SATURDAY UNIVERSITY LECTURE SERIES
TEA TIMES: CULTURES, COMMERCE, AND CONFLICT

The history of tea is steeped in philosophy, literature, art, and world trade. Take an in-depth look at wild plants, distinct pleasures, and imperial exploitation as eight scholars present a few remarkable moments from the long story of tea.

Tea Horse Road: China’s Ancient Trade Route to Tibet
Pu’er tea and cultural exchange
Speaker: Selena Ahmed, Montana State University

Journey to Yunnan, the motherland of the tea plant and producer of pu’er tea, and along the world’s oldest and highest tea trade route, with photography by Michael Freeman. Dr. Ahmed will explore the rich cultural practices and biological diversity of the lives and landscapes touched by the exchange of tea, along with issues related to sustainable farming, human wellbeing, and global climate change.

OTHER LECTURES IN THIS SERIES

OCT 1

The Origins and Spread of Tea-drinking in China and the World

OCT 8

Buddhism and the Invention of Tea Culture in Medieval China

OCT 15

Engaging the Object: The Art of Tea in Sixteenth Century Japan

OCT 22

Tea Horse Road: China’s Ancient Trade Route to Tibet

OCT 29

No Lecture

NOV 5

Consuming Empires, Consuming Desires: Images of Tea Times and Tea Labors

NOV 12

The Power and Pleasure of Tea Bowls in Japan

NOV 19

Tea Revives the World: Advertising a Global Commodity during the Great Depression

NOV 26

No Lecture

DEC 3

Can a Plantation Be Fair? Paradoxes and Promises of Fair Trade in Darjeeling, India

Saturday University is presented in partnership with the University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies and the Elliott Bay Book Company.