Without any assigned readings for this week, and the ‘uncomference’ looming, I felt that my blog posting should reflect my journey towards picking a project proposal. This has been a difficult task for me, and I’ve often jumped from idea
Practicing Microhistory
As the debate between Microhistory and Global History is raised this week, I would like to focus on Struck, Ferris and Revel’s article, ‘Introduction: Space and Scale in Transnational History’ as the foundation for contemplating scale in history, then look
The size of the historical lens: Singapore 1915
The 1915 Singapore mutiny is a well-documented event that has somehow escaped the attention of most historians: an issue which Heather Streets-Salter attempts to rectify in an article discussing the global implications of this local event. Divided into two parts,
Micro History and the Dangers of Extrapolating Trends
As much as I always enjoy micro histories, with regards to transnational histories, I have had some hesitations regarding the compatibility of these two historical perspectives. I worry that to apply transnational perspectives to local people and events puts the
The Importance of Scale
When studying history, it is common to think in terms of time; when an event happened and the events that preceded and succeeded it. But to throw in the idea of scale can allow a certain event to be viewed
Micro & Macro
In his article praising the uses of micro-history, Tonio Andrade hits the nail on the head by stating that imagination is the most important tool of the historian. Micro-history, with its up close and personal approach, feeds into the imagination
Ideas to Sources or Ideas from Sources?
It isn’t unusual for a historian to look out onto the landscape of historiography on a particular issue and get the feeling that something is amiss. This can be the spark that sends them into the archives (or their existing
Comparative History (chicken?) – Transnational History (egg?)
It was great to see some of you browsing through last year’s posts, comments, readings – that is precisely the purpose of running “the soul” of MO3351 on this site. Keep going, browsing, interacting with previous students’ thoughts. Now, this week
Transnational Pub Talk – Week 3
GREAT, we did not only have a discussion around migration and the transnational making of post 1945 Germany (Rita Chin) and the USA (Ian Tyrrell) but you also started thinking ahead about your projects. Most of you have already penned
Seeing & Reviewing Week 2
Last week, based on AHR conversation, Clavin, and Rüger’s OXO we had a good discussion (mainly in small groups) around a number of topics – with a number of looses ends. These included: -the relation between nation and trans -the
Writing transnational Europe – adding tomatoes
Back to routines and habits – have you started trying any new routines or braking with old habits? Have you started writing for an hour pre-breakfast for a week? Have you been jogging on the beach following reading Tyrrell and
Finding a transnational scope on French sailor clothes?!
For the past two weeks, I’ve been struggling to define what I could feasibly write about during the coming weeks. From the practical viewpoint of a historian, national topics are appealing; one’s research material is physically closer, in one’s language, culturally familiar,
A transnational ‘City upon a hill’
NB: I haven’t read either reading particularly carefully as of yet, so I may disclaim the opinions expressed here in class tomorrow. When I was in high school I did an American history course (which might have been odd given
Unconventional Approaches to Understanding American History
Ian Tyrrell’s Transnational Nation. United States History in Global Perspective Since 1789 is an innovative study regarding the connections and interchange between the US and the rest of the world during America’s process of development and expansion. It is easy to
Some thoughts on language use in transnational history (inspired by Chin’s introduction and readings from previous weeks.)
*Note: This is an attempt to express a thought that has been bothering me, by tomorrow I may completely disagree with everything I have just written.* I’ve had this niggling idea since last week of this issue of language in