Seascapes: Shaped by the Sea

Despite the fact that the sea covers 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface and is integral to the workings of the world it has been largely neglected or perceived as marginal in modern consciousness. This edited collection disrupts notions of the sea as ’other’ as foreign and featureless through specific situated accounts which highlight the centrality of the sea for the individuals concerned. Bringing together academics who combine scholarly expertise with lived experiences on in and with the sea it examines humans’ relationships with the sea. Through the use of auto-ethnographic accounting the contributors reflect on how the sea has shaped their sense of identity belonging and connection. They examine what it is to be engaged with the sea and narrate their lived sentient corporeal experiences. The sea is a cultural seascape just as it is physical reality. The sea shapes us and we in turn attempt to ’shape it’ as we construct various versions of it that reflect our on-going and mutable relationship with it. The use of embodied accounts as a way of conveying lived-experiences and the integration of relevant theoretical frames for understanding the broader cultural implications provide new opportunities to understand seascapes.