Vast Expanses: A History of the Oceans

Vast Expanses explores the relationship between humans and oceans, arguing that knowledge about the ocean has played a central role in defining our relationship with this vast, trackless, and opaque place. It has helped people exploit marine resources, control ocean space, extend imperial or national power, and attempt to refashion the sea into a more tractable arena for human activity. Understanding this history can help forge a healthier relationship with the sea for the future.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 264 pages
\n Publication date: 10 September 2018
\n Publisher: Reaktion Books
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Vast Expanses: A Cultural, Environmental, and Geopolitical History explores the intricate relationship between humans and oceans, spanning geological and evolutionary time and examining diverse cultures worldwide. Our ancient connections with the sea have evolved and multiplied with industrialization and globalization, challenging Western perceptions of the ocean as a remote and unaffected realm by human influence. This book argues that knowledge about the ocean, gained through various means such as work, play, scientific inquiry, and human aspirations, has played a pivotal role in shaping our relationship with this vast, mysterious, and opaque environment. It has facilitated the exploitation of marine resources, the control of ocean space, the expansion of imperial or national power, and the attempt to transform the sea into a more hospitable domain for human activities.

Understanding the ocean has deepened and enriched connections between people and their seas. To unravel this history, we must delve into the questions of how, by whom, and why knowledge of the ocean was created and utilized in the past and present. By doing so, we can cultivate a healthier and more sustainable relationship with the ocean for the future.

\n Weight: 608g\n
Dimension: 216 x 145 x 22 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781780239972\n \n