Description
Throughout history, how has the sea served as a site for cross-cultural exchange, trade and migration? As historians, how do the fields of naval history, maritime history and oceanic history intersect?

56 experts, 48 chapters and over 1,700 pages explore how representation and understanding of the sea has developed over 2,500 years of cultural and natural history.

Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole, and to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six.

The six volumes cover: 1. - Antiquity (500 BCE - 800 CE); 2. - Medieval Age (1800 - 1450); 3. - Renaissance (1450 - 1650); 4. - Age of Enlightenment (1650 - 1800); 5. - Age of Empire (1800 - 1920); 6 - Global Age (1920 - 2000+).

Each volumes adopts the same thematic structure, covering: Knowledges, Practices, Networks, Islands and Shores, Travelers, Representation, Imaginary Worlds, and Conflicts, enabling readers to trace one theme throughout history, as well as gaining a thorough overview of each individual period.

Table of Contents
Volume 1: A Cultural History of the Sea in Antiquity (500BCE-800CE)
Edited by Marie-Claire Beaulieu (Tufts University, USA)
Volume 2: A Cultural History of the Sea in the Medieval Age (800-1450)
Edited by Elizabeth A. Lambourn (De Montfort University, UK)
Volume 3: A Cultural History of the Sea in the Renaissance (1450-1650)
Edited by Steve Mentz (St John's University, USA)
Volume 4: A Cultural History of the Sea in the Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800)
Edited by Jonathan Lamb (Vanderbilt University, USA)
Volume 5: A Cultural History of the Sea in the Age of Empire (1800-1920)
Edited by Margaret Cohen (Stanford University, USA)
Volume 6: A Cultural History of the Sea in the Global Age (1920-2000+)
Edited by Franziska Torma (Ludwig Maximilians University, Germany)