History of Ocean Science, Technology and Medicine
Historians of science have recently begun to examine role of the oceans themselves in human activity, not just as a pathway between places that matter, but as a place with a history of its own, with which humans have always interacted. In turning their gaze to the other two thirds of the earth's surface, scholars thus acknowledge the oceans as a changeable and changing place, affecting and affected by human activities. This "oceanic turn" is playing out in the humanities broadly, as scholars in many disciplines explore the role of the oceans in human endeavors including labor, culture, politics, industry, law, or literature. Spanning many different periods and regions around the world, this group will examine broad conceptions of oceans across history.
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Consortium Respectful Behavior Policy
Participants at Consortium activities will treat each other with respect and consideration to create a collegial, inclusive, and professional environment that is free from any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
Participants will avoid any inappropriate actions or statements based on individual characteristics such as age, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, nationality, political affiliation, ability status, educational background, or any other characteristic protected by law. Disruptive or harassing behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Harassment includes but is not limited to inappropriate or intimidating behavior and language, unwelcome jokes or comments, unwanted touching or attention, offensive images, photography without permission, and stalking.
Participants may send reports or concerns about violations of this policy to conduct@chstm.org.
Upcoming Meetings
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Tuesday, December 19, 2023 7:00 am to 8:30 am EST
*NOTE SPECIAL TIME*
We're partnering with the International Commission of the History of Oceanography to host a fun and informal reading group of portions of Jamie Jones's new book, Rendered Obsolete: Energy Culture and the Afterlife of US Whaling, with the intention of bringing together scholars of ocean history across Asia and beyond (thus the special time slot!) Readings from the book's introduction and first chapter will be posted in advance of the meeting.
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Tuesday, January 16, 2024 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EST
Anne Ricculli, Morris Museum
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Tuesday, February 20, 2024 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EST
Kimia Shahi, University of Southern California
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Tuesday, March 19, 2024 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT
Elexis Trinity Williams Gray, Cornell University
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Tuesday, April 16, 2024 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT
Alessandra Passariello, Naples Zoological Station
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Tuesday, May 21, 2024 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT
Jonathan Galka, Harvard University, “'The offer which the ocean has given us': The Law of the Sea, the New International Economic Order, and the Promises of Manganese Nodules in the Global 1970s"
Past Meetings
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November 21, 2023
Nancy Ko, Columbia University, "Absorbent Empire: An Ecological History of Sephardic Memory in the Global Dodecanese"
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October 17, 2023
Natalia Gándara Chacana, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, Chile, "Below the waves: the construction of knowledge about the depths of the Southeastern Pacific during the Age of Revolutions"
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September 19, 2023
Robert Batchelor, Georgia Southern University, “Reframing Borderwaters: Marshall Island Stick Charts as Infrastructures”
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July 18, 2023
Helen Rozwadowski, University of Connecticut, "Sounding Ocean Maps for Early Modern Understanding of the Volumetric Ocean"
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NOTE re: downloads: Turn on comments in the PowerPoint PDF to match the figures with the text.)
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June 20, 2023
Jennifer Hubbard, Toronto Metropolitan University, "Colonizing the Oceans: Fisheries Scientists as Agents of Empire in the Pacific"
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May 16, 2023
Ellen Arnold, University of Stavanger, "Dangerous Waters"
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April 18, 2023
Dominik Hünniger, Universität Hamburg, “Unnamed marine animals” – knowledge formation on oceanic microfauna, ca. 1750-1850"
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March 21, 2023
Victoria McAlister, Towson University
“The Herring Speaks: Exploitation of Marine Resources in Medieval and Early Modern Ireland.”
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February 21, 2023
Kunyan Zheng, Trinity College Dublin, "Health from Nature: Medical Knowledge of Marine Fish Fish in England, c. 1540-1700"
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January 17, 2023
Lino Camprubí, Universidad de Sevilla, "Jason and the Argonauts: Temporality, Usability, and Tacit Knowledge in Remote Ocean Monitoring"
Group Conveners
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Penelope Hardy
Penelope K. Hardy is a historian of science, technology, and medicine and an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She studies the historical intersection of technology and the ocean sciences. Her current book project examines a series of nineteenth- and twentieth-century ocean-going research vessels and the cultures and practices surrounding their use. She is also editing a four-volume primary source collection, tenatively titled Knowing the Oceans, 1790-1914: A Global Documentary History, for Routledge Historical Resources.
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Daniella McCahey
Daniella McCahey is an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University, where she primarily teaches on British history and the history of science. She studies the relationship between science and the environment in Polar Regions, especially islands, coasts, and ice shelves. She is the co-author of Antarctica: A History in 100 Objects (Bloomsbury 2022). Her book project, Laboratories at the Bottom of the World, addresses the history of British and New Zealand science in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year.
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Katharina Steiner
Katharina Steiner received her Ph.D. in History from the University of Zurich. She currently holds a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship as a cooperation between the University of Geneva and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her research focuses on the intersection of visual culture and knowledge production. Her book project, Visualizing Marine Biology: Fishermen, Copepods and the Naples Zoological Station, uses the Naples Zoological Station as a case study to show how social organization and work culture shape research programs and scientific products, and vice versa. Her new research project “Depicting Species” investigates the functions and meanings ofscientific imagery and how they changed over time, genres of publication, and audiences.
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