Afterword: The Last Universal Commons

This response highlights several important currents in Oceanic Studies raised in the essays included in this special forum on the topic. It signals the importance of such work in an era in which the sea's status as a global commons is both freshly vital and imperiled. It then comments on work that historicizes both the formation and use of different oceans; that underscores the differences between Oceanic Studies and histories of globalization; and that interrogates the role for literature, art, and aesthetic theory more generally in engaging with research into the oceans. Along the way, the afterword identifies important recent work in history, literary studies, art, and histories of science that indicates promising avenues in Oceanic Studies.