TIDE: Travel, Transculturality, and Identity in the Early Modern World

Description

TIDE (Travel, Transculturality, and Identity in the Early Modern World) promotes and supports research on global transculturality, mobility, and cultural encounters, as well as questions of race, belonging, and identity in the 16th and 17th centuries. It serves as a platform for bringing together researchers from various disciplines at the University of Oxford and visiting scholars, both academic and non-academic, to discuss human movement during this period across geographical, political, linguistic, religious, and cultural boundaries. These interactions have had lasting implications that shape the world today.

TIDE originates from ERC-TIDE (Travel, Transculturality, and Identity in England, c.1550-1700), a 6-year project funded by the European Research Council from 2016 to 2022. The project explored how mobility during the great age of travel and discovery influenced English perceptions of cultural identity and differences. The individuals with transcultural mobility played a central role in this period, as trade, diplomacy, politics, religious divisions, and changes in legal systems sought to define and regulate their identities. Many terms that emerged during this time, such as foreigners, strangers, aliens, converts, exiles, translators, ambassadors, and go-betweens, continue to shape the understanding of cultural difference and identity today. ERC-TIDE examined the discourses surrounding human identity in this era, offering a fresh perspective on cross-cultural encounters and generating new insights into key terms, concepts, and debates. The project focused on the significance of literature and shed light on the formation of cultural differences and identities. It contributed to the fragmented understanding of transculturality and the concept of 'betweenness' during the early modern period, which continues to influence the contemporary world.

Further information about this work can be found on the archived version of the ERC-TIDE website. The project's two main open-access publications, "Keywords of Identity, Race, and Human Mobility" and "Lives in Transit in Early Modern England," are also available online. The first volume, "Keywords," examines terms that were central to the conceptualization of identity, race, migration, and transculturality during this period. The collection of short essays focuses on terms that played significant roles in English debates about migration and empire. The second volume, "Lives in Transit," presents 24 microhistories that delve into the lives of transcultural individuals during the period. It explores how border-crossers of various types established themselves in new languages, countries, and cultures, navigating the often exclusive boundaries of belonging. The volume also reflects on members’ approaches to knowledge production, especially in contexts where archival access is limited or heavily mediated.

TIDE extends beyond the scope of ERC-TIDE, building on the latter's understanding of the intricate global networks of movement during this period.

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

Founding year

2016

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University affiliation(s)

University of Oxford
Oxford