The Blue Humanities

 

Oceanography, as a scientific field, is still in its early stages of development. Since the nineteenth century, fiction has envisioned underwater worlds that explorers couldn't reach. Rachel Carson, a key figure in marine sciences, drew inspiration from arts and literature. In 1951, she suggested that humans would mentally and imaginatively return to the sea, from which they originated eons ago. This cultural interest in the sea began in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, leading to a significant body of literature, art, and music that could be explored in the emerging field termed "blue humanities."

 

Maritime history, once focused on surface activities, now delves into life within the ocean itself, blending with marine biology and natural history. The scope of history has expanded beyond water's edge, with the Mediterranean and Atlantic Seas being central to ancient and early modern scholarship. Recently, the Pacific has gained prominence in contemporary studies. While sea stories, chanties, and marine art are not new, academic scrutiny has only recently been applied. The seascape, once a minor genre, gained importance in the nineteenth century, particularly with artists like J. M. W. Turner and Winslow Homer who depicted light and movement on canvas, termed "pure seascape" by some critics.

 

The modern novel had its beginnings at sea with "Robinson Crusoe," evolved metaphysically with "Moby-Dick," and found expression in watery science fiction by authors like Jules Verne. Herman Melville's insight that "meditation and water are wedded forever" anticipated Rachel Carson's similar idea in "The Sea Around Us" (1951) by almost a century. In the emerging field of "ecoliterature," we are discovering the scientific side of writers like John Steinbeck, seen in his collaboration with naturalist Ed Ricketts in "The Log from the Sea of Cortez," one of the early examples of this genre.

 

The concept of "blue humanities" reflects a belated acknowledgment of the deep connection between modern Western culture and the sea. Before the nineteenth century, attitudes toward the oceans were more practical than aesthetic. The sea was often depicted as dangerous, repellant, and unfit for artistic representation. The focus was on the utilitarian aspects, viewing the sea as a means to reach distant lands. The oceans themselves, referred to as "The Deep," were considered unfathomable and mysterious, a dark zone concealing its secrets.

 

Until the nineteenth century, our understanding of the sea was superficial, merely navigating its surface. Early sea fiction and art mainly focused on ships and seafaring skills, neglecting the oceans themselves. The second discovery of the sea, starting in the late eighteenth century, expanded our knowledge, recognizing the sea as a living, three-dimensional entity with its history, geography, and life. Modern times achieved what no other era attempted—the exploration of the temporal and spatial depth of the sea. Darwinian science acknowledged the sea as the origin of all life on Earth, challenging biblical chronology. Archaeology traced the origins of Homo sapiens back to the African shore.

 

Ironically, when nations shifted focus away from the sea as a workplace, writers and painters turned their attention to the sea itself. It became a place of spiritual and physical recreation, acquiring new cultural significance and aesthetic power. The ocean transformed into a source of images and metaphors, influencing Western culture, with the shipwreck being a notable example.

As science delved into the oceans, new myths emerged, with the concept of Atlantis, a submerged continent, resurfacing in a modern world concerned about its survival. The sea gained prominence in Western collective consciousness and became a symbol with diverse meanings. Jonathan Raban describes it as the most versatile symbol, constantly reshaping itself for each writer and generation. It transformed into a symbol of eternity, offering comfort to those who, losing faith in divine afterlife, saw in its timeless flows evidence of nature's immortality and a secular promise of everlasting life. For Joseph Conrad, who disapproved of industrial changes to the land, the sea was the only viable alternative.

 

The sea, despite reduced direct interaction, became a mirror for those on land to contemplate their condition. Symbolic and metaphorical representations of the sea increased even as people's actual involvement diminished. Charles Dickens deemed the sea beneficial for both body and mind. In America, a coastal, sea-conscious culture with romantic literary traditions developed.

 

On a personal level, the sea served as a metaphor for life. In an era of constant change, it represented the flow of life in ways the land could not. The seaside, according to J. G. Francis, provided an ideal setting for contemplation. The flood tide symbolized youth, the ebb tide old age, and the horizon spoke of a steadfast future and immutable