In the days since the ‘Unconference’ I have been exploring the possible developments of my ideas surrounding transnational alcohol smuggling into the USA during Prohibition. What I have found are a wealth of both primary and secondary sources, convincing me
Unconference Aftermath: Globalization and Sport
After an intellectually rigorous but stimulating day at the Unconference today, my ears are ringing with some fantastic ideas from my fellow students. Everything from ’the scourge of sectarianism’ to ‘hosing whisky’ was mentioned today, and I eagerly anticipate hearing the presentations
The Nation, a Construct of the Global
Last week discussion of the role of nation proved personally challenging. Having struggled with determining where the nation was situated in a previous post, and with great thanks to Dr. Lawson’s metaphor, Sebastian Conrad’s Globalisation and the Nation in Imperial Germany further helped
Globalisation Revisited – 21st Century Millennialism?
The accepted narrative of globalisation places it as a phenomenon born out of post-Cold War American capitalism; a creation of the late twentieth century manifested in the inescapable homogenising successes of McDonalds, Apple and liberal democracy. However, as Conrad, Tyrell
Transnational History and the riddle of how to connect the Matryoshkas
In last week’s seminar we discussed (among other points) the role of the nation and modern-nation state in trans-national history. Questions were raised – as in some of the blog posts – as to how the nation-state interconnects with other
National Identities and Interconnectedness
Sebastian Conrad stated in the introduction of his book, Globalization and the Nation in Imperial Germany, that it is generally assumed that nation states existed before there were interconnections between peoples of different nations. The issue with this assumption though is that
The transnational histories of nations
The reaction against the ‘nation-state’ paradigm as the inevitable status quo has become well entrenched in recent historical discourse. Gellner’s and Anderson’s seminal works in the 1980s have spawned a plethora of re-evaluations of how we can conceptualise the world.
Transnational History & Migration Studies
It is unsurprising that transnational history, a field obsessed with mobility, has much to offer to the study of migration. As we briefly discussed in last week’s seminar, transnational history allows us to move beyond the simplistic analysis of international
Preserving Clarity in Transnational History
If transnational history is intended to ‘destroy containers’, to borrow the phrasing of Dr Struck, then we must be careful to ensure that we are not simply replacing one set of obstructive and dogmatic terms with a newer yet similarly
Is transnational history dependent on the nation?
Transnational history is an elusive term. It’s perhaps an attractive concept because of the difficulty in citing an exact definition, but its potential and creativity is crucial to its interpretation. Freed from the constrictions of an “intellectual straitjacket”, I am
Transnational History and the Nation-State
From Jan Rüger’s brief article on the challenges of studying transnational history, I found his point on nation-states quite intriguing, and perhaps a little surprising at first. After reading many articles critical of the construct of the nation-state in my
The Relationship between Transnational & Global History
The broad schools of transnational and global history often arise side by side in historical debate, but to equate the two is to ignore the fundamental questions surrounding the definitions & applications of these still emerging fields of study. This
Challenges of Transnational History
It is often cited that there is a danger that ‘Transnational history’ could become a buzzword for a new type of international history: a means simply to transcend previous ‘boxes’, such as the nation, region, or locale, and a means
Destroying Containers! The challenge of spatial dynamics
What is transnational history? And what is it about? Some critics have commented that transnational history was a too loose, open and vague concept. Personally, I would defend it – I would defend the openness and vagueness as a strength
Week 1: Soul Searching Introduction
Introducing the module today was less about content (we will get there next week) but on structure, rationale behind the course and its set-up as well as on routines and habits – more the bad ones we are determined to