The Syrian refugee crisis has brought forth a broad humanitarian response and also some thoughtful pieces from historians. On the “refugee or migrant” question, Le Monde interviewed Gérard Noiriel in a conversation that harked back all the way to the sixteenth century.[1] In the Guardian, Mary Beard commented on how the Roman Empire handled borders […]
Tag Archives | island studies
Call for Papers & Panels for the 7th IMEHA International Congress of Maritime History
The Organising Committee appointed by the International Maritime Economic History Association invite proposals for panels and papers to be presented at its 2016 7th International Congress of Maritime History. The Congress will be hosted by Murdoch University, the Western Australian Maritime Museum and the Australian Association for Maritime History and held at Murdoch University, Perth […]
The Coastal History Blog 18: “Offshore and Offshoring”
In her book Cornish Wrecking, Cathryn Pearce relates an incident from 1755 in which Customs Officers opened fire on a pilchard sloop caught in the act of fishing two casks of brandy out of the water. The sloop fled, but was intercepted at the quay, where combat continued and blood was spilled. It emerged, however, […]
Listening to Port Town People: the potential for oral history research
Oral History is now recognised as a valuable and credible method to engage with and learn about the past.[i] Oral historians indicate that oral history research requires a different set of interpretative practises as it is a source that necessitates historians to directly engage with subjectivity.[ii] The interview is a source created by a shared […]
“It’s Because We’re Just Women.” Listening to Women in Port Town Industries
Following Women’s International Day on 8 March 2014, it is appropriate that the role of women and their voices be given attention. Port Towns are ostensibly about men, masculinity and male bonds of friendship. Men have arguably shaped our understandings of port towns, their projected identity and this has left a lasting presence on the […]
The Coastal History Blog 10: “Crossing the Bay of Bengal”
Sunil Amrith’s impressive new book, Crossing the Bay of Bengal: The Furies of Nature and the Fortunes of Migrants, captures the strengths of oceanic history, with its bold comparative and border-crossing sweep, but also remains attentive to the fine textures and variations of locality that I’ve argued should be a key feature of coastal history. […]
