Bringing together art history, environmental humanities, and maritime history, this seminar will examine the social, cultural, and economic significance of oceanic waters. Our deliberations will be situated around the Indian Ocean, the third largest water body and the world’s oldest cultural continuum that has facilitated the mobility of people, objects, and ideas over millennia. Connecting Europe, East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, East Asia, and South and Southeast Asia through maritime networks, Indian Ocean trade has long played an important role in world history. Our task will be to map out the ways in which such oceanic networks also shaped the global history of art from the early modern period to the contemporary. Our deliberations will focus on three key moments in this longue durée history: Goa in the early modern period; Bombay (now Mumbai) under British rule; and the contemporary in Kochi via the 2018 Kochi-Muziris Biennale. International travel over spring break will be a required component of the seminar.

Enrollment requires instructor approval. Priority for enrollment will be given to graduate students specializing in the visual cultures of South and Southeast Asia, as well as first- and second-year graduate students with other area specializations in art history. Interested students should forward a paragraph explaining their interest and previous relevant course work to Sugata Ray (sugata@berkeley.edu) by November 30th, 2018. Your enrollment cannot be guaranteed if you express interest after this deadline.