Atlantic History from both sides...

... of the Atlantic

Symposium organized by Cécile Vidal, Université de Grenoble 2, LARHRA and CENA

Friday, March 24, 2006
CNRS Délégation Paris A, room A (basement)
27, rue Paul Bert, 94204 Ivry-sur-Seine Cedex
Phone: 01 49 60 40 40 ; Fax: 01 45 15 01 66
Metro: Porte de Choisy or Porte d'Ivry
online map
for more information, please contact Sophie Grandsire-Rodriguez

download the program (pdf)

During the last twenty years, Atlantic history has emerged as a new historiographical field mostly in British and American universities. It is based on the assumption that the Atlantic world forms a coherent unit of analysis, a united and integrated space in which the relations between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, from the outset of the fifteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, must be studied with a trans-national or comparative point of view. Thus, it represents “a style of world history with a particular regional and chronological emphasis”, according to Alison Games’ definition. The goals of this symposium are to make Atlantic history better known in France, to draw an initial historiographical picture of the field in the United States and in Europe, and to discuss the ideas on which Atlantic history is based. The debate during the round-table will deal with the concepts of the Atlantic “system,” “world,” and “civilization” (What do we mean by these concepts? Are they interchangeable? What are the implications of each of them in the way historians conceive of Atlantic history?) and the relationship between Atlantic and world history (Should we focus on the relations between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, or integrate Asia in a broader perspective ?).

program

Morning, 10am – 1pm. Moderator: F. Weil, EHESS

• 10:00 -   F. Weil, EHESS : Preliminary words
• 10:15 -   B. Van Ruymbeke, Université Paris 8: "Atlantic History in the United States"
• 10:45 - G. Simonsen, European Institute of Florence: "Origins and Development of the Concept of the Black Atlantic"
• 11:15 - Discussion

Break

• 12:00 - S. Marzagalli, Université de Nice: "Atlantic History in Europe (France excepted)"
• 12:30 - Discussion

Lunch break

Afternoon, 2:30 – 6:00 . Moderator: L.Vidal, Université de La Rochelle

• 2:30 - M.-J. Rossignol, Université Paris 7: "Atlantic Revolution(s) : Comparative History of a Concept in French and American Historiography"
• 3:00 - C. Vidal, Université de Grenoble 2: "The Reluctance of French Historians to Address Atlantic History"
• 3:30 - Discussion

Break

• 16h15 - Roundtable  with M. Dorigny, Université Paris 8, P. C. Emmer, Leiden University, S. Newman, University of Glasgow, R. J. Sparks, Tulane University: "Atlantic System, World, or Civilization? Atlantic History or World History?"