Seascapes of History

This seminar explores the recent “oceanic turn” in history, examining how and why the sea and the maritime matter to interpretations of the past. Key readings will include general works that theorize new maritime history and thalassography, and studies focused on the history of specific oceanic and maritime areas (e.g. the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean), which illuminate sub-themes such as migration, colonization, empire building, trade, sailors’ culture, piracy, cultural attitudes toward the sea, religion and sea, and maritime environmental history. Readings will be drawn from a wide range of chronologies as well as geographies.