AHA Session 292
Sunday, January 7, 2024: 9:00 AM-10:30 AM
Golden Gate 4 (Hilton Union Square, Lobby)
Chair:
Jennifer L. Foray, Purdue University
Papers:
Comment:
Jennifer L. Foray, Purdue University
Session Abstract
Late-stage European imperialism and the decolonization process witnessed the proliferation of not only new technologies and modes of travel, but also new mentalities around mobility and the accessibility of littoral spaces around the globe. Perhaps the most significant of these spaces was imperialism’s last seemingly uncharted domain: the world’s oceans. This session examines various, yet complementary, facets that comprise the transformation of maritime space during the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries and which mirror the contours of imperial growth and decline within terrestrial spaces. More specifically, these papers collectively explore the meaning and possibilities of maritime sovereignty, understood as both a legal concept and a process by which individuals, organizations, and national governments staked claims to territories and ideas as varied as beachside tourist resorts in former colonies; medical knowledge and practices aboard French merchant ships; and the ownership of oceanic space itself. Presenting new scholarship in the field of maritime/imperial/decolonization history, this panel investigates imperialism and decolonization using an oceanic lens, and invites others working on similar subjects to join this ongoing conversation about mobility, water, and sovereignty.
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