Liquid Moana: The Pacific Ocean in the Anthropocene

Oceans have experienced the leading edge of the entry into the Anthropocene, the era of humanity’s role as global geological agent. However, the history of changing oceans has proved difficult to research and narrate, both because of a lack of written evidence and because of a continuing tendency to view oceans as ahistorical spaces. New historical research centered on the ocean itself – and especially coming from non-Western scholars in Oceania – has the potential to radically challenge these conceptions and fill the void in ocean history. My paper will discuss some of this emerging research and some of the new directions in narrating ocean histories.