Transnational history: why is it worth doing and what does it do well? Transnational approaches take marginalized people and places and attempt to connect them or understand existing connections in different ways. They illuminate connections which may have been ignored
The Necessity of Hands-On History’
Today was spent on an archival research road-trip to Edinburgh, which gave me plenty of time to think on the bus about what ‘hands-on’ means to me in the context of this transnational course, as well as in my larger
Narrowing down my proposal: why too much beer is bad for your project
Having received feedback from my proposal I have come to the realisation that there is such a thing as too much beer. My previously planned three-tiered approach is going to either be too large for a 5,000 word essay, or
Ideas through a transnational and microhistorical lens
When I decided to explore the transnational nature of the welfare state for my project, the transnational elements I expected to be tracking were the ideas spreading across borders and the networks that facilitated them. However, this is a lot
Proposal Changes
One of the biggest challenges I have had with my project is trying to work out the transnational scope. Studying a world map may not originally come across as national history, but looking at who made the map, and the
Questioning Colonialism in my Project
In reading for my longer project, I have been thinking about its colonial context. A point was raised about terminology in the reading and in the seminar last week, and about what we can consider to be transnational. I feel
Project Update: Structuring Communities
This is just a sort of project update post, so please bear with me as I get all kinds of specific. While I have been able to find ample sources for the nature of Regla de Ochá (RdO) itself, I
The Power of Networks, Actors and Agency
In our class last week we discussed networks, actors, and agency. Networks seem to be an obvious concept and easily discernible in various narratives. Similarly actors seem to be the individuals within networks interacting and engaging in the situations. Agency
The Place of Female Migrant Workers in Biblical and Modern Israel
The story of migrants and refugees is a broad topic that consists of innumerable separate, personal stories. Professor Athalya Brenner briefly highlights several issues relating to female migrant workers through an article drawing surprisingly relevant parallels with the story of
Gathering Acorns Over Break
This past spring break was a welcome opportunity to slide some more bricks into place in the wall of my larger research project on historic maritime clothing, gathering evidence (while canoeing, drinking tea and generally brainstorming). The material is fascinating,
The Transnational Nature of the AGA
What is interesting about material history is often not objects in themselves, but what they infer about their social environments. Using the example of the AGA oven, it can be argued that its transnational nature lies in its links into
Undermining the supremacy of “shared history” and historicising Time
Having been reading Thomas Bender’s “Introduction” to the edited volume of Rethinking American History in a Global Age, I’d like to deepen our previous conversations on the methodology of transnational history, as well as the rationale behind it. We’ve often
Some thoughts on ‘Transnational Movements’
The reading this week has focused on actors and networks. This is particularly interesting for my project as my starting point was the role of African independence leaders as transnational actors and the network of political figures that they were
Agents and Defining Agency (Plus, A Plea for Assistance)
I know we’ve not had our discussion of agents and agency yet, but I had a few quick thoughts I wanted to share. Firstly, I appreciate the basic approach of understanding transnational connections through identification of actors (individuals) and the
Essay Research
I started researching for my essay and found an incredibly relevant thesis from Irena Isbasescu at the University of Amsterdam discussing ‘The European Capitals of Culture: Toward a Common European Identity?” As I approached this topic and even the entire