Interview with Gilbert C. Fite

Born in 1918, reared and educated in South Dakota, Gilbert C. Fite took his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri. He is a historian of U.S. agriculture, particularly the impact of technology, economics, and politics on midwestern and southern farming since the late nineteenth century. He has written nine books, co-authored seven more, edited three volumes, and published over sixty articles. Former president of Eastern Illinois University, the Agricultural History Society and the Southern and Western Historical Associations, Fite has long been very active in Phi Alpha Theta and served as its president from 1981–1983. He taught at the University of Oklahoma for twenty-six years and held the Richard B. Russell Professorship of American History at the University of Georgia for a decade. He and his wife, June, were married in 1941, have two sons, and live in Bella Vista, Arkansas, where this interview was conducted by Roger Adelson in August 1993.     

An astrolabe from Passa Pau, Cape Verde Islands

Mariner's astrolabes seem to have been in use from the 15th to the end of the 18th centuries. They evolved at about the same time as quadrants and cross-staffs. Their precursor, the astronomer's astrolabe and kamal, were either too cumbersome or not sufficiently accurate for sea-going use. An astrolabe found on the Passa Pau wreck is unique in that it is the only know/specimen coated with silver. It is dated 1645 and has the maker's name, Nicolao Rvffo, inscribed on it.     

Beached Shipwrecks from Channel Islands National Park,California

Abstract

Three shipwreck sites of the 19th century in Channel Islands National Park, California form case studies in evaluating the contribution of beached shipwrecks to maritime and historical archaeology. Two of the sites are consistent with the historically-documented Pacific coast lumber schooners J. M. Colman and Dora Bluhm, but the archaeological record is sparse. Material remains are compared to primary documents, such as original 19th-century construction contracts and insurance classifications, to make a case for the beached shipwreck scatters belonging to these ships. A third site, Comet, presents the other end of the spectrum; its remains have been conclusively identified by historical photographs and the site is a partially-intact hull embedded in the beach sand. This site was also recorded in detail and the formation processes of all three sites were examined to aid in archaeological interpretation.     

Islands,the Anthropocene,and Decolonisation

The Anthropocene is deployed as incontrovertible fact, yet its foundations merit strong critique to challenge how particular voices and locations are absented, silenced, or enrolled in the fallacies that attend this epochal framework. Other placed, grounded, and scale-sensitive explanations exist for present and future state scenarios, including on islands—often the focus of apocalyptic thinking. Dealing with historical and contemporary struggles to decolonise is more powerful than engaging with a reified framework that is part of ongoing colonial-imperial excesses, uneven development, and racial capitalism. This work considers how four of us, as instigating authors, worked with five others, as collaborating authors, to understand academic works, activism, and artistic expressions of island life and concerns. Our aim was to learn about how and why their efforts to prioritise decolonisation is at the heart of what is needed to shore up island peoples’ futures.