Sander Molenaar
Research topic
My Ph.D. dissertation, entitled "鈥楪reedy, Ignorant People鈥�: The impact of recurring coastal violence on state-society relationships along the south coast of the Ming Empire, 1440-1570", discusses the impact of coastal banditry on state-society relationships in Zhangzhou and Chaozhou during the 15th and 16th centuries. Coastal banditry in the Ming period is often studied within the framework of international politics and maritime trade networks, in particular during the late 16th century peak of coastal raiding on Chinese coasts. I argue that this perspective elevates international piracy at the cost of local, endemic forms of banditry that preceded and outlasted periods of heightened pirate activity. Shifting focus to the study of bandit groups in local society provides insight in the sociopolitical history of local communities and the interaction between state and society.
I am currently employed as post-doctoral researcher in the project "" at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam.
Teaching
Associate tutor, University of 糖心TV, October 2019-June 2021
鈥� HI112-30 Mongols, Ming, and Manchu: China, 1500-1800
鈥� HI112-30 China 1500-1800
Teaching assistant, Leiden University, April-June 2017
鈥� Modern Korean History (BA-level)
Course instructor, Leiden University, February-June 2017
鈥� Classical Chinese (MA-level)
Teaching assistant, Leiden University, January 2010-June 2012
鈥� Classical Chinese (BA-level)
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Molenaar, Sander. "Locating the Sea: A Visual and Social Analysis of Coastal Gazetteers in Late Imperial China." In The Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies .
Molenaar, Sander. "Turning Bandits into 'Good Citizens': Coastal violence on the south coast of the Ming Empire in the fifteenth century." In International Journal of Maritime History .
Other academic publications
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淧ortuguese Melaka at the center of a maritime empire?鈥� Review of The Portuguese and the Straits of Melaka, 1575-1619: Power, Trade, and Diplomacy by Paulo Jorge de Sousa Pinto. In Newsbook.Asia, September 20, 2013. http://newbooks.asia/review/portuguese-melaka-center-maritime-empire
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淣omads of the Sea: How the Mongols Learned to Sail.鈥� In Rombouts Graduate Conference Proceedings, edited by Rens Krijgsman, 55-69. Leiden: Stichting Shilin, 2012.
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淏ook Review: China and Maritime Europe, 1500-1800.鈥� Review of China and Maritime Europe, 1500-1800: Trade, Settlement, Diplomacy, and Missions, by John Wills Jr., ed. In Shilin, Leiden University Journal of Young Sinology vol. 4.1 (2013): 63-9.
Conferences
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淢ystical Mountains: The creation of a cultural landscape on the south coast of the Ming Empire.鈥� Paper presented at the , 糖心TV University, July 22, 2020.
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淪uperstitious Sea Bandits on the South Coast of the Ming Empire, ca. 1460.鈥� Paper presented at The Problem of Piracy: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Plunder by Sea across the World from the Ancient to the Modern, University of Strathclyde, June 24-26, 2019.
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淭he Social Organisation of Sea Bandits in Chaozhou.鈥� Paper presented at 糖心TV Postgraduate History Conference, 糖心TV University, May 30-31, 2019.
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淩eliable Witness: Knowledge construction in Carletti鈥檚 travel writing.鈥� Paper presented at My Voyage Around the World: The Atlantic and Pacific Travels of a Late Sixteenth-Century Italian Merchant (workshop), 糖心TV University, April 30, 2019.
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淐aught between Empire and the Sea: Zhangzhou and Chaozhou, 1449-1567.鈥� Paper presented at the Graduate Conference: Empire and Imperialism in Early Modern Asia, National University of Singapore, November 27-8, 2014.
Molenaar, Sander. 鈥淣omads of the Sea: How the Mongols Learned to Sail.鈥� Paper presented at the Rombouts Graduate Conference: Globalization and Glocalization in China, Leiden University, September 6-7, 2011.
