The Exchange

Recent forays of business historians into the public discourse: On the "Public Books" blog, Kim Phillips-Fein writes about philanthropy and inequality in "Philanthropists Will Not Save Us." In the wake of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union, Richard John was quoted in a Vox article; he is the author of a 2015 essay  in the Journal of Policy History , "Projecting Power Overseas: U.S. Postal Policy and International Standard-Setting at the 1863 Paris Postal Conference." For the Commission on Democracy and Technology, Heidi Tworek writes about "What the History of Radio Tells Us about Technology and Democracy." Ellen Hartigan-O’Connor and Lisa G. Materson wrote an essay for the History News Network on "What Historians Could Teach Senators on the Judiciary Committee"; they focus on historians' work in finding the harder to hear voices of women in the archives. For "On the Media," Per H...

Two journals have recently published special issues of interest to business and economic historians. Frontiers of Economics in China (Sept. 2018, volume 13, no. 3), has just released a special issue on Chinese Economic History, guest-edited by Debin Ma of the London School of Economics. The special issue has free online access at: http://journal.hep.com.cn/fec/EN/1673-3444/current.shtml . The seven articles discuss urban and rural economy, the monetary system, as well as the organization of financial institutions in pre-modern China. Acording to the editor, the articles reflect three distinctive features: "the emphasis on the primary importance of institutions and ideology, the employment of comparative (mostly with Europe) perspective, and the systematic application of quantitative analyses based on new archives and data." The current issue of Entreprises et Histoire  (volume 91, no. 2) focuses on "Emotions and Family Businesses." The introduction (in English,...

The BHC Doctoral Colloquium in Business History will be held once again in conjunction with the 2019 BHC annual meeting. This prestigious workshop, funded by Cambridge University Press, will take place in Cartagena, Colombia, on Wednesday March 13 and Thursday March 14. Typically limited to ten students, the Colloquium is open to doctoral candidates who are pursuing dissertation research within the broad field of business history, from any relevant discipline (e.g., from economic sociology, political science, cultural anthropology, or management, as well as history). Most participants are in year 3 or 4 or their degree program, though in some instances applicants at a later stage make a compelling case that their thesis research had evolved in ways that led them to see the advantages of an intensive engagement with business history.       Topics (see link for past examples) may range from the early modern era to the present, and explore societies across the globe. ...

The annual conference of the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland (ESHSI) will take place in Belfast on November 30-December 1, 2018, at Queen's University Belfast.  The preliminary program has now been posted. In addition to regular sessions, the Ken Connell Lecture will be presented by John Turner of Queen's University Belfast; his topic will be "Wildcat Bankers or Political Failure? The Irish Financial Pantomime, 1797-1826." For more details, please see the ESHSI website.

Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) Postdoctoral Fellowships support research in the collections of the Library Company and other nearby institutions into the origins and development of the early American economy, broadly conceived, to roughly 1850. The fellowships provide scholars the opportunity to investigate the history of commerce, finance, technology, manufacturing, agriculture, internal improvements, economic policy making and other topics.     Applicants may be citizens of any country, and they must hold a Ph.D. by September 1, 2019. The stipend is $40,000 for the academic year, or if the award is divided between two scholars, $20,000 per semester. Senior scholars are particularly encouraged to apply. All postdoctoral fellowships are tenable from September 1, 2019 through May 31, 2020, and fellows must be continuously in residence in the Philadelphia area for the duration of their fellowships.     The deadline for receipt of applications...

In the wake of the Sears bankruptcy announcement, Louis Hyman took to Twitter to write about the importance of the Sears catalog in the days of Jim Crow. The thread generated a lot of response, and it was picked up by numerous major news outlets, including, for example, the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post . Hyman was then interviewed on the subject by NPR's "All Things Considered," and by the on-line site Jezebel .     On WBUR's "On Point,"  Vicki Howard (author of From Main Street to Mall: The Rise and Fall of the American Department Store ) joined Hyman to discuss the fate of Sears. Howard also appeared in an "All Things Considered" broadcast about the bankruptcy news. And in an Associated Press story, both Howard and Marc Levinson (author of author of The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America ) are quoted about the former retailing giant.

The European Association for Banking and Financial History (EABH), in cooperation with Schroders and Banque Lombard Odier, is holding a conference on "Institutional Investors: The History of Professional Fund Management" on October 26, 2018, at Schroders in London. As the organizers explain, Up to the beginning of the 20th century stocks were primarily owned by wealthy private individuals. Now, 100 years later, institutional investors hold almost twice the amount. . . . The ascent of institutional investors as one of the most powerful players on global financial markets today is a highly relevant yet under researched topic. This conference will ask the question of when, how and why this massive structural shift happened? And which are the consequences for our societies? The program has been posted, and registration is available on-line. The registration site also includes lodging information and other details.