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Introduction

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Connectivity in Motion

Part of the book series: Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies ((IOWS))

Abstract

In this chapter, I introduce the key terms which guide the empirical investigations contained in this volume, as well as the volume overall, both theoretically and methodologically: island, islandness, insularity, small(ness), the island factor, connectivity, mobility, connectivity in motion, hub, hubbing, flow, saliency/punctum saliens. These conceptual concerns are discussed especially in the first and last sections of this chapter. The second section provides a general and systematizing overview of the Indian Ocean world of islands. The two following sections are dedicated to a discussion of the geographical, nautical, ecological, geopolitical, mercantile, military, and imaginary factors that potentially make islands, especially small islands, the preferred knots of maritime movements and exchanges of both material and ideational items.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany

    Burkhard Schnepel

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  1. Burkhard Schnepel
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany

    Burkhard Schnepel

  2. Department of History, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Edward A. Alpers

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Schnepel, B. (2018). Introduction. In: Schnepel, B., Alpers, E.A. (eds) Connectivity in Motion. Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59725-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59725-6_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59724-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59725-6

  • eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

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