The Black Sea as Historical Meso-Region: Concepts in Cultural Studies and the Social Sciences

Abstract

The discussion on a Black Sea meso-region, now in full swing, should be of interest to historians for multiple reasons: First, it directly affects how we construct meso-regional spaces, such as ‘Southeastern Europe’, ‘East-Central Europe’, or ‘Eurasia.’ Second, it offers possibilities for comparison with other maritime-based meso-regional concepts, such as ‘the Mediterranean’, ‘the Levant’, ‘the Adriatic’ or ‘the Baltic Sea’/‘Northeastern Europe’. Third, it provides a gateway to a global historical approach to trans-maritime seascapes and coastal societies, such as ‘Atlantic world’, ‘Red Sea’, or ‘Indian Ocean’. Finally, it sharpens our understanding that the historical meso-regions of Europe extend far beyond the conventional political, geographic, or cultural structures of ‘EUrope’.