An Introduction to the Possibilities of Global and Transnational History

When I first glanced at the readings for Week 1, I was perhaps even more perplexed than when I knew nothing about the course at all… However, after persevering and delving into the text, the notion of transnational and global history began to dawn on me.

Conrad’s initial quoting of C.A. Bayly’s broad remark – “All historians are world historians now” (Conrad, ‘What is Global History?’, 2016) – again perhaps posed more questions than it answered. As I continued to read, I began to see that Conrad presents Transnational History as a solution, an antidote to the toxic bias of purely national histories. The deeply Eurocentric nature of the modern academic disciplines, coupled with the attachment of social sciences and humanities to the nation, set early modern historical practice on a course to divide, rather than unite, the peoples of the past. A key word that is used by Conrad, “compartmentalisation”, is the limiting factor on connection-making, something that transnational history serves to overcome through the placement of circulation, mobility and exchange at the epicentre of historical studies.

The existence of global history as a process and a perspective, a subject matter and a methodology, indicates the true expanse of connections and interactions that are possible within this field of history. Subrahmanyam’s argument that supra-local connections tend to be focused on the flow of money and weapons, neglecting the transfer of ideas and mental constructs, suggests that there is so much more in the study of connections to be uncovered. Subrahmanyam reveals to us how the link-making of connected histories overcomes the vices of nationalism and historical ethnography, disciplines that serve an important purpose but can be dangerous when used to excess… The expression of similar ideas and notions all over the globe allows us historians to connect peoples that were thousands of miles apart, affirming the idea of global history that we are all connected much more intrinsically than we realise.

Indeed, to be undertaking MO3351 in 2021, when the world is fluctuating on the acceptance and appliance of globalisation, is a unique opportunity. The connections made throughout history, if properly understood, allow us to see how connected we are in the here and now; a realisation central to the ideals of social responsibility and collective stewardship. Felipe Fernández – Armesto and Benjamin Sacks declared, “Global history is the history of what happens worldwide” (Conrad, ‘What is Global History?’, 2016), an affirmation that gives value and meaning to the study of everything historical. The omniverous perspective that this leaves us with, coupled with the focus on link-making and connections of Subrahmanyam, sets up a very exciting semester of enquiry and exploration ahead…