New Books in Native American Studies

Nancy Shoemaker, “Native American Whalemen and the World” (UNC Press, 2015)


Listen Later

For as long as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick has been a staple of the American literary canon, one element often goes unnoticed.

The ship commanded by the monomanacial Ahab on his quest to slay the great white whale is named the Pequod, just one letter of difference from Pequot, a Native nation living within what is now southern New England. Perhaps Mellville was just participating in the widespread romantic nostalgia of the age, when many corporate enterprises and vessels took the name of the supposedly disappearing and noble Indians.

Or, maybe he was simply gesturing at the reality of the industry.

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, when Moby Dick takes place, Native men from New England constituted a huge portion of the whaling workforce, some spending decades at sea, encountering diverse peoples across two oceans, and invigorating their economically marginalized reservations with vital income. These forgotten seamen finally have a chronicler in Nancy Shoemaker, professor of history at the University of Connecticut. Author or editor of seven books, her latest is Native American Whalemen and the World: Indigenous Encounters and the Contingency of Race (University of North Carolina Press, 2015).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/native-american-studies

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books in Native American StudiesBy Marshall Poe

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

103 ratings


More shows like New Books in Native American Studies

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,929 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,194 Listeners

Democracy Now! Audio by Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! Audio

5,746 Listeners

Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Reveal

8,432 Listeners

New Books in Philosophy by New Books Network

New Books in Philosophy

110 Listeners

New Books in History by Marshall Poe

New Books in History

215 Listeners

New Books in Military History by Marshall Poe

New Books in Military History

160 Listeners

New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

New Books in Critical Theory

144 Listeners

New Books in Political Science by New Books Network

New Books in Political Science

62 Listeners

New Books in Psychoanalysis by Marshall Poe

New Books in Psychoanalysis

190 Listeners

New Books in Psychology by Marshall Poe

New Books in Psychology

47 Listeners

New Books in African American Studies by New Books Network

New Books in African American Studies

165 Listeners

New Books in Environmental Studies by Marshall Poe

New Books in Environmental Studies

25 Listeners

New Books in Intellectual History by New Books Network

New Books in Intellectual History

60 Listeners

Heavyweight by Pushkin Industries

Heavyweight

17,730 Listeners

Code Switch by NPR

Code Switch

14,616 Listeners

The Intercept Briefing by The Intercept

The Intercept Briefing

6,105 Listeners

Rev Left Radio by Revolutionary Left Radio

Rev Left Radio

3,314 Listeners

Ologies with Alie Ward by Alie Ward

Ologies with Alie Ward

24,415 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,340 Listeners

All My Relations Podcast by Matika Wilbur & Temryss Lane

All My Relations Podcast

2,993 Listeners

The Red Nation Podcast by The Red Nation

The Red Nation Podcast

1,009 Listeners

Acid Horizon by Acid Horizon

Acid Horizon

196 Listeners

Conspirituality by Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Conspirituality

2,052 Listeners