Future Events

Women's Committee Annual Worshop
The fourteenth annual workshop of the Women's Committee of the Economic History Society, on the topic: ‘Information / Social Knowledge: From Gossip to the Internet’ will take place on 8 November 2003 at The Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, Malet Street, London.

Urban History Group Meeting
Trevelyan College, University of Durham
3 - 4 April 2003

REASSESSING URBAN POLITICS

Call for papers

Politics, in the widest sense, has always been central to the understanding of urban history. Recent discussion of the topic has tended to focus on key issues such as the role of elites, systems of governance and the development of civil society, highlighting the ways in which the city was run and who was responsible for its management. Much of this discussion has concentrated on emphasising the levels of unity and consensus within the governing classes and their systems of governance, with the result that there has been limited exploration of conflict and negotiation; of the place of party and the cultural and interest divisions which fed into political competition; and of the place of ideology in the running of the cities. This conference aims to address these issues by reassessing urban politics, its ideology, policies and parties, setting out to answer the broad question 'Why do cities need politics and what did they get?'

Themes which we wish to address include:

• The importance of party in a local context, especially the local cultural and environmental factors which shaped divisions along party lines and the trends which diminished or exacerbated such divisions.
  
• Did party destroy or enhance the sense of place and space; was a sense of place and space antithetical to "party"?
  
• The significance of ideology in shaping party opinion and local attitudes to local governance. Was there room for ideological division within local politics and how did it manifest itself?
  
• What part did party and ideology play in shaping urban policy at both the local and national level?
  
• The experience of local party cultures and rituals; the extent to which the form parties took and the policies they pursued were shaped by issues such as class, gender, ethnicity, locality and religious division.
  
• The process of contestation and negotiation in the local political sphere.
  
• The part party played, whether positive or negative, in the transition from corrupt, closed to democratic, mass local politics and the extent to which various political actors employed interests and parties in this process.
  
• Local party politics as a platform for national politics, whether in the careers of individual politicians or the electoral strategies of new, particularist or reviving parties.
  
• The part played by party and ideology in shaping national policy on local governance and the boundaries of local politics.
  
• Political clashes between local and central government as seen in Britain over Poplar, Clay Cross or the GLC.

Though concentrating on the post-1750 period and with an emphasis on the British experience, the conference organisers encourage proposals from those working in earlier periods and in non-British, especially European, urban history. In particular, papers which address the issue of the operation of party at a local level in regimes which could be characterised as autocratic or even absolutist would be of special interest.

Abstract proposals (c.300 words) should be sent, by 14 January 2003, to the conference academic organisers:

Dr Barry Doyle,
Director,
Centre for Local Historical Research University of Teesside,
Middlesbrough,
TS1 3BA.
E-mail: barry.doyle@tees.ac.uk

or

Professor Bob Morris,
Dept of Economic and Social History,
University of Edinburgh,
William Robertson Building,
George Square,
Edinburgh EH8 9JY.
E-mail: rjmorris@ed.ac.uk

Updated details of the conference will be posted on the Centre for Urban History website at: http://www.le.ac.uk/urbanhist/urbanconf/UHG.html

A limited number of bursaries are available to postgraduate students to meet some of the costs incurred in attending the conference. Details are available from:
Professor Richard Rodger,
Department of Economic and Social History,
University of Leicester,
Leicester LE1 7RH.
E-mail:rgr@le.ac.uk

Interested scholars are invited to submit proposals for papers to be presented at the annual meeting of the Economic History Association to be held in Nashville, TN, September 19-21, 2003. Papers are welcome on any topic in economic history, broadly defined. Some, but not all, of the sessions will be devoted to the following theme:

Transitions in Economic History

All economies of the world have experienced a number of transitions in their history. These include those of a grand sort, such as revolution, independence from colonial rule, and the emergence of a market economy. But they also encompass many other transitions that were identified long ago by Simon Kuznets and other scholars as part and parcel of the process of economic development, such as the demographic transition, the decline of the family farm, the rise of services, and the emergence of a multi-ethnic population. These transitions have proceeded more smoothly in some nations than others and they have not taken place everywhere with the same speed. Some may be seen as having been more successful than others.

Why have these transitions been more successful in some places? What determines the speed of transitions? Does the speed matter to eventual success? What has been the impact on the standard of living and the distribution of income and wealth during the process?

The program committee consists of Joshua Rosenbloom, Chair, Fred Bateman, Peter Coclanis, and Jane Humphries. Proposals may be submitted by using the form available from the EHA website: http://www.eh.net/EHA/Meetings/prop_03.html. If a draft of the paper is available, it should be sent in addition to the abstracts. Proposals for entire sessions will be accepted, but the committee reserves the right to determine which papers will be presented in those sessions that are accepted. Such proposals should include complete information for each of the papers proposed. Papers for sessions that are not accepted may be incorporated into other panels. Proposals may also be submitted by mail. Please send three copies of a 3-5 page abstract and a 150 word abstract suitable for publication in the JEH to:
Joshua Rosenbloom,
Department of Economics,
University of Kansas,
1300 Sunnyside Ave.,
Lawrence,
KS 66045-7385
by January 31, 2003. Notices of acceptance will be sent by March 30, 2003. Joshua Rosenbloom may be contacted for more information at jrosenbloom@ku.edu.

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC HISTORY

26 - 30 April 2004 * Prato, Italy

The construction industry before the Industrial Revolution, 13th-18th Centuries

Call for Papers

Historical studies of the construction industry tend to be highly local in focus and descriptive of particular projects; and although it is one of the best documented industries in the late medieval-early modern period, economic historians have shown little interest in using these materials to address general issues about the economy (the notable exception being the history of wages). In light of this situation the Istituto Datini of Prato will dedicate the Settimana di Studi of 2004 to the construction industry before the industrial revolution, 13th to 18th centuries. Historians who are working on particular aspects of the industry - the construction of specific buildings, urban expansion, public works, fortifications, engineering projects, building technology, design, etc - are invited to present proposals that fit into the provisional programme presented below.

Participants are asked to consider the kinds of issues that interest economic historians. They should indicate how their proposal fits into this scheme and demonstrate a willingness to go beyond description to make comparisons across space and across time with the objective of throwing light on the industry as a whole and on the overall economy.

The Executive Committee of the Istituto will make decisions about acceptance of proposals by early November 2002. Members of the committee are: Hans Pohl (Bonn, President), Michele Cassandro (Siena, Vice- President), Miguel Ångel Ladero Quesada (Madrid, Vice- President), Giampiero Nigro (Firenze, Scientific Director), Maxine Berg (Warwick), Jean-François Bergier (Zurigo), Giorgio Borelli (Verona), Antonio di Vittorio (Bari), Laurence Fontane (IUE Firenze), Richard Goldthwaite (Baltimore), Alberto Grohmann (Perugia), Paul Klep (Nijmegen), Paola Massa (Genova), Henryk Samsonowicz (Varsavia).

Provisional Programme

• Sources and re-evaluation of the historiography of the construction industry.
• Framework: planning, administration, process of construction, types and functions of buildings (public, religious, private), rebuilding after calamities, projects.
• Economic organisation: investment of capital (financing) - private/public, credit and accumulation, productivity; prices; related industries; supply and importance of materials; self construction; technology (in relation to materials, costs, functions, architectural styles).
• Labour and management: entrepreneurs, including artisans; management problems; the work force (levels of skill, part-time workers, working conditions, wages, money and credit); professionalisation and its costs (architects, engineers, clerks).
• The construction industry in the wider economy as a strategic sector: scale of the sector (its share of investments, multiplier effects); regional and interregional impact; comparison of urban and rural building; building cycles in relation to demography and economic performance.
  

Participants will give a summary presentation of their papers at the conference as either a paper on a general topic (20 minutes), or a paper on a specific topic or a case study (10 minutes).

Papers can be presented in Italian, English, French and German. During the conference there is concurrent translation of the presentation of papers and discussion into these languages. Papers written in Spanish will be accepted, but at the conference authors of these papers must speak in one of the above languages.

All papers must be original and not previously published or translated from previously published papers. Papers (max. 70,000 keystrokes for general papers, 30,000 keystrokes for specific papers) will be circulated at the conference and will be published in the annual proceedings of the Istituto.

The Istituto Datini will pay the following costs for all officially invited participants: travel by railway (first class) or by plane (special tickets in tourist class up to a certain amount, as indicated in the official invitation); accommodation including breakfast up to five nights in hotels at Prato selected by the Istituto; 20 Euros per day for meals through special arrangements the Istituto makes with selected restaurants in Prato; one official banquet; no honorarium.

All interested scholars should send proposals, clearly specifying theme, period and region of interest, to the
Istituto Datini.
E-mail: datini@istitutodatini.it

The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2002.

TREVELYAN COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM
4 - 6 APRIL 2003

The Economic History Society Annual Conference will take place 4-6 April 2003 at Trevelyan College, University of Durham.

A provisional programme and booking forms ( EHS | UHG ) are available online.

Further information is available from http://www.dur.ac.uk/r.h.britnell/EHS/Conference.htm, or contact:

Maureen Galbraith
Department of Economic & Social History
University of Glasgow
4 University Gardens
Glasgow G12 8QQ
E-mail: ehsocsec@arts.gla.ac.uk

Call for Academic Papers

The 2004 annual conference of the Economic History Society will be hosted by Royal Holloway, University of London from 2 to 4 April at RHUL's Egham Campus.

The Conference Programme Committee invites proposals for entire sessions (of 1.5 hours duration) as well as for individual papers. The former should include proposals and synopses for each paper in the session, although the committee reserves the right to determine which papers will be presented in the session if it is accepted. If a session is not accepted, the committee may incorporate one or more of the proposed papers into other panels.

The committee welcomes proposals in all aspects of economic and social history covering a wide range of periods and countries, and particularly welcomes papers of an interdisciplinary nature.

For each proposed paper, please send (preferably by email) a short abstract of 400-500 words to:

Maureen Galbraith
Economic History Society
Dept of Economic & Social History
University of Glasgow
4 University Gardens
Glasgow
G12 8QQ
Email: ehsocsec@arts.gla.ac.uk

Proposals should be accompanied by a short c.v.

For full consideration, proposals must be received by 26 September 2003. Notices of acceptance will be sent to individual paper givers by 14 November 2003.

2 - 4 April 2004

Royal Holloway, University of London

Call for New Researchers' Papers

The 2004 annual conference of the Economic History Society will be hosted by Royal Holloway, University of London from 2 to 4 April at RHUL's Egham Campus.

The annual conference of the Economic History Society opens with papers presented by new researchers. They offer those completing doctorates the opportunity to present their work before professional colleagues and to benefit from informed comment.

The session will be held on the afternoon of Friday 2 April 2004. Those wishing to be considered for inclusion in the programme at Royal Holloway must submit a synopsis by 26 September 2003. This should provide a firm title, a succinct summary of the principal themes and methodology of the paper, and an outline of probable conclusions.

The synopsis should be of not more than 500 words. It must be accompanied by a clear statement of the progress of research, intended date for submission of thesis, and a statement of support from the supervisor. Please note that proposals from researchers at an early stage of their work will not normally be accepted.

Those selected for inclusion in the programme will be asked to submit a paper, not exceeding 2500 words, by 5 January 2004 for circulation in the Conference booklet. Each new researcher will have the opportunity to speak for twenty minutes, followed by ten minutes of discussion. The student's supervisor will normally be expected to chair the session. A prize of £250 will be awarded for the best paper presented at the Conference by a new researcher.

The Economic History Society is able to offer limited financial support to enable new researchers to attend the Conference when this is not available from their institution.

Synopses and any enquiries should be directed (preferably by email) to:

Dr Emmett Sullivan
Department of History
Faculty of History and Social Sciences
Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
University of London
Egham
TW20 0EX
UK
Email: Emmett.Sullivan@rhul.ac.uk