Definitions are tough. ‘Transnational’, ‘Global’, ‘Shared’, ‘Comparative’… the list goes on. However, Sebastian Conrad’s book Globalisation and the Nation in Imperial Germany has enlightened me on the differences between these terms. More than that, this book, particularly its introduction, has
A First Glance at the Transnational Conversation
I’ll be the first to admit it: when people asked me what modules I was studying this semester, I could easily rattle off the titles, but when asked for clarification, I struggled a fair bit to find the right words.
Condensing the Incondensable – ‘Transnational’ History
Upon reading the article Defining Transnationalism by Patricia Clavin, I was immediately mused by the breadth and ambition of what – in no easy terms – is ‘transnational history’. From the perspective of a history student studying at the University
A Precarious Balance
A theme that was consistently signposted throughout our seminar this week was the methodological difficulty that came with doing transnational history. Melinda and Bernhard both said something to this effect: ‘There is no one way to do or define “transnational
What This Module Has Given Me: Final Thoughts
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
Regla de Ochá and Cultural Communities
Regla de Ochá (Santería) is a religion with a rich history, a history that began in slave quarters and now thrives in black communities across the Americas. I will be examining the formation of communities around Regla de Ochá in
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
Scale in Micro History and Global History
I’ll admit that one of the issues I have been having in attempting to envisage global and transnational history and what they might entail is the potential scope of the subjects. At times, it seems that there are so many
Ian Tyrell’s ‘Transnational Nation’
In the introduction, Tyrell begins with a brief outline of the traditional narrative often ascribed to the formation of the United States as a nations. This narrative focuses on domestic developments which championed internal forces over European cultural influence, almost
Transnational Methodology in Rita Chin’s The Guest Worker Question in Postwar Germany
In the first chapter of her book The Guest Worker Question in Postwar Germany, Rita Chin makes an excellent case for the roles played by both Aras Ören and the wider Ausländerliteratur community in the German phenomenon which she calls
National governments as institutions in the study of transnational history
Patricia Clavin emphasizes that transnational history allows us t0 explore the history of supra-, trans-, and international institutions. She often references the League of Nations, as well as the United Nations, as heretofore unexplored nexuses for transnational history. However, it
Comparing Clavin’s two articles on Transnationalism
~~howl howl~~ In this entry I offer summaries of Patricia Clavin’s two articles on transnationalism published in 2005 and 2010, pointing out for instance how transnational history treats time and space, its distinct methodology and implications for historical writing.
Global History and its Relation to Transnational History
The relation of global history to transnational history is more complex than I first thought. An interesting point raised, that I wish to address here, is the idea that the two schools converge. Behind this is the idea that transnational
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
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.