The Exchange

On October 28, 2016, Hagley Museum and Library will host a conference, "Making Modern Disability: Histories of Disability, Design, and Technology," which will explore the history of modern design and technology with regard to disability. The organizers note, "While devices adapted to the needs of people with disabilities can be found throughout human history, industrialization created distinctive circumstances for the material lives of the disabled." The program is available here .     Advance registration for the conference is required, but there is no fee. Lunch on site can be purchased in advance for $15. To register, visit www.hagley.org/hagleyconference2016 . For more information, contact Carol Lockman at (302)-658-2400, ext. 243, or clockman@hagley.org .

The deadline for proposals for the 2017 Business History Conference meeting , which will be held on March 30-April 1, 2017, in Denver, Colorado, is Monday, October 3, 2016 .     The theme of the meeting is "Civilizations." According to the program committee (Susie Pak [chair], Eric Hilt, Caitlin Rosenthal, Lars Heide, Jessica Burch, and Walter Friedman), the theme is "meant to suggest broad connections between business and the way of life that characterizes particular regions or countries."     Papers addressing all other topics will receive equal consideration by the program committee in accordance with BHC policy. The program committee will consider both individual papers and entire panels. Individual paper proposals should include a one-page (300 word) abstract and one-page curriculum vitae (CV). Panel proposals should include a cover letter stating the rationale for the panel and the name of its contact person; one-page (300 word) abstract and author’s C...

In partnership with various local, national, and international cultural heritage organizations, academic institutions, and historic sites, the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture , the Carolina Lowcountry and the Atlantic World Program (CLAW), and the Addlestone Library  are hosting a conference on "Transforming Public History Practices from Charleston to the Atlantic World," to be held at the College of Charleston and other partner sites in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 15-17, 2017, with a pre-conference day of workshops on June 14. According to the call for papers , The conference organizers welcome proposals for workshops, roundtables, panels, and individual papers from public history professionals, scholars, educators, librarians, archivists, and artists that address issues surrounding the interpretation, preservation, memorialization, and commemoration of, as well as public engagement with, underrepresented topics in major themes of...

In 2015 the BHC Trustees appointed Michael Aldous (Queen's University, Belfast) to serve as the inaugural Teaching and Research Resources Web Editor. He has now written an introductory essay to launch a new section of the Teaching and Resources portion of the BHC website, one that will "promote the excellent teaching resources, whilst providing context, particularly for those not immersed in Business History, and offering insights and inspiration regarding their use." In his essay, "Rethinking Business History in the Classroom," Aldous writes, "I would like to invite members of the BHC community to contribute short pieces that discuss the many and varied ways in which business history [is] being used across disciplines in classrooms, and through these entries foster a wider discussion on these opportunities."      Further essays will be published throughout the year; upcoming is a discussion with Paolo Quattrone about visualization and history ...

The conference "Histories of Capitalism 2.0" will meet at Cornell University on September 29-October 1, 2016. The final program has now been posted. In addition to dozens of sessions, the meeting will also feature a number of plenaries: William Darity and Kirsten Mullen, "The ARC of Justice: Reparations for African Americans" Juliet E. K. Walker, "Black Economic Lives Matter: Racial Capitalism and African American Entrepreneurship" Marcus Rediker, "The Blood-Red Atlantic: The Violent Origins of Capitalism" Victoria DeGrazia, "Hyper-Consumerism: Capitalism's Latest Forward Lurch, 1990-2010" Jedidiah Purdy, "Capitalism's Natures"      For information about registration, lodging, and other issues, please see the conference website and FAQ .

The Economic and Social History Society of Ireland will hold its next conference at Maynooth University on November 25-26, 2016. The theme will be "Material Culture and Consumption in Ireland." According to the call for papers, . . . proposals are sought for papers that address any aspect of the study of material culture and the consumption of goods from an Irish perspective. Potential papers might address the retail, ownership, use and display of goods of any type. Equally, they might address archaeology and material history, construct object biographies or reflect on interior design and art, the material culture of politics or the retail and consumption of the book. Abstracts of papers and proposals for panels should be sent to Jonathan Wright ( jonathan.wright@nuim.ie ) and Alison FitzGerald ( alison.fitzgerald@nuim.ie ) by September 30,  2016 . Abstracts should be between 250 and 300 words, and panel proposals should include a title, contact details for all speake...

The Program in Economic History at Yale University is holding a conference on "Institutions and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Historical and Contemporary Issues," meeting at the university on October 14-15, 2016. The program has now been finalized and is posted on the conference website. Password-protected papers will be available in advance of the meeting. All are welcome to attend, but registration, which can be accomplished on-line, is required. Questions may be directed to Noel Sardella at noel.sardalla@yale.edu .

The NEH-Hagley Postdoctoral Fellowship on Business, Culture, and Society will support residencies at the Hagley’s Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society by scholars who have received their doctoral degrees by the application deadline. In accordance with NEH requirements, these postdoctoral fellowships are restricted to United States citizens or to foreign nationals who have been living in the United States for at least three years.      Two postdoctoral fellowships are available, one of four months and one of eight months. The eight-month fellowship must be taken during the September through May academic year. The fellowships provide a monthly stipend of $4,200. Fellows receive complimentary lodging in the scholar’s housing on Hagley’s property for the duration of their residency, as well as office space and the full privileges of visiting scholars, including special access to Hagley’s research collections. They are expected to be in regular and c...

As the new academic year begins, we again offer a round-up of ongoing workshops, forums, and discussion groups in business and economic history. Please check each website for more detailed information. Some groups, particularly those in non-US universities, may not yet have posted Fall 2016 information; in those cases, a link to the home site or last available listing is included.      In addition to their value for those able to participate directly, these groups often maintain mailing lists and sometimes make speakers' papers freely available. Business History Seminar , Harvard Business School (scroll down) Business History @ Erasmus Seminars Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society (Hagley) Research Seminars Centre for Macroeconomics and the Historical Record (MEHR), University of Copenhagen Columbia University Seminar in Economic History Economic History Seminar , LSE Economic History Seminar , Stern School of Business, NYU Econo...

The Computer History Museum , located in Mountain View, California, has listed an opening for a "Curator, Exponential Center and Business History." According to the job posting, The Computer History Museum (CHM) is seeking a domain expert to serve as inaugural Business History Curator. The Business History Curator will play an important role in overseeing the curatorial strategy and advancing the work of the new Exponential Center as a major strategic expansion to the Museum. Reporting to the Center’s Executive Director, the Business History Curator will work closely with the Museum’s curatorial and other relevant teams, to build the business and entrepreneurship-related collection and exhibits, research and insights, educational content, events, and thought leadership to supporting the mission of the Exponential Center and the Museum. The Exponential Center is capturing the legacy—and advancing the future—of entrepreneurship and innovation in Silicon Valley and around ...

From David B. Sicilia, search chair, comes word of a teaching opportunity at his institution:      The Department of History at the University of Maryland seeks an assistant professor in the history of emerging market-based economies, preferably in Asia, Africa, or Latin America.  A strong record of research and teaching are required; Ph.D. by July 2017 is expected.  The successful candidate will actively research and publish, teach graduate and undergraduate history courses, mentor graduate students, serve on administrative committees, and participate actively as a faculty member in the Department of History and as a faculty affiliate of the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.  For more details and application instructions, please consult the job posting at the University of Maryland . The application deadline is October 1, 2016 .       The University of Maryland is...

Today is Labor Day in the United States. The commemoration was established nationally in 1894; readers can find more on the history of the holiday at the U.S. Department of Labor website . In the spirit of the day, we offer a small (and U.S.-focused) sampling of the many digitized resources available: The Haymarket Affair Digital Collection , Chicago Historical Society Samuel Gompers Papers , University of Maryland Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills Digital Collection , Georgia Institute of Technology Frederick Taylor Archive , McGill University The Lowell Offering , University of Massachusetts Lowell Pullman: Labor, Race and the Urban Landscape in a Company Town , Newberry Library Chicago Workers during the Long Gilded Age , Newberry Library Southern Labor Archives , Georgia State University A History of Women in Industry , National Women's History Museum Women Working, 1800-1930 , Harvard University Library Bread and Roses Centennial Exhibit , Lawrence History Center Eur...

A rundown of titles published in paperback from May through August: Christopher Armstrong , Blue Skies and Boiler Rooms: Buying and Selling Securities in Canada, 1870-1940 (University of Toronto Press, May 2016 [1997])  Salvatore Basile , Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything (Oxford University Press, June 2016 [2014])   Molly W. Berger , Hotel Dreams: Luxury, Technology, and Urban Ambition in America, 1829–1929 (Johns Hopkins University Press, May 2016 [2011]) Peter Burroughs and A. J. Stockwell , eds., Managing the Business of Empire: Essays in Honour of David Fieldhouse (Routledge, July 2016 [1998])   Adam Clulow , The Company and the Shogun: The Dutch Encounter with Tokugawa Japan (Columbia University Press, June 2016 [2013]) Jonathan Coopersmith , Faxed: The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine (Johns Hopkins University Press, August 2016 [2015]) Béatrice Craig , Backwoods Consumers and Homespun Capitalists: The Rise of a Market Culture i...