LFU:online

This course goes beyond usual narratives of Austrian history, which is usually limited to the European dimension, so that we can reorient our geographical perspective on a global scale. As a participant in this course, you will learn to apply the concept of oceanic history. You will reconceptualise your understanding of world history and the history of Austria from the early modern period to the present via a maritime perspective.

Oceanic history focuses on the maritime dimension of world history. How have the seas shaped the human experience? In this course, we will apply a recent historiographical turn to the history of Austria and its predecessor states (Austria-Hungary, the Austrian Empire, and the Habsburg Monarchy) across five centuries. In doing so, we will discover how important the global seas have been in Austrian history despite our misconception of central Europe as a landlocked region.

Lectures with a possibility to pose questions and discussions; Guest presentations from experts; discussion of certain readings.

A written exam administered online at the end of the semester.

·         Armitage, David. „World History as Oceanic History: Beyond Braudel“. The Historical Review/La Revue Historique 15 (2019): 341–61. https://doi.org/10.12681/hr.20462.

·         Armitage, David, Alison Bashford, und Sujit Sivasundaram, Hrsg. Oceanic Histories. Cambridge Oceanic Histories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108399722.

·         Basch-Ritter, Renate. Österreich auf allen Meeren: Geschichte der k.(u.)k. Marine 1382 bis 1918. Graz: Verlag Styria, 2001.

• Coons, Ronald E. Steamships, Statesmen, and Bureaucrats: Austrian Policy towards the Steam Navigation Company of the Austrian Lloyd 1836–1848. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1975.

·         Donko, Wilhelm M. Österreichs Kriegsmarine: eine Seemacht und ihr Ende. Schleinbach: Edition Winkler-Hermaden, 2018.

·         Frank, Alison. „Continental and Maritime Empires in an Age of Global Commerce“. East European Politics and Societies 25, Nr. 4 (2011): 779–84.

·         Horvath, Michael, und Hannes Zimmermann. Österreich maritim: die frühen Jahre. Wien: Edition S. - Verlag Österreich, 1995.

·         Mayer, Horst Friedrich. Als die Adria österreichisch war: Österreich-Ungarns Seemacht. 3. Aufl. Wien: Edition S., 1987.

·         Mukherjee, Rila. „Approaching a History of Water“. Water History 7, Nr. 2 (1. Juni 2015): 159–77.

·         Sondhaus, Lawrence. The Habsburg Empire and the Sea: Austrian Naval Policy, 1797-1866. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press, 1989.

·         Sondhaus, Lawrence. The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867-1918: Navalism, Industrial Development, and the Politics of Dualism. Purdue University Press, 1994.

·         Strobel, Christoph. The Global Atlantic, 1400 to 1900. London: Routledge, 2015.

Online pre-registration is required. This course is taught in English. Discussion, if any, can be in either German or English. The examination will be conducted in German.