History of economic thought has traditionally concerned itself with systems of economic ideas, “schools of thought,” and famous individuals associated with theoretical contributions.  A lot of the work is about big names (e.g. Smith, Ricardo, Keynes, etc.), the examination of the internal coherence of their theories, and comparisons with competing theories. This type of idea-driven work feels familiar to young historians of economic thought, many of whom were initially trained as economists and are doing their graduate work in economics departments. However, those working on the relationship between economics and policy at government and international institutions, the identity of economics departments, or the practices at these and other less formal communities are moving into territory for which their training has not usually prepared them.

The theme of this year’s pre-ESHET workshop will be the specificities and challenges of writing the intellectual history of economic institutions, organizations, and communities. The workshop will bring together two experts who have done substantial work on the histories of communities and institutions in the history of economics. The workshop aims to help young scholars working on these issues learn about approaches and techniques from senior scholars, discuss challenges they have encountered, and learn from each other’s experiences.

The workshop will require preparation in advance from each participant (both reading and writing) and active engagement with the work of others during the workshop so that work gets done and we use the workshop to advance our research. In order to make this as productive as possible we are looking for young scholars, in particular PhD students, whose own research deals with or touches upon the history of communities and institutions within the history of economics. 

The deadline for applications is February 23. Successful candidates will be notified by the end of February and will be considered for accommodation and travel stipends.

For further information and inquiries please contact any of the organizers: Juan Acosta (Université de Lille), Christina Laskaridis (SOAS), Erwin Dekker (Erasmus University Rotterdam).