Call for Papers: Maritime Technologies, Livelihoods and Economies
Mainsheet is a new scholarly journal of interdisciplinary maritime studies published by Mystic Seaport Museum. There will be two issues a year, each with a theme that broadly relates to exhibits and initiatives at the Museum. Research papers will be subject to peer review and publication will be both in print and in an online open access edition with no fee to authors.
For our Spring 2024 issue, we seek submissions on the topic of Maritime Technologies, Livelihoods and Economies. The guest editor for this issue is Dr. Richard Burroughs of the University of Rhode Island.
In nearly every place and time, human economies have been entangled with the ocean, its resources, and the transport of goods across waters. These economies depend upon technologies. And understanding the social, cultural, and economic impacts of the introduction of new technologies is a vibrant area of research. The fusion of these topics and their concomitant development – past, present, and future – form the basis for this issue of Mainsheet. We invite original manuscripts that consider relationships among technological innovation and economic development that have shaped the maritime world over time. We plan to reach an international audience of scholars and the general public who recognize that the most compelling maritime issues are the ones that cross individual academic disciplines. Contributions can offer historical, social, and critical approaches on human relations to oceans, lakes, and rivers. Perspectives grounded in archaeology, literature, law, political science, science, and technological innovation would also be welcome, as would engagement with technology and economy in Indigenous and non-western histories. Historical and/or humanities perspectives are particularly valuable in interpreting the role of technology in society.
Emerging businesses such as aquaculture and offshore wind introduce new technologies that provide both opportunities and stresses. Promising technologies to decarbonize marine transportation, restore coastal environments, remediate species invasions, build more resilient supply chains, understand and purge toxics from aquatic environments, and probe the deeps for history and for science offer opportunities to influence human-ocean relationships now and in the future. Historical analyses of marine technologies have involved the container shipping revolution, oil development, nuclear power on land or under the sea, deep sea mining, fishing, and naval battles. Novel insights concerning technological impacts in these settings would be welcome also.
Papers must be submitted by January 1, 2024. Further information about Mainsheet and the full Call for Papers are available on our website.
