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Semester 2

Oceanic Histories and Monsoon Cultures: The Indian Ocean, 700-1750 CE (HIST10511)

Subject

History

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed 3 History courses at grade B or above, and please note that we will only consider courses with a specific focus on History (not including History of Art) towards these pre-requisites. We will only consider University/College level courses. **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

Instead of seeing the ocean from the land, what if we looked at the land from the ocean, with a long-term historical perspective? Focusing on the Indian Ocean over a millennium, from 700 to 1750 CE, this course introduces foundational debates and issues in the emerging field of oceanic histories.

Course Description

In Southeast Asia, there is a common expression: "The water unites us and the land divides us". It refers to the archipelagic characters of the mainland and island Southeast Asia, but it also draws attention to the centrality of oceans in connecting humans across time and space. The oceans have historically brought together people from different continents, countries and contexts, similar to a single water body in a deep forest that unites all the animals. On the waters and shores of the seas, many civilizations and cultures have risen and fallen, and thousands of humans have prospered and perished in their insurmountable yet eternal ambition to control the oceanic wilderness. Oceans have been at the centre of world history. After all, oceans cover almost three-fourth of earth's surface. Their impact on the past and present of human life is tremendous as many small seas and big oceans have shaped, and continue to shape, the trajectories of life on earth in significant ways. With a specific focus on the Indian Ocean over a millennium, from 700 to 1750 CE, this course introduces you to some foundational debates and issues in the burgeoning field of oceanic histories. This framework helps us understand the long histories of societies that have transcended national and continental borders and chronological brackets. In the Indian Ocean context, several shared cultures, communities and systems have evolved in coastal Asia and Africa thanks to its peculiar monsoon winds. The discovery of monsoon a few millennia before the Common Era, and the dependence of seafarers on it in the Common Era, created a rhythm in the mobility of ships, people, commodities across in the Indian Ocean. This rhythm immensely shaped the ways in which old and new communities, cultures, and countries interacted with one another. Interrelating oceans and monsoons, this course shall explore the diverse social and cultural dimensions of the Indian Ocean on the basis of essays, books, films and fictions. Through some hands-on experience working with sources in multiple languages from the oceanic region, students will develop a nuanced understanding of the complexities of the region and its historical significance. Additionally, the course will provide them with a long-term oceanic perspective on some of the ongoing global climate changes.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 80%, Practical Exam 20%

Additional Restrictions

Unless you are nominated on a History or HCA exchange agreement, visiting students are only permitted to enrol in two 3rd year History courses each, per semester, before the start of the relevant semester’s welcome period – and spaces on each course are limited so cannot be guaranteed for any student. This includes courses in Economic History and Scottish History. Enrolment in a third course from this group will depend on whether there are still spaces available in the January Welcome Period, and cannot be guaranteed. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact staff within this subject area to ask for an exception to be made; all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. This is due to the limited number of spaces available in this very popular subject area.

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