The Organising Committee appointed by the International Maritime Economic History Association invite proposals for papers to be presented at its 2008 5th International Congress of Maritime History. The Congress will be hosted by the Greenwich Maritime Institute, University of Greenwich, UK and held in the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
All International Maritime History Congresses (1992 Liverpool UK, 1996 Amsterdam
The Netherlands, 2000 Esbjerg Denmark, 2004 Corfu Greece) have adopted as wide a concept of maritime history as possible as an interdisciplinary area covering all historical periods. The aim is to promote and disseminate research into all aspects of humankind’s relationship with the sea from past to present, with an emphasis on the international and trans-national character of maritime history.
Papers will be welcome on a wide range of research areas reflecting the role of the surface of the sea, the undersea domain, the coastal zone and as a cultural resource.
The sea’s surface is a medium for transport: seaborne trade, ports, maritime labour, ships and navigation, shipping companies and shipping-related institutions, such as insurance, finance and international classification companies. The surface of the sea has also been used for power projection, corsair activity and piracy, naval power (including strategy) and technological experimentation. Much of this has also been influenced by the policies adopted by various governments.
The undersea domain includes fishing and related activities, fishers and fishing communities, and the exploitation of the seabed. The maritime environment also involves scientific topics, such as oceanography and meteorology, and is conditioned by government policies regarding marine science and technology in an historical perspective.
In the coastal zone, the interaction of sea and land has been investigated in relation to the development of port cities and their hinterlands, as well as island/port communities.
The sea is also the site for leisure activities: tourism, the sea and coast as regenerative environments and the zone as a focus for recreation and sport in an historical perspective.
Finally, the sea has served as an inspiration for culture and ideology, including literature, the visual and performing arts and concepts of national identity.
Proposals details:
Deadline is 1 December 2006
Participants are invited to submit a short proposal in English indicating the scope of their intended paper, together with a summary of their CV. (One side in total, please.)
Papers from the Congress will be considered for publication by the International Maritime History Association in the International Journal of Maritime History or the accompanying series “Research in Maritime History”.