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HISTORY 6533 THE INDIAN OCEAN WORLD Arkansas State University SPRING 2007
Instructor: Erik Gilbert
Office Hours: M-W 10-12
Phone: 972 2137
Email: egilbert@astate.edu
Required texts: Sugata Bose, A Hundred Horizons K.N. Chaudhuri, Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land Anthony Reid, Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce
Additional readings will be available at the library reserve desk and online.
The Course
The idea that the Indian Ocean constitutes a coherent unit of historical study is a relatively new one. In this seminar we shall examine the sources and extent of this unity and consider several explanations for its decline. Our focus will shift from the oceanic to the local to the thematic, all the while keeping the influence of the larger Indian Ocean world in mind.
Requirements
I. Participation
This course will be a team effort. Each of us must do his or her bit to make the class function as it should. You must attend and participate fully in every class meeting. This will require that you come to class having read the weeks readings in a thoughtful and critical way. There is no substitute for careful reading in a class of this type. You will each be asked to lead at least one class and to make several presentations of your research to the class.
II. Written Work
Research paper: The culmination of your work for this class will be a paper of 15-20 pages based on both primary and secondary sources. You must choose a topic that is within the temporal and geographical boundaries of the course. I have appended a list of possible topics to the end of the syllabus, although you need not choose one of these topics. I must approve all paper topics.
To aid you in the process of writing and revising your paper you will make several presentations about your topic. The first will be on Feb 15 when you will present your topic, sources, and the questions you intend to ask of the sources to your classmates for their criticism and advice. The second will be at the end of the semester when you will present your research to the seminar. Copies of your paper will be circulated to each member of the seminar and a member of the class will be appointed to lead the discussion and criticism of each paper.
Weekly Essays:
Each week you will write a paper in reaction to the assigned readings. Your paper should be 1 to 3 pages in length, typed and double spaces. It can be in the form of a commentary, a critique, or comparison. It should demonstrate you understanding of and engagement with the readings, but it should not be a simple summary.
Grades
Your grade will be based upon the following calculation:
Participation 20%
Research Paper 35%
Weekly essays 35%
Presentations 10%
Schedule
Jan 8 Course orientation: Geography and history
Jan 22 Oceanic History Read: Chaudhuri, Introduction; M.N. Pearson, “Littoral Society,” Journal of World History, 7:4 (2006); and from the AHR Forum, “Oceans of History, American Historical Review, 111:3 (2006), Karen Wigen, “Introduction” and Peregrine Holden and Nicholas Horden, “The Mediterranean and ‘the New Thalassolgy.’”
Jan 29 Indian Ocean Unity
Read: Chaudhuri, Chapters 1, Pearson, Indian Ocean, Chapter 1-3 (reserve)
Feb 5 A Muslim Lake
Read: Chaudhuri, Chapter 2, Pearson, Indian Ocean, Chapter 4.
Paper proposals due Feb 5.
Feb 12 A Merchant’s World
Read, Ghosh, In an Antique Land
Feb 19 The Arrival of the Europeans: Read: Chaudhuri, Chapters 4 and 5, Pearson, Indian Ocean, Chapter 5.
In class presentations of research topics, sources, and the questions you will be asking of the sources.
Feb 26 The First Globalization? Read: Pearson, Indian Ocean, Chapter 6 and Gunn, First Globalization, Chapter 10 and Conclusion (reserve).
Mar 5 The Periphery - Southeast Asia Read: Reid, Age of Commerce, all.
March 12 The Periphery - The Swahili Coast Read: Horton and Middleton: The Swahili, excerpts (reserve)
Take home exams due March 8.
March 19-23 Spring Break
March 26 The New Imperialism
Reading: Pearson, The Indian Ocean, Chapter 7; Enseng Ho, “Hadhramis Abroad in Hadhramaut: The Muwalladin” (reserve); Colette Dubois, “The Red Sea Ports During the Revolution in Transportation” (reserve)
April 2 Islands of History
Readings: Gilbert, Dhows and the Colonial Economy of Zanzibar, Chapters 3 and 5 (reserve); Ghosh, “The Town by the Sea” (reserve).
April 9 Contemporary Bombay/Mumbai
Readings: Metha, Maximum City, “Powertoni” and “Black-Collar Workers”
Paper drafts due in class.
April 16 Paper presentations Reading: paper drafts
April 23 Paper presentations Reading: paper drafts
Possible paper topics
This is a new field and you will find that your research is shaped in part by the availability of suitable material in a language you can understand. I am most willing to give you suggestions as to where you might find material for your paper. I also own some books that are not available at ASU’s library that may be of use to some of you. One of the reasons you must start your research early in the semester is that you will almost certainly need to use interlibrary loan. So start thinking about a topic from the first day.
Trade Diasporas You might look at Gujaratis and Cuchis, Hadhramis, or the overseas Chinese. The overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia have been the topic of a great deal of writing, Hadhrami and Indian diasporas are interesting but will take some digging.
Entrepots Aden, Singapore, Malacca, Kilwa, Bombay, Surat, Calicut, and Zanzibar are all possibilities and are very much in the spirit of the course.
Ships and other commercial technology An important and under-researched field. Possibilities include dhows, prahus, jongs, European sailing ships, and steamers, canals, ports, or the interaction between any of these.
Imperialists, explorers, and travelers Lots of fertile material here. Haines of Aden, Raffles of Singapore, James Brooke the White Raja of Sarawak, and Richard Burton all come to mind. Ludovico de Varthema is also a possibility.
The Hajj Some interesting new books in this area, including one that deals specifically with the hajj from India.
Money and credit Trade currencies such as the Maria Theresa thaler, systems of credit, indigenous banking practices would all be good for the economically minded.
Environment and ecology Trade or population and their impact on the environment. Lots of material about the current situation in mines, fishing, and forests, but making this historical will take some effort.
Labor migrations The Indian Ocean slave trade, colonial era migrations of Indian and Chinese laborers, 19th century migrations by Arabs to East Africa, Indian migration to the Persian Gulf in the 20th century, Hadhrami mercenaries in India and Hadhrami migrants to Southeast Asia are all possibilities.
The Portuguese Mozambique, Goa, Malacca, the Estado da India are all possibilities.
The VOC and the East India Company Either would make a good topic and materials on both are easy to find.
Decolonization South Yemen (good topic - lots of Indian Ocean context to it also), India, Malaya, Indonesia, Mozambique, or Zanzibar (great topic - lots of material) would all make good choices provided you are careful to keep the larger context of the Indian Ocean in mind.
The Second World War The Japanese and the Greater East Asian Coprosperity Sphere would be nice in that it brings together the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
Geography of ports You could do some nice case studies of the changing importance of certain ports as economic conditions, silting, shipping technology and such change. A favorite of your instructor.
World-systems theory and the Indian Ocean Perfect for the masochist. Still an interesting topic since most dependency theory and world-systems theory was first put together with Africa and Latin America in mind and its applicability to the Indian Ocean is a hotly debated topic. Good for the grad student preping for comps.
Piracy Always a fun topic. Could take you in the direction of European privateers, or Indian pirates - some of whom played a role in the political life of the Malabar coast, or to Southeast Asia where trade, politics, and piracy all went hand in hand. Another interesting topic would be to look at how the suppression of piracy and slave trading by European navies paved the way for imperialism. |