Eric Staples
Associate Professor
- Email: Eric.Staples@zu.ac.ae
- Telephone: +9712 402
- Address: Abu Dhabi - Khalifa City, FF2-1-043
Introduction
I am an interdisciplinary maritime historian interested in Indian Ocean shipbuilding, seafaring and navigation. I have also been actively involved in a variety of maritime archaeology and experimental archaeology projects. I was the documentation manager and navigator for the Jewel of Muscat Project, a joint Omani-Singapore government initiative that built and sailed a reconstruction of a ninth-century sewn ship from Oman to Singapore. From 2010 to 2016, I was the director of a variety of different maritime heritage projects in Oman and India. I am currently an assistant professor at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
Roles and Responsibilities
Co-director, the Bronze Age Boat Reconstruction Project 2018
Qualifications
2008: Ph.D. in History, University of California at Santa Barbara
2002: M.A. in Middle Eastern History, University of California at Santa Barbara
1994: B.A. in Archaeology (Dept. of Anthropology), University of Colorado at Boulder
Languages
Arabic: Advanced proficiency
French: Intermediate reading proficiency
Spanish: Intermediate reading proficiency
Research and Professional Activities
Research:
As an interdisciplinary historian, my underlying purpose is to study the complex relationships between the diverse populations of the Islamic world and the technologies and cultural practices related to their maritime environments. I have utilized a variety of methodologies to understand this relationship, including textual research, ethnography, and experimental and underwater archaeology. This interest was shaped by my rather unusual upbringing, much of which was spent either living in the Arabian Gulf or sailing the world on wooden sailing craft. My specific research interests include Islamic maritime history, traditional navigation and the diverse forms of naval construction in the western Indian Ocean.
Research interests: experimental archaeology, maritime archaeology, navigation, shipbuilding, navigation, corsair activity
Current Projects:
The Bronze Age Boat Reconstruction Project
The Maritime Lexicon Project
Keywords: experimental archaeology, maritime archaeology, navigation, shipbuilding, navigation, corsair activity
Teaching Areas
Undergraduate Classes:
HIS 203 History of the Modern Middle East
HIS 251 World History
HSS 397 Special Topics: Maritime Heritage: Experimental Archaeology
HSS 397 Special Topics: Maritime Heritage: Oral History and the Sea
SOC 200 Social and Economic Trends of the Gulf
HIS 201 History of the UAE
HSS 497 Senior Seminar
Eric Staples, E. (2018). Indian Ocean Navigation in Islamic Sources. History Compass.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hic3.12485.
Eric Staples, E. (2018). Ships of the Gulf: Shifting Names and Networks. In A. Fromhertz (Ed.),
The Gulf in World History: Arabia at a Global Crossroads. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Al Salimi, A. & E. Staples (Eds.). (2017). Oman: a maritime history: Volume 9 in the studies on
Ibadism and Oman, A. Al Salimi & H. Gaube (Series Eds.). Hildesheim, Zurich, and New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
Al Salimi, A. & E. Staples (Eds.). (2017). The ports of Oman: Volume 10 in the studies on
Ibadism and Oman, A. Al Salimi & H. Gaube (Series Eds.). Hildesheim, Zurich, and New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
Eric Staples, E. (2017). Oman and Islamic Maritime Networks 637-1507 CE. In A. Al Salimi, &
E. Staples (Eds.), Oman: a maritime history: Volume 9 in the studies on Ibadism and Oman, A. Al Salimi & H. Gaube (Series Eds.). Hildesheim, Zurich, and New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
Eric Staples, E. (2017). Navigation in Islamic Sources. In A. Al Salimi, & E. Staples (Eds.),
Oman: a maritime history: Volume 9 in the studies on Ibadism and Oman, A. Al Salimi & H. Gaube (Series Eds.). Hildesheim, Zurich, and New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
