A new interdisciplinary approach to Gulf Studies
The Gulf sits at an ancient crossroads of cultures and faiths, and at the heart of modern trade stretching back to the origins of civilization. As a site of both conflict and peaceful encounter, it can be studied in the context of world history, as a place of cultural and historical encounter. From medieval astrology to museum architecture, from the trade of glass and pearls to the role of Indians, Africans, Christian monks, Mandaeans and merchants, this book spans historical periods and disciplinary approaches. It is united by one overarching theme: the Gulf as a cosmopolitan nexus and space of encounter. The chapters describe a Gulf simultaneously perched on the edge of empires and at the centre of world events. Presenting new evidence, new theoretical approaches, and new arguments, this volume aims to change understandings of the Gulf in the world.
Key Features
The first interdisciplinary study of the Gulf incorporates scholarship on cosmopolitan and global connections in archaeology, history and heritage studies
Includes contributions from leading scholars from many disciplines who link the Gulf to the history of the Mediterranean and of the Indian Ocean
Presents new ideas, new evidence and new approaches to the archaeology, theory and history of the Gulf
Focuses on diversity within the Gulf given its location on the edge of empires
Contributors
Allen Fromherz, Georgia State University
Richard McGregor, Vanderbilt University
Valeria Piacentini Fiorani, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan
Charles Häberl, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Ghulam A. Nadri, Georgia State University
Abdulrahman al Salimi is an Omani Researcher, Sultanate of Oman
Johan Mathew, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Matthew S. Hopper, California Polytechnic State University
Mark Horton, University of Bristol
Michael A. Ryan, University of New Mexico
Eric Staples, Zayed University
Timothy Power, Zayed University
Robert Carter, University College London (UCL) Qatar
Carolyn M. Swan, University College London (UCL) Qatar
William G. Zimmerle, Farleigh Dickinson University
Karen Exell, University College London (UCL) Qatar
Lamya Harub is an Omani Diplomat
