Public Writing & Engagement
A maritime disaster that captivated audiences around the globe presented the perfect opportunity to write an OpEd for the Conversation reflecting on the fascinating history of human intrigue in and relationships with the ocean. The story generated a lot of interest (well, clicks), and interviews on ABC Illawarra and RadioNZ.
“Besides gross income inequality, reflecting on the Titan and the Titanic invite us to confront just how little we can “see” of the sea in this age of mass surveillance. Not even the powerful US navy, assisted by the Canadian, UK and French governments, can muster the resources and technology required to locate, let alone rescue, the missing submersible. As the sea seems to have swallowed yet another ship, we are reminded of limits of human knowledge and mastery over the ocean.”
With my IHSS colleagues Sarah Bendall, I wrote about how the lives of real medieval and early modern royals shape popular culture. The Conversation article was syndicated across multiple digital publications including Yahoo news, and was also translated into French.
Swimming in the president’s pool – palaces and power in times of crisis
The Conversation, July 13, 2022
I wrote about the summer 2022 storming of the Sri Lankan President’s palace, placing the event in historical perspective.
Brasil da Fato translated publlished this piece in Portuguese.
Oceans as Archives - a Symposium
6 - 7 May 2021
University of British Columbia
Traditional, Ancestral, Unceded xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Territory
Organizers: Dr. Kristie Flannery, Dr.Renisa Mawani, Dr. Mikki Stelder
In The Conversation, my brilliant colleague Kate Fullagar and I reflected on recent public commemorations and celebrations of the arrival of European conquistadors in the Pacific. Putting Magellan and Cook in the same framework casts Pacific (public) history in a new light.
Mactan 500
500 years since Magellan was murdered in the Philippines
I am excited to participate in this community meeting hosted by the National Philippine Canadian Cultural Centre about the history and legacies of Magellan’s expedition to the Philippines, which resulted in his death at the hands of datu Lapu Lapu at Mactan. My talk locates this key event in the history of the Philippines in global context; the famous Portuguese navigator waged war in the Visaysas at the same time as Cortés Spanish-Tlaxcalan army attacked the Aztec Captial, Tenochtitlan. We will consider how Lapu Lapu is remembered and honored in the Philippines today, and what other Pacific nations might learn from this.
Navigating PARES, or how to do archival research during a global pandemic
The digital revolution has seen millions of pages of Spanish manuscripts digitized and shared through the free PARES (portal de archivos españoles) platform in recent years, the Spanish government’s archive web portal. Yet hunting for documents can often feel like searching for a needle in a hay stack. I organized this webinar led by Dr Scott Cave to provide a ‘hands-on’ crash course for researchers on how to better use PARES. Over 60 people from more than 10 countries participated in this event.
Blogging Global History
The London-based Toynbee Prize Foundation promotes scholarly engagement with global history. As an editor-at-large of the Toynbee Prize Foundation blog, I use my expertise and networks to write and commission engaging content that explores global historical processes from extra-European perspectives. I welcome pitches for new blog posts from history enthusiasts!
Collaborating with teachers
The Office of Resources for International and Area Studies (ORIAS) at UC Berkeley works with k-12 and community college educators to improve their understanding of global issues, expand their knowledge of World History, and integrate international topics into courses across disciplines. ORIAS offers free programs for teachers year-round and welcomes requests from individual educators seeking to continue their own learning about the world. I partnered with ORIAS to deliver a seminar exploring festivals as propaganda in the global Spanish empire as part of its free Summer Institute for Teachers.
Acapulco-Manila: The Galleon, Asia, and Latin America, 1565-1815
The Manila galleon has been described as the ‘umbilical cord’ that tied Spains’ Asian empire to centers of imperial power in the Americas. I co-curated this exhibition at the Benson Library that used its rich collection of manuscripts, maps, and ephemera to explore the transformation of material culture, Catholicism, and the slave trade in the Iberian Pacific. The exhibition traveled to the Mexican consulate in Austin in 2017.
15 Minute History
My contributions to this popular history podcast explore topics in Pacific history including the transpacific slave trade and the Manila galleon