Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Subthemes

Emergent urban cultures
Scripts and textual traditions
Migrant and colonial cultures
Resistance and rebellions

Exploration and travel narratives
Language and translation
Religious syncretism 
Islamic-Christian encounters
Indigenous diplomacy and treaty-making

Cultural hybridity
Enduring pre-colonial traditions
Maritime technology and culture
Culinary exchange and influence
Literary and artistic traditions