A Decolonial Blue Humanities
In a chapter in which she proposes a “decolonial theory of liquid worlds,” Françoise Vergès observes: “The majority of the human race does not have the experience of the ocean as permanent habitat, so one must begin with the ways of life that sea peoples have invented in their permanent relationship with a constantly moving liquid space, which does not allow itself to be cultivated like solid land” (Vergès 219).1
How do “sea peoples” live with the ocean as permanent habitat? In what ways does living with/in the ocean facilitate different ways of knowing, understanding, or inhabiting the world? How do those who live with the ocean as permanent habitat respond to existential threats such as ocean pollution, sea-level rise, or coral reef degradation? How do they confront nuclear colonialism, hydrocolonialism, or 21st-century projects such as deep-sea mining and militourism? How do writers, filmmakers, artists, or other creators depict liquid worlds, and in what ways do they creatively engage with what we might call a decolonial blue humanities?
This special focus of Studies in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature (STTCL) explores the literature, film, and cultural productions of “sea peoples,” or those who permanently live with the ocean or other waterways. It aims to build on the work of Blue Humanities and Critical Ocean Studies scholars such as Steve Mentz, Sid Dobrin, Elizabeth DeLoughrey, Magali Compan, Anaïs Maurer, Isabel Hofmeyr, Stacy Alaimo, Astrida Neimanis, and Melody Jue. We invite scholarly essays that examine the relationship between waterways and the human in twentieth and twenty-first-century literature, film, and other artistic and cultural production. Contributions from French-, German-, or Spanish-speaking contexts are welcome.
Interested authors should send abstracts of 300- 500 words to Dr. Julia Frengs (jfrengs2@unl.edu) by June 15, 2026.
Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature (STTCL) is committed to publishing high quality, anonymously peer reviewed articles written in English on post-1900 literature, film, and media in French, German, and Spanish. The journal is devoted to theory and criticism in the modern languages, and encourages interdisciplinary and collaborative submissions. Each annual issue starts with a guest edited special focus section, with newly accepted general submissions and book reviews published incrementally throughout the year.
[1] Vergès, Françoise. “Pour une théorie décoloniale des mondes liquides.” Convergences océanes : ces océans qui nous habitent. Eds. Magali Compan and Valérie Magdelaine Andrianjafitrimo. Presses Universitaires Indianocéaniques (2024): pp. 209-226. (My translation).
