Conceptualizing U.S. History within the Wider Context of the Pacific

Brian Cassity will present on the topic of conceptualizing US history within the wider context of the Pacific.  While United States history courses often portray the Pacific Islands as largely unknown elements prior to the arrival of Captain Cook and others,  new scholarship has utilized non-traditional history sources to produce a much richer picture which sheds light on the original contacts and the developing relations and involvement in the region.  Instead of history that connects out from the mainland into the Pacific, we now see how the contact drew Americans into systems of trade and commerce that developed within the Pacific region.