2020-21 Academic Catalog

The Pacific is the largest ocean on our planet, covering thirty percent of the Earth’s surface and bordered by four continents. This course will explore how a “Pacific World” framework can help us understand the movement of peoples, goods, and ideas across an oceanic space. Can we describe the history of the Pacific as having a unified history? This course will explore various topics in Pacific history including the history of exploration and migration, cross-cultural encounters, science and empire, and environmental history from 1750 to the present. While this course will be transnational in scope, it will focus primarily on U.S. exploration, trade, and the making of an American Pacific frontier.