As we wrap up this semester, I wanted to reflect on what I’ve learned in this class, since I’ve had more fun and amassed more research skills with this course than any other I’ve ever taken. Besides a profound appreciation
Some final (ish) thoughts….
In the beginning we wanted to know what transnational history was and to pin down a definition; then we realised that we shouldn’t seek a rigid definition and instead should keep what transnational history was as a fluid concept; now
Two Months On – What Do I Think?
Admittedly, after two and a half months of studying this module, I still would not be able to give a clear definition of what ‘transnational history’ is. However, unlike when I started this module, I think now I actually find
Final Words
With the presentations complete, and now on the home stretch for this module, I’m attempting to think once again about the age old question of what is transnational history. Way back in Week 1 we read Patricia Clavin’s ‘Defining Transnationalism’
Closing Thoughts on Collaborative Work
My final post about my 18th century transnational sailor clothing project involves the topic of collaboration, something which I believe will increasingly become (and should be) the norm for historical research, and without which my own project would have been
Conclusions So Far…
It’s weird to think that this is the last blog post of the semester. It’s all gone so quick. I have been researching my project for several weeks now and have a fair amount of source material to work from,
Panama Papers and a Hong Kong Surgeon in Aden
As the final post for this module, and partly (well, mostly) due to a lack of time to scour through journals for interesting articles, I decide to situate it within the present, letting my mind roam free in search for
A (hopefully) ‘non-boring’ reflection on ‘Learning Outcomes’
For me, life is about people. This goes for my interests in history as well as in life. This post is a brief reflection on my ‘Learning Outcomes’ from the MO3351 module. Reading the ‘Learning Outcomes’ section of any handbook
A bit behind the times but here’s some thoughts on microhistory.
So I’ve been catching up on the material on microhistory, from a seminar I missed, whilst writing my short essay. I decided I really ought to go over the microhistory material since I feel like my project may end up
All Questions, No answers? Leaving it Open
[Collaboratively written by David Bor, Johanna Bokedal and Cecilia Nicholson] As a collective group we have decided that sometimes answering questions is something that can be tackled more effectively once we pool the questions together. This allows us to
How Transnational History can Enrich Colonial History
[Co-authored by Feng Bo and Yu Shi) Edward Said’s text ‘Orientalism’ has become exceptionally famous in terms of promoting the negatives of colonial history. The ideas of the ‘Self’ and the ‘Other,’ have led to a lot of focus on
Primary Sources in Transnational History
[NB: Post co-authored by Maitreya and Kṣitigarbha] For both of our projects, we both have a lot of thoughts on primary sources in particular. How do we find enough source material? Will the availability of primary sources affect our potential for
Finally Embracing Transnationalism
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