Laws and Customs of the Early Modern Sea (Renaissance Society of America Annual Meeting, 21–23 March 2024, Chicago)

This panel seeks papers that address any aspect of the laws and customs, broadly defined, of the early modern sea. It aims to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue about such norms, one that transcends geographical, linguistic, and methodological boundaries. Topics may include (but are in no way limited to) maritime law, naval warfare, piracy, cartography, navigation, international trade, the lex mercatoria, ship building, and the political question of open seas. Papers that consider the literary or artistic conventions governing the depiction of ocean space are welcome too.

This panel will be part of the Renaissance Society of America’s annual meeting in Chicago (21–23 March 2024).

Please submit a paper title (15-word maximum), abstract (150-word maximum), CV, current affiliation, and PhD completion date (past or expected) to Hayley Cotter (hcotter@umass.edu) by June 15, 2023. Accepted papers will be notified by June 20.

For more on RSA 2024, see https://www.rsa.org/page/Futuremeetings

Hayley Cotter, University of Massachusetts Amherst