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Accepted Paper:
Environmental transformations in the Pacific world from trans-disciplinary perspectives, 1800s-1900s
Ryan Jones
(University of Oregon)
This paper uses new research from animal studies and marine ecology to argue for a reconceptualization of the environmental history of the Pacific Ocean.
Paper long abstract:
This paper uses new research from animal studies and marine ecology to argue for a reconceptualization of the environmental history of the Pacific Ocean. While scholars have critiqued geographical conceptions such as oceans as artifacts of human culture, in fact there may be good reasons for taking spaces such as the Pacific as coherent units of historical analysis. Evidence is increasingly coming from marine biologists suggesting that many animals’ lives are defined by the Pacific Ocean. From sooty shearwaters to blue whales, migratory animals in particular use the entirety of the ocean, while rarely traveling outside its boundaries. Because human histories have long been entwined with the histories of these oceanic creatures, following their lead alerts historians to overlooked communities and stories in the Pacific. These more-than-human histories are breathing new life into Pacific environmental history.