The Making of the Modern Mediterranean - (Paperback)

About the Book

"Studies of the pivotal historic place of the Mediterranean have long been dominated by specialists of its northern shores, that is, by European historians. In this groundbreaking volume, seven leading authors challenge views of Mediterranean space as shaped by European trajectories and so problematize our comfortable notions. Drawing perspectives from the south--from its Arab and African shores--the book asks anew: What is the Mediterranean? What are its borders and defining characteristics? What forces of nature, politics, culture, or economics have made the Mediterranean, and how long have they endured? How long will they? Covering the sixteenth to twentieth centuries, this timely volume brings the early modern world into conversation with the modern world in new ways, making clear that only recently have the northern and southern been differentiated into separate cultural and political zones. The Making of the Modern Mediterranean offers a blueprint for a new generation of readers to rethink the world we thought we knew"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Studies of the pivotal historic place of the Mediterranean have long been dominated by specialists of its northern shores, that is, by European historians. The seven leading authors in this groundbreaking volume challenge views of Mediterranean space as shaped by European trajectories, and in doing so, they challenge our comfortable notions. Drawing perspectives from the Mediterranean's eastern and southern shores, they ask anew: What is the Mediterranean? What are its borders, its defining characteristics? What forces of nature, politics, culture, or economics have made the Mediterranean, and how long have they or will they endure? Covering the sixteenth century to the twentieth, this timely volume brings the early modern world into conversation with the modern world in new ways, demonstrating that only recently can we differentiate the north and south into separate cultural and political zones. The Making of the Modern Mediterranean: Views from the South offers a blueprint for a new generation of readers to rethink the world we thought we knew.

From the Back Cover

"Amid the abundance of scholarship on the Mediterranean, this collection shines in both its originality and sophistication. Bridging the early modern and modern periods with a variety of writings from seasoned authors, it stirs the waters of Mediterranean studies by imagining the sea from the vantage point of its southern and eastern shores that have been neglected by scholars."--Konstantina Zanou, author of Transnational Patriotism in the Mediterranean, 1800-1850: Stammering the Nation

"With original and stimulating writing from some of the most pioneering scholars of Mediterranean history, this innovative volume bridges the early modern with the modern Mediterranean periods, offering a more inclusive account of the making of the modern Mediterranean. This is scholarship at its best: sophisticated, beautifully written, and accessible to a broad audience."--Ilham Khuri-Makdisi, author of The Eastern Mediterranean and the Making of Global Radicalism, 1860-1914

"This book is as important as it is timely and well done. It leaves no doubt that the Mediterranean, far from the obstacle it is so often depicted as, has served as a vital regional highway. An absolutely wonderful volume, this offers a blueprint for a new generation of scholars."--Mark LeVine, author of Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam

Review Quotes

"Taken as a whole, this is a modest collection that does a nice job of inviting us to think harder about the Mediterranean as a space, and about the interplay of its southern, eastern, western, and northern shores."-- "Bustan: The Middle East Book Review"

"The volume partakes of recent efforts to expand [Mediterranean] historiography with studies that take 'Arab and Turkish lands as points of departure.'"-- "Journal of Historical Geography"

About the Author

Judith E. Tucker is Professor of History at Georgetown University and author of Women, Family, and Gender in Islamic Law, In the House of the Law: Gender and Islamic Law in Ottoman Syria and Palestine, and Women in Nineteenth-Century Egypt.