• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Oceanic Histories

Module description

What happens when we put oceans at the heart of our explorations of the past? This module will demonstrate how studying oceans, seafarers, coasts, ships, and navies can illuminate a wide range of historiographical and methodological debates, from the origins of our globalised world and the development of the nation-state, to the construction of gendered and national identities. Throughout the course – both during the weekly seminars and in your independent work – you will focus on how oceanic, naval, and maritime perspectives can provide alternative interpretations of some of the most important issues of historical analysis. With a strong comparative and interdisciplinary element, the course will highlight how oceanic perspectives have interacted with different national historiographies, and played a fundamental role in the development of world, global, and environmental histories.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module is designed to provide you with a strong understanding of the main themes and approaches in the study of oceanic, naval, and maritime history, from traditional approaches based on the study of geographical explorations and the expansion of individual European empires, to more recent focuses on the interactions and interconnectivity between different imperial and economic systems, the crucial interaction between economic, political and strategic concerns, and social, cultural, and environmental perspectives. It will also introduce you to approaches drawn from other disciplines, from bioarchaeology to literature. British maritime and naval history will be a strong core, but other European and global perspectives will be prominent, fostering the comparative study of both research methodologies and analysis of primary sources in different contexts. Particular attention will be dedicated to how focusing on the sea can provide alternative interpretations of some of the most important issues of historical analysis such as the interaction of state institutions and private enterprise; the development of national and professional identities; defence concerns and economic growth; knowledge transfer; cultural identities and self-perception; and the origins of contemporary environmental concerns including the relationship between oceans and the Anthropocene.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Understand and evaluate key themes and approaches in the interdisciplinary study of maritime, naval, and oceanic history
• 2. Develop detailed knowledge of central debates in the interdisciplinary study of maritime, naval, and oceanic history

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Analyse and synthesise different types of evidence and scholarship
• 4. Acquire a critical understanding of key concepts and debates within and across disciplines

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Demonstrate capacity for independent critical research, study, and thought, including the ability to construct and defend a sustained argument
• 6. Work as an individual and with a tutor and peers in an independent, constructive, and responsive way

Syllabus plan

This will be a team-taught module and the syllabus will vary according to the composition of the module team and student choice. Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Oceanic Perspectives
• Early modern maritime literature and culture
• War at Sea
• Biohistorical narratives and the Royal Navy
• The Sea in National Histories and Identities
• Constitutions, Maritime and Naval Power
• Global and World Histories of the Sea
• The Challenges of Technology
• Maritime Trade
• Maritime Labour History
• Sea and Empires
• The Cultural History of the Sea
• Oceanic history and the Anthropocene

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Sunil Amrith, Unruly Waters: How Rains, Rivers, Coasts, and Seas Have Shaped Asia’s History (Penguin, 2020).
• David Armitage, Alison Bashford, and Sujit Sivasundaram, eds Oceanic Histories (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
• Jerry Bentley, Renate Bridenthal, and K?ren Wigen, eds Seascapes: Maritime Histories, Littoral Cultures, and Transoceanic Exchanges (University of Hawai’i Press, 2016).
• Lauren Benton, A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires 1400-1900 (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
• James Davey, Tempest: The Royal Navy and the Age of Revolutions (Yale University Press, 2023).
• Maria Fusaro and Amélia Polónia, eds Maritime History as Global History (St John’s, 2010).
• Marcus Rediker, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Merchant Seamen, Pirates and the Anglo-American Maritime World, 1700-1750 (Cambridge University Press, 1987).
• Martin Robson, A History of the Royal Navy: The Seven Years War (Bloomsbury, 2015)
• Laura Rowe, Morale and Discipline in the Royal Navy During the First World War (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
• Philip Steinberg, The Social Construction of the Ocean (Cambridge University Press, 2001).

Key words search

Maritime history; naval history; oceanic history; sea; environmental history; empires; global history.