This course offers an introduction to the field of global history through the lens of the oceans. In this course, we aim to move beyond the nation-state as the standard unit of historical study, and examine the past from an oceanic perspective. We will look briefly at the history of different key oceans, including the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, and Mediterranean Oceans. We will then focus on different approaches to oceanic histories - including indigenous, environmental and legal histories of the ocean - with a particular focus on the largest geographical feature on earth, the Pacific Ocean.

The assessment will consist of regular tutorial exercises and quizzes to ensure your comprehension and engagement with the core material, and two essays. The first essay will include an essay plan, then the essay itself.

Further information regarding the assessments will be provided in class and on Moodle.

Normal class contact time is 24 hours of lectures over the twelve weeks of teaching during the semester, and an extra 11 hours of tutorials (35 hours in total class contact time). For a typical student in a 15 point paper (offered over one semester) the expected workload is approximately 10 hours per week, including class contact time. Excluding the two hours of lectures and one hour tutorial time, students should average at least six hours of time spent on study, reading, and/or assessment work per week. These figures are only approximations, as papers vary in their requirements, and students vary in both the amount of effort required and the level of grades they wish to achieve.