Session Abstract

This session takes as its theme the title of the conference as a whole by bringing together exciting new work by four young scholars who study four very different Indian Ocean commercial networks ranging from the early modern to the contemporary period. Three of these scholars are trained as historians, the fourth in geography, but although the range of their research encompasses a multitude of languages, archives, and methodologies, they all share an abiding interest in the operatiom of trading networks and the ways in which these reflect the different communities of which each is an integral part. The discussant for the panel is the influential historian and anthropologist, Enseng Ho, whose pioneering book, The Graves of Tarim, which deals with yet another Indian Ocean trading network, is a model for all who study Indian Ocean trading communities.