Michael Williams
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262863
- eISBN:
- 9780191734076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262863.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Population and Demography
The historical element and human action are implicit in the idea of the landscape. Such combinations, in various guises, often go under the name of historical geography. More latterly, the meaning of ...
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The historical element and human action are implicit in the idea of the landscape. Such combinations, in various guises, often go under the name of historical geography. More latterly, the meaning of ‘history’, in its broadest sense, has been scrutinised closely because of the implicit subjective meaning embedded in any account of the past. Within geography, one of the earliest and most distinctive contributions to humanised landscapes came from the ‘Aberystwyth School’ of historically oriented human geography, which had an emphasis on anthropology and human ecology, and the western parts of Britain. As the l930s wore on, two figures emerged who were to dominate the debate about history in geography — Carl O. Sauer in the United States and H. C. Darby in Britain. There are basically two approaches to understanding past humanised landscapes — the reconstruction of these landscapes from consistent and comprehensive sources, and the mapping of relict features. Increasingly, both approaches combine history, archaeology, palaeobotany, and other disciplines.Less
The historical element and human action are implicit in the idea of the landscape. Such combinations, in various guises, often go under the name of historical geography. More latterly, the meaning of ‘history’, in its broadest sense, has been scrutinised closely because of the implicit subjective meaning embedded in any account of the past. Within geography, one of the earliest and most distinctive contributions to humanised landscapes came from the ‘Aberystwyth School’ of historically oriented human geography, which had an emphasis on anthropology and human ecology, and the western parts of Britain. As the l930s wore on, two figures emerged who were to dominate the debate about history in geography — Carl O. Sauer in the United States and H. C. Darby in Britain. There are basically two approaches to understanding past humanised landscapes — the reconstruction of these landscapes from consistent and comprehensive sources, and the mapping of relict features. Increasingly, both approaches combine history, archaeology, palaeobotany, and other disciplines.
ALAN R. H. BAKER
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264904
- eISBN:
- 9780191754081
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264904.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Historiography
Robin Donkin was an exceptional scholar in the field of historical geography, particularly concerning Latin America and the domestication of plants and animals globally. His early research was on the ...
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Robin Donkin was an exceptional scholar in the field of historical geography, particularly concerning Latin America and the domestication of plants and animals globally. His early research was on the effect of the Cistercians on medieval landscape, and he held posts at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Brimingham. Donkin then lectured in Latin American geography at the University of Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge and was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 1985. Obituary by Alan R. H. Baker FBA.Less
Robin Donkin was an exceptional scholar in the field of historical geography, particularly concerning Latin America and the domestication of plants and animals globally. His early research was on the effect of the Cistercians on medieval landscape, and he held posts at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Brimingham. Donkin then lectured in Latin American geography at the University of Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge and was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 1985. Obituary by Alan R. H. Baker FBA.
William M. Aird
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Edward A. Freeman travelled extensively throughout his life and was far from being a sedentary gentleman-scholar confined to his country residence at Somerleaze, Somerset. According to Freeman, the ...
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Edward A. Freeman travelled extensively throughout his life and was far from being a sedentary gentleman-scholar confined to his country residence at Somerleaze, Somerset. According to Freeman, the successful historian needed to see the places about which he wrote. His historical travels took him to all parts of Europe, into North Africa and to the United States. Freeman’s foreign tours were carefully organised and conducted with the central purpose of informing and guiding his historical work. Over many years, Freeman developed a methodology for his historical travels that he seems to have applied consistently. On occasion, his travels took him into dangerous regions, such as Dalmatia in the late 1870s. Edward Freeman’s travels reflected his interest in historical geography and his recognition of the importance of place in the study of the past marks him out as one of the pioneers of the so-called ‘spatial turn’ in modern historiography.Less
Edward A. Freeman travelled extensively throughout his life and was far from being a sedentary gentleman-scholar confined to his country residence at Somerleaze, Somerset. According to Freeman, the successful historian needed to see the places about which he wrote. His historical travels took him to all parts of Europe, into North Africa and to the United States. Freeman’s foreign tours were carefully organised and conducted with the central purpose of informing and guiding his historical work. Over many years, Freeman developed a methodology for his historical travels that he seems to have applied consistently. On occasion, his travels took him into dangerous regions, such as Dalmatia in the late 1870s. Edward Freeman’s travels reflected his interest in historical geography and his recognition of the importance of place in the study of the past marks him out as one of the pioneers of the so-called ‘spatial turn’ in modern historiography.
Jamie Peck
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199580576
- eISBN:
- 9780191595240
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580576.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy
This chapter examines the range of popular and academic meanings of neoliberalism, including its associations with the ‘Washington Consensus’ and with ‘Thatcherism’, as a prelude to proposing a ...
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This chapter examines the range of popular and academic meanings of neoliberalism, including its associations with the ‘Washington Consensus’ and with ‘Thatcherism’, as a prelude to proposing a political-economic definition of the phenomenon. Emphasis is placed on the uneven development of neoliberalism across geographical space and the temporal evolution of neoliberal ideology and practice. Neoliberalism has not diffused in an invariant form, but instead has developed in a geometric fashion, through the increasing global interpenetration of its contextually specific ‘local’ forms. The ontology of neoliberalism is presented here in terms of an evolving web of relays, routines, and relations of market-oriented political practices. In turn, this calls for a methodological strategy which draws attention, simultaneously, to the ‘connective tissues’ of the neoliberalization process and its conjuncturally specific manifestations. An adequate analysis of neoliberalism must therefore entail an historical geography of the phenomenon.Less
This chapter examines the range of popular and academic meanings of neoliberalism, including its associations with the ‘Washington Consensus’ and with ‘Thatcherism’, as a prelude to proposing a political-economic definition of the phenomenon. Emphasis is placed on the uneven development of neoliberalism across geographical space and the temporal evolution of neoliberal ideology and practice. Neoliberalism has not diffused in an invariant form, but instead has developed in a geometric fashion, through the increasing global interpenetration of its contextually specific ‘local’ forms. The ontology of neoliberalism is presented here in terms of an evolving web of relays, routines, and relations of market-oriented political practices. In turn, this calls for a methodological strategy which draws attention, simultaneously, to the ‘connective tissues’ of the neoliberalization process and its conjuncturally specific manifestations. An adequate analysis of neoliberalism must therefore entail an historical geography of the phenomenon.
Giovanna Ceserani
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199744275
- eISBN:
- 9780199932139
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199744275.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, American History: pre-Columbian BCE to 500CE
This chapter complicates the received notion of the Magna Graecia's modern discovery during the 'Hellenic turn’ of eighteenth-century Europe. The historical geography of Leandro Alberti and others ...
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This chapter complicates the received notion of the Magna Graecia's modern discovery during the 'Hellenic turn’ of eighteenth-century Europe. The historical geography of Leandro Alberti and others shows earlier Renaissance antiquarianism's perceptions of Greek South Italy as a place of picturesque natural beauty and lost antiquity, seemingly irreconcilable with the wider Italian classical past. The eighteenth-century rediscovery of Paestum is examined within its Neapolitan intellectual context, which includes the figures of Giambattista Vico, Alessio Simmaco Mazzocchi and even J.J. Winckelmann, and in relation to the emergence of vase studies analysis that reveals the differential investment of Italian and foreign scholars in Magna Graecia, with latter bent on a search for an ideal conception of classical Greece that would effectively relegate Magna Graecia to the margins of classical study.Less
This chapter complicates the received notion of the Magna Graecia's modern discovery during the 'Hellenic turn’ of eighteenth-century Europe. The historical geography of Leandro Alberti and others shows earlier Renaissance antiquarianism's perceptions of Greek South Italy as a place of picturesque natural beauty and lost antiquity, seemingly irreconcilable with the wider Italian classical past. The eighteenth-century rediscovery of Paestum is examined within its Neapolitan intellectual context, which includes the figures of Giambattista Vico, Alessio Simmaco Mazzocchi and even J.J. Winckelmann, and in relation to the emergence of vase studies analysis that reveals the differential investment of Italian and foreign scholars in Magna Graecia, with latter bent on a search for an ideal conception of classical Greece that would effectively relegate Magna Graecia to the margins of classical study.
Judah Schept
- Published in print:
- 1942
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479810710
- eISBN:
- 9781479802821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479810710.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
Following the short introduction to Part 1, Chapter 1 begins the story of local carceral expansion with an examination of the 85-acre site designated to house the justice campus. The site was the ...
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Following the short introduction to Part 1, Chapter 1 begins the story of local carceral expansion with an examination of the 85-acre site designated to house the justice campus. The site was the former home of the largest color television production plant in the world, owned for decades by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA was the community’s largest employer at one point but began shifting production to Mexico in the 1960s and ultimately closed the Bloomington plant in 1998. Almost immediately, the county began considering the site for a justice campus. The chapter traces the community’s loss of that plant and subsequent attempt to build the campus as part of broader currents of the neoliberal state, including the geographical movement of capital across scale and space and the rise of the carceral state. As part of this examination, the chapter looks at the municipal growth strategies that created a zone of tax abatements and financing within which the justice campus would have sat. The chapter relies on research from cultural and Marxist geography to discuss the importance of material and symbolic reading of the landscape to consider its telling of history and the way it can be mobilized as an ideological template on which to project a particular vision for the future. The book begins with this history and analysis in order to situate and disturb the "common sense" of carceral expansion.Less
Following the short introduction to Part 1, Chapter 1 begins the story of local carceral expansion with an examination of the 85-acre site designated to house the justice campus. The site was the former home of the largest color television production plant in the world, owned for decades by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA was the community’s largest employer at one point but began shifting production to Mexico in the 1960s and ultimately closed the Bloomington plant in 1998. Almost immediately, the county began considering the site for a justice campus. The chapter traces the community’s loss of that plant and subsequent attempt to build the campus as part of broader currents of the neoliberal state, including the geographical movement of capital across scale and space and the rise of the carceral state. As part of this examination, the chapter looks at the municipal growth strategies that created a zone of tax abatements and financing within which the justice campus would have sat. The chapter relies on research from cultural and Marxist geography to discuss the importance of material and symbolic reading of the landscape to consider its telling of history and the way it can be mobilized as an ideological template on which to project a particular vision for the future. The book begins with this history and analysis in order to situate and disturb the "common sense" of carceral expansion.
Samuel J. M. M. Alberti
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199584581
- eISBN:
- 9780191725159
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584581.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter accounts for the emergence of different kinds of collections in specific locations: London, Edinburgh, and Dublin as British capitals and renowned centres for medical education; and ...
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This chapter accounts for the emergence of different kinds of collections in specific locations: London, Edinburgh, and Dublin as British capitals and renowned centres for medical education; and Glasgow and Manchester as other major medical and museological centres. Within these locations we encounter the communities of practice that coalesced around and deployed collections, and through them the role of material culture in the medical marketplace and the construction of pathology as a discipline. The account takes the reader through different scales of analysis, dealing with the interplay between individual, institutional, disciplinary, artefactual, and architectural histories. Together these different angles generate a rich account of the cultural cartography of the pathology profession (or lack thereof) in nineteenth-century Britain.Less
This chapter accounts for the emergence of different kinds of collections in specific locations: London, Edinburgh, and Dublin as British capitals and renowned centres for medical education; and Glasgow and Manchester as other major medical and museological centres. Within these locations we encounter the communities of practice that coalesced around and deployed collections, and through them the role of material culture in the medical marketplace and the construction of pathology as a discipline. The account takes the reader through different scales of analysis, dealing with the interplay between individual, institutional, disciplinary, artefactual, and architectural histories. Together these different angles generate a rich account of the cultural cartography of the pathology profession (or lack thereof) in nineteenth-century Britain.
Daniel Foliard
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226451336
- eISBN:
- 9780226451473
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226451473.001.0001
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Cartography
While the twentieth century’s conflicting visions and exploitation of the Middle East are well documented, the origins of the concept of the Middle East itself have been largely ignored. With ...
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While the twentieth century’s conflicting visions and exploitation of the Middle East are well documented, the origins of the concept of the Middle East itself have been largely ignored. With Dislocating the Orient, Daniel Foliard tells the story of how the land was brought into being, exploring how maps, knowledge, and blind ignorance all participated in the construction of this imagined region. Foliard vividly illustrates how the British first defined the Middle East as a geopolitical and cartographic region in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through their imperial maps. Until then, the region had never been clearly distinguished from “the East” or “the Orient.” In the course of their colonial activities, however, the British began to conceive of the Middle East as a separate and distinct part of the world, with consequences that continue to be felt today. As they reimagined boundaries, the British produced, disputed, and finally dramatically transformed the geography of the area—both culturally and physically—over the course of their colonial era. Using a wide variety of primary texts and historical maps to show how the idea of the Middle East came into being, Dislocating the Orient will interest historians of the Middle East, the British empire, cultural geography, and cartography.Less
While the twentieth century’s conflicting visions and exploitation of the Middle East are well documented, the origins of the concept of the Middle East itself have been largely ignored. With Dislocating the Orient, Daniel Foliard tells the story of how the land was brought into being, exploring how maps, knowledge, and blind ignorance all participated in the construction of this imagined region. Foliard vividly illustrates how the British first defined the Middle East as a geopolitical and cartographic region in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through their imperial maps. Until then, the region had never been clearly distinguished from “the East” or “the Orient.” In the course of their colonial activities, however, the British began to conceive of the Middle East as a separate and distinct part of the world, with consequences that continue to be felt today. As they reimagined boundaries, the British produced, disputed, and finally dramatically transformed the geography of the area—both culturally and physically—over the course of their colonial era. Using a wide variety of primary texts and historical maps to show how the idea of the Middle East came into being, Dislocating the Orient will interest historians of the Middle East, the British empire, cultural geography, and cartography.
Ashley Carse
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028110
- eISBN:
- 9780262320467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028110.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter analyzes the historical construction of the transportationeconomy aroundtheChagres River. Departing from a widespread discourse suggesting thatPanama’s role as a global transportation ...
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This chapter analyzes the historical construction of the transportationeconomy aroundtheChagres River. Departing from a widespread discourse suggesting thatPanama’s role as a global transportation service provider was inevitable due to its geographic position (or “natural advantages”), the chapter shows howcapitalists, governments, engineers, and laborershave reshaped isthmiansociety and environmentsto facilitate interoceanic movement. The problem with thegeography-as-destinynarrative is not that it assigns physical geography an active role in human affairs, but that it naturalizes engineered systems like the Panama Canal, rendering the constant background work of facilitating transportation invisible and, thus, seemingly inevitable. In fact, centuries oftransportation projects—a Spanish colonial road, a US railroad, a failed French canal—along the Chagres River produced a sedimented transportation landscape in which each route depended upon its precursors and laid the groundwork for subsequent projects.Less
This chapter analyzes the historical construction of the transportationeconomy aroundtheChagres River. Departing from a widespread discourse suggesting thatPanama’s role as a global transportation service provider was inevitable due to its geographic position (or “natural advantages”), the chapter shows howcapitalists, governments, engineers, and laborershave reshaped isthmiansociety and environmentsto facilitate interoceanic movement. The problem with thegeography-as-destinynarrative is not that it assigns physical geography an active role in human affairs, but that it naturalizes engineered systems like the Panama Canal, rendering the constant background work of facilitating transportation invisible and, thus, seemingly inevitable. In fact, centuries oftransportation projects—a Spanish colonial road, a US railroad, a failed French canal—along the Chagres River produced a sedimented transportation landscape in which each route depended upon its precursors and laid the groundwork for subsequent projects.
Rachel Havrelock
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226319575
- eISBN:
- 9780226319599
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226319599.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
As the site of several miracles in the Jewish and Christian traditions, the Jordan is one of the world's holiest rivers. It is also the major political and symbolic border contested by Israelis and ...
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As the site of several miracles in the Jewish and Christian traditions, the Jordan is one of the world's holiest rivers. It is also the major political and symbolic border contested by Israelis and Palestinians. Combining biblical and folkloric studies with historical geography, this book explores how the complex religious and mythological representations of the river have shaped the current conflict in the Middle East. It contends that the intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stems from the nationalist myths of the Hebrew Bible, where the Jordan is defined as a border of the Promised Land. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim the Jordan as a necessary boundary of an indivisible homeland. Examining the Hebrew Bible alongside ancient and modern maps of the Jordan, the book chronicles the evolution of Israel's borders based on nationalist myths while uncovering additional myths that envision Israel as a bi-national state. These other myths, it proposes, provide roadmaps for future political configurations of the nation.Less
As the site of several miracles in the Jewish and Christian traditions, the Jordan is one of the world's holiest rivers. It is also the major political and symbolic border contested by Israelis and Palestinians. Combining biblical and folkloric studies with historical geography, this book explores how the complex religious and mythological representations of the river have shaped the current conflict in the Middle East. It contends that the intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stems from the nationalist myths of the Hebrew Bible, where the Jordan is defined as a border of the Promised Land. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim the Jordan as a necessary boundary of an indivisible homeland. Examining the Hebrew Bible alongside ancient and modern maps of the Jordan, the book chronicles the evolution of Israel's borders based on nationalist myths while uncovering additional myths that envision Israel as a bi-national state. These other myths, it proposes, provide roadmaps for future political configurations of the nation.
Chris Scarre
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199281626
- eISBN:
- 9780191804311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199281626.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter examines the historical geography of Neolithic Brittany and the peopling of its landscape. It describes the prehistoric settlement of Brittany, the slow progress of agricultural ...
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This chapter examines the historical geography of Neolithic Brittany and the peopling of its landscape. It describes the prehistoric settlement of Brittany, the slow progress of agricultural development in Brittany and the preservation and distribution patterns of Neolithic (mainly megalithic) monuments. It also discusses evidence of the patterning and intensity of Neolithic occupation and the factors behind the character and survival of the Neolithic monuments of Brittany.Less
This chapter examines the historical geography of Neolithic Brittany and the peopling of its landscape. It describes the prehistoric settlement of Brittany, the slow progress of agricultural development in Brittany and the preservation and distribution patterns of Neolithic (mainly megalithic) monuments. It also discusses evidence of the patterning and intensity of Neolithic occupation and the factors behind the character and survival of the Neolithic monuments of Brittany.
Victor H. Matthews
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- November 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190231149
- eISBN:
- 9780190231187
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190231149.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This volume provides a basic introduction to the historical, archaeological, and contextual aspects of ancient Israel during its formative period in the Bronze and Iron Age. It integrates ...
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This volume provides a basic introduction to the historical, archaeological, and contextual aspects of ancient Israel during its formative period in the Bronze and Iron Age. It integrates extrabiblical sources from regions throughout the ancient Near East with the data found in the biblical narratives in order to explore the development of ancient Israelite identity, cultural traditions, and their interaction with the other major cultures of the ancient Near East. Given the nature of available information on this early culture, it is necessary to take into account the methods designed to examine the transmission of cultural memories and foundation stories in shaping a people’s concept of themselves. Because we do have more data available from neighboring regions, attention is expanded beyond the biblical narratives to include what we know about the physical realities of geopolitics and super-power politics, the international and interregional movement of peoples, and the evolutionary process from inchoate to complex states. In addition, attention is also given to what archaeological excavations can contribute to the reconstruction of the history of ancient Israel and its cultures. In particular, aspects of everyday life both in the village culture and in urban settings are examined as a key to the development of social, legal, and religious traditions and practices.Less
This volume provides a basic introduction to the historical, archaeological, and contextual aspects of ancient Israel during its formative period in the Bronze and Iron Age. It integrates extrabiblical sources from regions throughout the ancient Near East with the data found in the biblical narratives in order to explore the development of ancient Israelite identity, cultural traditions, and their interaction with the other major cultures of the ancient Near East. Given the nature of available information on this early culture, it is necessary to take into account the methods designed to examine the transmission of cultural memories and foundation stories in shaping a people’s concept of themselves. Because we do have more data available from neighboring regions, attention is expanded beyond the biblical narratives to include what we know about the physical realities of geopolitics and super-power politics, the international and interregional movement of peoples, and the evolutionary process from inchoate to complex states. In addition, attention is also given to what archaeological excavations can contribute to the reconstruction of the history of ancient Israel and its cultures. In particular, aspects of everyday life both in the village culture and in urban settings are examined as a key to the development of social, legal, and religious traditions and practices.
Aneurin Ellis-Evans
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198831983
- eISBN:
- 9780191869808
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198831983.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book is a regional history of Lesbos and the Troad from the seventh century BC to the first century AD which examines the extent to which this geographical region became politically, ...
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This book is a regional history of Lesbos and the Troad from the seventh century BC to the first century AD which examines the extent to which this geographical region became politically, economically, and culturally integrated over this extended timeframe. The case studies in each chapter examine the various human and geographical factors which promoted regional integration, but also consider the political and identity-based considerations which limited integration and curtailed co-operation in particular areas. It is argued that this produced a situation in which an economically well-integrated region nevertheless remained politically fragmented and was only capable of unified action at moments of crisis. The book is split into two halves, with the first examining both the human and geographical factors which contributed to regional integration in the Troad and the politics of this process and the second examining the insular identity of Lesbos, the extent to which it was integrated into the mainland, and the consequences of this integration for the internal dynamic of the island. Cross-cutting these regional dynamics are the various imperial systems (Persian, Athenian, Macedonian, Attalid, Roman) which ruled this region and shaped its internal dynamics both through direct interventions in regional politics and through the pressures and incentives which these imperial systems created for local communities.Less
This book is a regional history of Lesbos and the Troad from the seventh century BC to the first century AD which examines the extent to which this geographical region became politically, economically, and culturally integrated over this extended timeframe. The case studies in each chapter examine the various human and geographical factors which promoted regional integration, but also consider the political and identity-based considerations which limited integration and curtailed co-operation in particular areas. It is argued that this produced a situation in which an economically well-integrated region nevertheless remained politically fragmented and was only capable of unified action at moments of crisis. The book is split into two halves, with the first examining both the human and geographical factors which contributed to regional integration in the Troad and the politics of this process and the second examining the insular identity of Lesbos, the extent to which it was integrated into the mainland, and the consequences of this integration for the internal dynamic of the island. Cross-cutting these regional dynamics are the various imperial systems (Persian, Athenian, Macedonian, Attalid, Roman) which ruled this region and shaped its internal dynamics both through direct interventions in regional politics and through the pressures and incentives which these imperial systems created for local communities.
Aneurin Ellis-Evans
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198831983
- eISBN:
- 9780191869808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198831983.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
The introductory chapter considers four central problems in regional history and sets out how each will be approached in this book. Firstly, I consider the contribution which historical geography can ...
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The introductory chapter considers four central problems in regional history and sets out how each will be approached in this book. Firstly, I consider the contribution which historical geography can make as a form of comparative history. Secondly, I lay out how I have defined my region of study and why it is more important to focus on the underlying mechanisms which produce a region than on its precise territorial extent. Thirdly, I argue for the importance of focusing on intra-regional rivalries, resistance to regional integration, and failures of co-operation when writing regional history in addition to the more traditional themes of political solidarity and economic co-operation. Finally, I argue for the importance of regional history for understanding imperialism in antiquity.Less
The introductory chapter considers four central problems in regional history and sets out how each will be approached in this book. Firstly, I consider the contribution which historical geography can make as a form of comparative history. Secondly, I lay out how I have defined my region of study and why it is more important to focus on the underlying mechanisms which produce a region than on its precise territorial extent. Thirdly, I argue for the importance of focusing on intra-regional rivalries, resistance to regional integration, and failures of co-operation when writing regional history in addition to the more traditional themes of political solidarity and economic co-operation. Finally, I argue for the importance of regional history for understanding imperialism in antiquity.
