Impact of Titanic Upon International Maritime Law

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Michael--I'd be interested in what you might have to say on how I would go about turning my paper into a book. That thought positively staggers me.<<

As well that it should. This won't be the easiest thing in the world to research. Your article used a lot of secondary sources but for something that goes into the sort of depth needed for a book, you'll need to hit a lot of primary sources, as many as you can lay your hands on. I suspect that hitting up some law libraries will be essential. A good starting point would be to see what sort of proposals were put forward in the inquiries themselves then do some poking around to see what ultimately made it into the lawbooks.

Once this get's going, the whole project may end up taking on a life of it's own, and I won't kid you into thinking it's going to be accomplished quickly. Thus is a work that would take several years to finish from outline to completed work being run out to the booksellors. Some of the members here are published authors and can tell you all about that.

I think however that you may find it worthwhile.

 

[Inger Sheil]

...but I certainly wasn't bored writing it, so I hope people would be entertained (academically, intellectually, what have you) while reading it.

I'd say your hope is fulfilled, Allison - at least from my POV. I'm looking forward to reading what you produce when you next put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).

If you do decide to follow it through, I can send you some snips (and snails and puppy dog tails) indicative of the effect the disaster had in Britain on maritime law and practice. If you want to give it a break and explore other aspects of the disaster, though, that's fair enough!

 

[monica e. hall]

Sticking on my supervisor's hat, and being used to being asked whether a topic might ultimately support a career ambition / a future book etc., I do have to say I don't think the Solas/Law idea would. Unless you just wanted to sell it to Noel and a few others.
Speaking personally, I'd pick a broader area that would appeal to the general public (well, the thinking ones at any rate) and which would allow you to explore more than one area of interest, but wouldn't end up an audit trail. Something like "Talking to America" - which was one of the most pressing problems in the late 19th / early 20th Centuries, with the demands of politics, trade and immigration, and is fascinatingly interesting. It could take you into stuff like the laying of Atlantic cables (a right saga - and at our end the great enterprise ended in an insignificant hut on a beach), Morse code, the Marconi company (complete with post-Titanic insider trading scandals), Jack Binns & Jack Phillips, the legal aftermath of the Titanic, WW1 etc. etc. In fact, I almost feel motivated to do it myself

.
And should't Allison be finishing her degree at the moment? When you've finished, Allison, maybe we could do it together? You in the US and me in Europe?

 

[Noel F. Jones]

The title of this topic gave me reason to believe that Allison was a student of law.

If this is not the case please disregard my intervention here.

Noel

 

[Parks Stephenson]

Allison,

So, you're at Troy State, are you? I was stationed at Maxwell AFB for a while and attended night classes at AUM for my Master's degree. I have never seen as much water fall from the sky as I have in Montgomery, and I fear that you will soon be seeing more of the same when Frances makes her way into your area.

I enjoyed your article and hope that you will continue your pursuits in that area. If so, I would ask that you consider the following possibilities:

- There was no breakdown in the communication between the wireless shack and the bridge, as has been assumed thoughout most of the history of Titanic research.

- The assumption that the Mesaba message was not delivered to the bridge is mistaken.

- Enough messages were plotted to give the crew adequate knowledge of the extent of the ice field in Titanic's path, in a practical sense.

- That the regulation of the wireless industry had more to do with economic factors that had begun to take form prior to the Titanic disaster than with the disaster itself (the disaster thereby providing the catalyst needed to force the issue politically).

In addition, there's one minor historical point that I would question...that of the wireless apparatus breaking down in the afternoon. My information has Phillips and Bride wrapping up their repair effort around 0500 (local ship's time) on the morning of 14 April.

My suggestions are meant to be constructive and only applicable if you desire to carry your research into this topic further. I wouldn't ask you to look into anything that I wouldn't myself...everything that I proposed here parallels my own research.

Good job again on your article,
Parks

 

[Allison Lane]

Man, I let this dry out, didn't I? Shame on me. (Busy last semester. This one is my last--eek.)
Anyway, I thought you guys might be interested in seeing this newspaper article, since it involves ET:
Troy University Student's Work Published On Encyclopedia Titanica Website
I don't have a hard copy of it myself, but one of the professors cut it out of the Troy Messenger and tacked it up in the history department common room.

So yeah, Parks, I'm at good ole Troy, for a few more months, at least.

Your pointing out my mistakes has me very embarrassed at myself, but I do understand that they are meant to be constructive. I was actually sitting in class earlier today pondering a new paper I get to write about the Titanic, and remembering Michael's suggestion that I might want to take this paper further someday, and wondering if I could actually do it. I'm still positively lost when it comes to what I'm going to do with myself after graduation--my efforts into looking at museum job opportunities are falling dead flat--and suddenly the thought of working on a book, even though it wouldn't be fiction and my poor fiance would have to support the both of us, sounds extremely appealing. So what I'm wondering is, would anyone here be willing to help me with it, and how would I go about trying to get it published (or should I say, would anyone even want to)?
I think I'm babbling, so I'm going to hop over to another part of the forum and wax philosophic on my new paper topic.
Again, having my paper published here is sincerely the proudest moment of my life to date, even if it is rather noobish.
-Allison L.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Again, having my paper published here is sincerely the proudest moment of my life to date, even if it is rather noobish.<<

Having a paper published here which I co wrote with two friends, I know how you feel. I hope you're still kicking around the idea of using your paper as the foundation for a book project. You'll have to do a lot of work on it and no doubt have to correct some errors, but I've seen you get some useful feedback here which you could use as a guide.

 

[Allison Lane]

>>I hope you're still kicking around the idea of using your paper as the foundation for a book project. You'll have to do a lot of work on it and no doubt have to correct some errors, but I've seen you get some useful feedback here which you could use as a guide.<<

I very much am! That's primarily why I came crawling back to this topic after letting it fester for so long, that and wanting to finally post the link to that newspaper article. However, I think I will see how this new paper of mine turns out. I might even just be suited for short articles--I like to write fiction as a hobby, and the only multi-chaptered story I have has been in progress since 1999(!), and it only has ten chapters to date. So my output rate is horrendous. Yet the idea of producing a book, possibly before I hit 30, never mind at all

, is very very very appealing. Though, I'm so lost as to where I'm going career-wise, I could just be grasping at straws.

-Allison L.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>However, I think I will see how this new paper of mine turns out.<<

That's ressonable. You can only do so much at one time and since you need to do a paper for a graded part of your coursework, it obviously needs to occupy pride of place.

>>Though, I'm so lost as to where I'm going career-wise, I could just be grasping at straws.<<

Grasping at straws? I don't think so. Even if the career you choose is something along the lines of "Housewife and Mom" that's no barrier to using a typewriter or Microsoft Word® to collate the fruits of your research, and you can always take time to use the local library. If you have another career in mind, that can open up some other potential avenues of research as well.

You can do it!

 

[Allison Lane]

I'd very much like to work in a museum as a conservator, but the information I've found about any possible open positions anywhere are horrifically zero. I'm so discouraged it's not even funny.

I actually considered the possibility of working full-time on turning my paper into a book, but the reaction I got to that was very negative, considering my fiance and I are both about to graduate into entry-level America. So I don't know. I really appreciate your support, though, Michael--it means a lot to me.

-Allison L.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>I actually considered the possibility of working full-time on turning my paper into a book, but the reaction I got to that was very negative, considering my fiance and I are both about to graduate into entry-level America.<<

Understandable. You have an education to complete, and you both need to have gainful employment to make ends meet. Even if it's just the two of you and no others, there's still the matter of food on the table, clothes on your backs, and a roof over your head to take care of. If you two decide to be fruitful and multiply...more bills!

None of which is a barrier to working on this project part time. Mark Chirnside managed to work on and complete two books while still in school and get them published befor even hitting his 18th birthday. Just goes to show that where there's a will, a way can be found.

>>So I don't know. I really appreciate your support, though, Michael--it means a lot to me<<

Glad to hear that. I think you know that your paper will need more work, especially to fill in gaps and correct errors, however, the Titanic's impact on maritime law is not, in my opinion, all that well understood. While it's not quite what a lot of people might think it is, the event still had an influance which reaches into the present day. I hope you can do something with it.

 

[Jane Doe Stevens]

Hello Allison!

I thought that your writing was highly informative. I enjoyed reading.

If it isn't too much to ask, what are your credentials? I"m currently writing a paper on the Titanic and am using your article as a source, and knowing the author's credentials is a requirement. There is a link with your name, but it only shows other articles that you have written.

Some examples of credentials would be - Academic awards, academic certificates, college degrees, and/or anything else you would like to share about yourself.

Of course, if you think that this is too personal, you don't have to respond. No pressure.

Thank you for your time,
Jane Doe

 

[Mark Baber]

Hello Allison!

I thought that your writing was highly informative. I enjoyed reading.

If it isn't too much to ask, what are your credentials? I"m currently writing a paper on the Titanic and am using your article as a source, and knowing the author's credentials is a requirement. There is a link with your name, but it only shows other articles that you have written.

Some examples of credentials would be - Academic awards, academic certificates, college degrees, and/or anything else you would like to share about yourself.

Of course, if you think that this is too personal, you don't have to respond. No pressure.

Thank you for your time,
Jane Doe

Hello---

Allison Lane will likely not respond. These messages are from 2004-05 and she is no longer a member of this Message Board.