Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written Evidence

Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written Evidence

Michael Pearson has contributed greatly to maritime history in the Indian Ocean World, focusing on what he calls the “littoral society.” He argues for the importance of observing how the land and the sea connect each other. Following his argument, this article explores agency in medieval Swahili por...

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Main Author: Hideaki Suzuki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: McGill University 2018-05-01
Series:Journal of Indian Ocean World Studies
Online Access:https://jiows.mcgill.ca/article/view/39
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spelling doaj-c38e49cd7fda41b59b16697aa514e32b2021-10-02T11:13:41ZengMcGill UniversityJournal of Indian Ocean World Studies2561-31112018-05-01217386http://dx.doi.org/10.26443/jiows.v2i1.39Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written EvidenceHideaki SuzukiMichael Pearson has contributed greatly to maritime history in the Indian Ocean World, focusing on what he calls the “littoral society.” He argues for the importance of observing how the land and the sea connect each other. Following his argument, this article explores agency in medieval Swahili port towns. Recent developments in archaeological studies have revealed the complex relationships between the land and the sea in East Africa. However, there are certain issues archaeological evidence could not explain. Drawing on archaeological studies as a reference and also studies on Southeast Asian ports for comparison, this article seeks to explore medieval Arabic literature, virtually the only available written material, to consider the case of the medieval Swahili coast. https://jiows.mcgill.ca/article/view/39
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Hideaki Suzuki
spellingShingle Hideaki Suzuki
Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written Evidence
Journal of Indian Ocean World Studies
author_facet Hideaki Suzuki
author_sort Hideaki Suzuki
title Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written Evidence
title_short Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written Evidence
title_full Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written Evidence
title_fullStr Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written Evidence
title_full_unstemmed Agency of Littoral Society: Reconsidering Medieval Swahili Port Towns with Written Evidence
title_sort agency of littoral society: reconsidering medieval swahili port towns with written evidence
publisher McGill University
series Journal of Indian Ocean World Studies
issn 2561-3111
publishDate 2018-05-01
description Michael Pearson has contributed greatly to maritime history in the Indian Ocean World, focusing on what he calls the “littoral society.” He argues for the importance of observing how the land and the sea connect each other. Following his argument, this article explores agency in medieval Swahili port towns. Recent developments in archaeological studies have revealed the complex relationships between the land and the sea in East Africa. However, there are certain issues archaeological evidence could not explain. Drawing on archaeological studies as a reference and also studies on Southeast Asian ports for comparison, this article seeks to explore medieval Arabic literature, virtually the only available written material, to consider the case of the medieval Swahili coast.
url https://jiows.mcgill.ca/article/view/39
work_keys_str_mv AT hideakisuzuki agencyoflittoralsocietyreconsideringmedievalswahiliporttownswithwrittenevidence
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