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YEAR OF THE ATLANTIC WORLD
at
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
“In Greek mythology, the titan Atlas
supported the pillars that held heaven and earth apart.
The pillars rested in the sea beyond the western horizon
in the “Sea of Atlas” - now known as the
Atlantic. Today we know that the Atlantic began to open
about 180 million years ago, and is still widening by
some 25mm per year.” A surface area of 106 million
km including adjoining seas, the Atlantic Ocean covers
approximately 19% of the earth’s surface. Its
currents play a vital role in regulating the earth’s
temperature, absorbing and redistributing heat. Some
of the world's largest rivers run into the Atlantic,
including the Amazon, Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Congo,
Orange, Niger, Senegal, and Volta.
In addition to the ocean, the Atlantic World includes
continents and numerous islands. Contact among the inhabitants
of these land masses has been the subject of intense
debate. There is some historical evidence that several
ancient and medieval European, African and Asian civilizations
established contact with the Americas prior to Columbus’s
voyage. The great cultural and biological exchange that
followed Columbus’s arrival in the New World continued
to grow in scope and magnitude throughout the colonial
period and continues today. The exchange of plants,
animals, and pathogens has changed the natural environment
of the two hemispheres.
The transatlantic slave trade reached its highest volume
in the latter half of the 18th century when an average
of more than 70,000 persons were transported per year.
According to W. E. B. Du Bois, “that sinister
traffic, on which the British Empire and the American
Republic were largely built, cost black Africa no less
than 100,000,000 souls, the wreckage of its political
and social life, and left the continent in precisely
that state of helplessness which invites aggression
and exploitation.” Two hundred years ago, Great
Britain (1807) and the United States (1808) declared
the abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade although slavery
continued. Simultaneously, profound new world liberal
ideals, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
were spreading rapidly.
Issues of great historical, social, political, artistic,
cultural, environmental, health, and commercial import
will be examined through the Year of the ATLANTIC WORLD
as we look for better ways to understand the relationships
that connect people around this great body of water
and look to identify ways that we can promote mutually
beneficial development in peace and security.
Fall 2007 Schedule of Lectures and Programs
Spring 2008 Schedule of Lectures and Programs
Atlantic World Conference
Dowload Audio of Lectures
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