CFP: APEBH 2018

The 2018 Asia Pacific Economic and Business History (APEBH) Conference will be hosted by the School of History at the University of Tasmania in Hobart on February 15-17, 2018. The conference, under the topic "History from Below: Ordinary Lives in Historical and Comparative Perspective," will bring together researchers in business, economic, and social history and feature new and exciting research from a variety of perspectives covering historical developments in Australia and Asia, as well as in other regions of the world.
      Papers and proposals for sessions are welcome on any topic in economic, social, and business history, including proposals for complete sessions on particular themes. According to the call for papers,

The conference organisers are also particularly interested in attracting papers that examine topics in the context of the Asia-Pacific region and papers that provide an international comparative perspective, especially in relation to pre-contact and settler-economies such as Australia, New Zealand and the wider Pacific. The digital revolution has resulted in unprecedented access to archival records. . . . The digital revolution has also presented challenges. A lot of information does not necessarily equate to good data. New techniques for dealing with messy or fuzzy information or mining digital archives have also played a role in shaping the discipline. . . . There is ample scope for new interpretations, new findings, as well as syntheses of existing work.

All abstracts, proposals for sessions, or papers for refereeing should be emailed to apebh2018@outlook.com by November 17, 2017. For a fuller discussion of the conference theme and additional details, please consult the call for papers.

Full Program Available: 150 Years of Canadian Business History

The Canadian Business History Association/Association canadienne pour l'histoire des affaires (CBHA/ACHA) will hold its next annual conference on September 11-12, 2017, at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. The full program for the meeting, whose theme is "150 Years of Canadian Business History," presented in conjunction with Canada’s sesquicentennial birthday celebrations, is now available on the CBHA/ACHA website. The conference is multi-disciplinary and open to participation by academics, business leaders, professional archivists, and the public. Among the many historians presenting are David Kirsch, Mira Wilkins, Joe Martin, Graham Taylor, Robert Wright, Laurence Mussio, Doug McCalla, and Andrew Smith. 
    For more information about the conference, please see the CBHA/ACHA website.

CFP: “Revising the Geography of Modern World Histories”

The British Academy and the Department of History at the University of York invite submissions from early career researchers for a two-day workshop and public conference, “Revising the Geography of Modern World Histories,” to be held in York, UK, on February 9-10, 2018. This international event responds to the recent boom in global history, "providing a forum to discuss the challenges and possibilities of writing multi-sited modern histories that encompass fully situated lives and local contexts." For a list of possible topics, please see the full call for papers. The event organizers wish to draw early career scholars who are "stretching the boundaries of their national or disciplinary specializations."
     Proceedings will include small-group workshops to discuss shared challenges and strategies of conducting geographically heterodox historical scholarship, public presentations of works in progress, keynote lectures, and a plenary discussion with public Q&A.
    Applicants must include, along with a 250-word abstract, a list of five works currently most relevant to their research. These titles will be assembled into an actively managed, open-access bibliography on the conference website. All abstracts are due by September 1, 2017, and should be sent in pdf or MS Word format to revising-geography@york.ac.uk. This conference is a collaboration between scholars at the Universities of Nottingham, Sheffield, and York in the UK, and Fordham, Harvard, the New School for Social Research, Northwestern, and Ohio State in the United States.

Digital Exhibits of Interest

A brief round-up of some interesting digitized materials from around the web:

From Harvard University Libraries, a broadside on “Comparison of Products, Population and Resources of the Free and Slave States” (1861).

From the New York Public Library, a collection of cigarette trade cards; nearly 50,000 images, searchable by topic

The John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera at the Bodleian Library is a large and varied source of images, with nearly 74,000 digitized to date.

From the New York Academy of Medicine, a well-illustrated discussion of Pabst Brewing Company's marketing campaign to persuade consumers that its malt extract could cure a range of ailments.

The Framingham History Center has posted an informative and well-illustrated timeline for the now-shuttered Dennison Manufacturing Company.

From the Digital Public Library of America and the University of Denver, "Staking Claims: The Gold Rush in Nineteenth Century America." Other DPLA Exhibits may be found here.

For a vast collection of links to online materials, readers might visit the Internet Archive, a meta-collection of links to digital holdings around the world (though primarily US, UK, and Western Europe). Try, for example, a search of "business directory" in the metadata category.

BHC 2017 Meeting Presenters: Reminder about BEH Online Submissions

Business and Economic History-Online is still accepting papers that were presented at the 2017 Denver meeting for its annual online edition. Papers should be no more than 15 pages in length, single-spaced, and should be submitted as Word files. Any accompanying images or charts should be embedded in the text. Papers should be submitted to behonline2017papers@gmail.com by October 15 for consideration. Questions may be directed to BEH Editor Benjamin Schwantes (Benjamin.schwantes@gmail.com) or Assistant Editor William J. Hausman (wjhaus@wm.edu).
    The full run of BEH Online papers can be found on the BHC website. The entire run of the printed Business and Economic History, 1962-1999, is available as well.

EBHA 2017: Full Program with Papers

The next annual congress of the European Business History Association (EBHA) begins in two weeks (August 24-26) in Vienna, Austria, hosted by the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). The final program for the meeting, whose theme is "Transformation in Business and Society: An Historical Approach," is available online, accompanied by links to the full texts of many of the papers.
    The opening speaker for the congress will be Philipp Blom; his topic is "Freezing Meteors and Congealed Cold: How the Little Ice Age Ushered in Capitalism."
    More details, including information about registration, lodging, and travel, can be found on the congress website.

CFP: New Orleans, John Law, and the Mississippi Company

The inaugural conference of the 18th- and 19th-Century Studies Network will be held on April 26-28, 2018, at the University of Colorado Boulder. The theme will be "New Orleans, Global City (1718 – 2018): The Long Shadow of John Law and the Mississippi Company." According to the call for papers:

It has been almost three hundred years since the first international stock market crash took place in France, Britain, and the Netherlands. A spate of cross-disciplinary conferences and publications have added greatly to our understanding of the impact of the Mississippi and South Sea Bubbles and the Dutch windhandel (trade in wind) on European economies and cultures. The colonial, global, and oceanic dimensions of these events have not been studied as closely. Meant to coincide with the foundation of New Orleans in 1718 by the Compagnie des Indes (aka the Mississippi Company), this interdisciplinary conference will focus on the immediate to long-term impact of Law’s System and the Mississippi Company on the cultures, economies, and environments of New Orleans and surrounding areas. The focus will be on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but we shall also consider proposals that deal with earlier or later developments so long as they take into account their broader historical context.

The deadline for the submission of individual paper proposals is September 17, 2017. Please send an abstract (300 – 600 words) along with a brief (2 – 3 pages) curriculum vitae to catherine.labio@ colorado.edu. For additional information, please see the full call for papers.

Post-Doc: Global History of Capitalism at Oxford

The Global History of Capitalism project at the University of Oxford is seeking a dedicated Career Development Fellow to join their team to conduct rigorous academic research and to inform debates on the history of capitalism. The program's co-directors (and co-founders) are Christopher McKenna and Rowena Olegario. According to the job posting,

The successful applicant will have an active research interest in the global history of capitalism and be able to work individually and collaboratively with researchers across disciplines. You will conduct relevant archival research as well as field-based research where relevant. You will manage your own academic research and administrative duties, contribute ideas for new projects and collaborate in the presentation of publications. You will also provide teaching relief to one of the Co-Directors and co-design a new undergraduate course in business history. You will hold a relevant doctorate (or show evidence that a doctorate is imminent) and have an excellent knowledge of the languages relating to your specialism. You will be able to demonstrate a strong research record and excellent communication skills along with the ability to teach. An ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within a team is essential.

The post is full-time and fixed term for 3 years; the start date is negotiable but must be no later than January 2018. Applicants are required to submit a research proposal as part of their application. The deadline for applications is noon on September 13, 2017.
    For additional information, please see the job posting on  the Oxford website.
    Questions can be directed to Chris McKenna, chris.mckenna@sbs.ox.ac.uk and/or Rowena Olegario, rowena.olegario@sbs.ox.ac.uk.

CFP: Special Journal Issue on “History of Corporate Finance”

Abe de Jong and Marc Deloof, editors of a special issue of the Journal of Risk and Financial Management (JRFM), have issued a call for papers on the history of corporate finance. They write:

Twenty years ago, the book A History of Corporate Finance by Paul Miranti and the late Jonathan Baskin was published. This book aims to create a synthesis between modern finance theory and historical investigations of corporate finance decisions. In the past two decades, several studies have been published about the history of financial markets, as well as about accounting and banking history. Unfortunately, historical research into corporate finance decisions seems to be limited. The aim of this special issue is to publish new research on the history of corporate finance. 

A workshop to discuss the submissions will be held in Rotterdam in February 2018; it is expected the special journal issue will appear in June 2018.
     Papers must be submitted for the workshop by November 15, 2017. Completed papers are preferred, but early drafts and proposals may be accepted. Submission implies that the paper will be considered for the special issue of JRFM. Please email the text to ajong@rsm.nl and marc.deloof@uantwerpen.be. After the workshop, selected papers will be submitted to JRFM for review. Preference will be given to papers presented and discussed in the workshop, but other papers may also be considered.
    For further information, please see the call for papers on the JRFM website.

Call for Submissions: BHC Book Prizes

Herewith submission details for the BHC's two book prizes:
     The Hagley Museum and Library and the Business History Conference jointly offer the Hagley Prize, awarded to the best book in Business History (broadly defined); the award consists of a medallion and $2,500. The prize committee encourages the submission of books from all methodological perspectives. It is particularly interested in innovative studies that have the potential to expand the boundaries of the discipline. Scholars, publishers, and other interested parties may submit nominations. Eligible books can have either an American or an international focus. They must be written in English and be published during the two years (2016 or 2017 copyright) prior to the award.  The 2017 winner of the Hagley Prize was Destructive Creation: American Business and the Winning of World War II (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016) by Mark R. Wilson, University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
    The Ralph Gomory Prize for Business History (made possible by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) recognizes historical work on the effect business enterprises have on the economic conditions of a country in which they operate. A $5,000 prize is awarded annually. Eligible books are written in English and published in the two years (2016 or 2017 copyright) prior to the award. The 2017 Ralph Gomory Prize of the Business History Conference was shared by Johan Mathew of Rutgers University for his book, Margins of the Market: Trafficking and Capitalism across the Arabian Sea (University of California Press, 2016), and Mark R. Wilson, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, for his book, Destructive Creation: American Business and the Winning of World War II.
    For each prize, four copies of the book must accompany a nomination and be submitted to the Prize Coordinator, Carol Ressler Lockman, Business History Conference, PO Box 3630, 298 Buck Road, Wilmington, DE 19807-0630 USA. The deadline for submission for both prizes is November 30, 2017. The 2018 prizes will be presented at the annual meeting of the Business History Conference to be held in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, on April 5-7, 2018. Questions may be addressed to Carol Lockman at clockman@hagley.org.