputation.

Venue and Date: University of Zurich, May 14-15, 2004. We hopefully will be able to cover the travel and accommodation expenses of a limited number of speakers.