The 20th World Economic History Congress will convene from 28 July to 1 August 2025 in Lund, Sweden. The theme for the Congress is Equality and Sustainability Challenges, which highlights some of the central issues facing humanity today and also connects to a broad and diverse range of historical problems. To address both the challenges and to find insights from the historical record for that endeavor, a range of perspectives will be necessary.

The Centre of Maritime History in the Institute for Mediterranean Studies in Rethymnon announces the Sixth International Conference of the Mediterranean Maritime History Network (MMHN), which will take place at the Institute for Mediterranean Studies in Rethymno from the 27th to the 31st of May 2024.

The ELHN Labour and Family Economy Working Group invites papers for the session:
Elsewhere. The Migration of Families in the Past from a Labour History and Family Economy Perspective (18th-19th Century)

Organizers:

• Mario Grassi (Yale University & University of Padua) mariograssi992[at]gmail.com
• Céline Mutos-Xicola (University of Girona) celine.mutos[at]udg.edu

Discussant:

• Beatrice Zucca Micheletto (University of Padua)

Deadline to receive papers: 10 September 2023

The ELHN Labour and Family Economy Working Group invites papers for the session "Labour, gender and social mobility during the industrialization"

Organizers: Llorenç FERRER ALOS (Universitat de Barcelona), llferrer[at]ub.edu and Cinzia LORANDINI (Università di Trento), cinzia.lorandini[at]unitn.it

Discussant: Manuela MARTINI (Université de Lyon)

Deadline to receive proposals: 10 September 2023

The Programme Committee appointed by the International Maritime History Association (IMHA) invites proposals for panels, papers and roundtables to be presented at IMHA’s 9th International Congress of Maritime History in Busan, Korea. The congress will be hosted by the IMA (Institute of International Maritime Affairs), affiliated with the  Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Maritime & Ocean University, on August 19 – 24, 2024, in cooperation with the Korean Association of Maritime History, KASPS (Korean Association of Shipping and Ports Studies) and WCMCI (World Committee of Maritime Culture Institutes).

The main theme is Oceans: Local Mobility, Global Connectivity, and the aim is to address multiple aspects of the relationship between humans and the oceans. Oceans were regarded by humans as barriers in ancient times, although, in modern times, they became routes for exploring, travelling and connecting peoples and worlds separated by spatial and cultural distance. 

Tα πιο πρόσφατα πορίσματα της ελληνικής ιστοριογραφίας, προκάλεσαν τα τελευταία χρόνια έντονο ενδιαφέρον για την ύπαιθρο, καθώς εστιάζουν σε συγκεκριμένες περιοχές με επίκεντρο μια επαρχία ή ένα δήμο. Οι νεότερες αυτές μελέτες περίπτωσης επιχείρησαν να διεισδύσουν σε πολλαπλά θεματικά επίπεδα όπως, το καθεστώς γαιοκτησίας, η σχέση πόλης-υπαίθρου, η αγροτική εργασία, οι μετακινήσεις των χωρικών, η εισροή προσφύγων, η διανομή των γαιών, τα αγροληπτικά και ζωοληπτικά συστήματα, η φορολογία, οι αγροτικές κινητοποιήσεις, οι πολιτικές σχέσεις, ο τραπεζικός δανεισμός,  η εμπορευματοποίηση των αγροτικών προϊόντων, κ.ά. Ταυτόχρονα, οι αρχειακές πηγές που συνεχώς έρχονται στο προσκήνιο τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες, αποτελούν σύμμαχο σε αυτή την προσπάθεια κι ενισχύουν συστηματικά με τεκμηριωτικό υλικό τα νεότερα ιστοριογραφικά ερωτήματα.

Σε αυτή τη σύγχρονη ιστοριογραφική τάση που διεκδικεί την αποκρυπτογράφηση των διεργασιών σε επιμέρους παραδείγματα και στη συνέχεια τη σύνδεσή τους με ευρύτερες  συνθετικές και ερμηνευτικές προσπάθειες, εγγράφεται και η σχεδιαζόμενη ημερίδα.    

Μας ενδιαφέρει ειδικότερα να διερευνήσουμε πως προσδιορίστηκαν τα κοινωνικά, πολιτικά και οικονομικά χαρακτηριστικά των αγροτικών κοινοτήτων και, εν γένει, της ελληνικής υπαίθρου στο πλαίσιο των μεγάλων μετασχηματισμών με δυναμικά χρονολογικά ορόσημα, τις διαδικασίες κυριαρχίας και κατάρρευσης της σταφιδικής αγοράς στο 19ο αιώνα και την αστικοποίηση των αγροτικών πληθυσμών έπειτα από τη λήξη του Β΄ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου.

The second globalisation has raised the issue of the cost of labour as a key variable in the competitiveness of economies. Confronted with the extension of value chains and the emergence of new global players in Asia, European governments have chosen to deregulate labour markets, contain wage growth, and lower the cost of labour. More recently, the resurgence of inflation has brought back to the fore the 1970s debates on the Phillips curve and the effects of the labour market on price increases. The emergence of the centrality of labour costs points to the need to examine them as a long-term historical object to understand economic and social policy choices throughout the twentieth century. Wages cannot be reduced to a variable for adjusting supply and demand on the labour market: They are also an instrument for selecting and training the workforce, and a subject of negotiation – and, possibly, contention – between employees and employers, often regulated and supervised by the State. Furthermore, during the twentieth century, wage setting became a matter of social policy. The development of social protection and the construction of social rights required the introduction of social contributions on both employers and employees, as well as steeply progressive taxes on earned income. The cost of labour, understood as both wages and indirect costs (taxes, social contributions, non-monetary benefits), is a fundamental element of public policy in the second half of the twentieth century. Not only does it affect the production process and the distribution of income but it also has an impact on export competitiveness, on the attraction of foreign investment, and on the creation and consolidation of domestic markets.

This two day conference aims to bring together researchers working on various aspects of the economic history of East, Southeast and South Asia territories over the past 200 years. Special emphasis is given to papers dealing with the history of intra-Asian trade or its commercial integration with Europe, but any work studying specific elements of the long term economic performance of this region is welcome. The conference offers its participants the possibility to publish their works as part of an edited volume with an international publishing house.

The "Precarious Labour" Working Group will participate in the Fifth ELHN Conference with thematic sessions. We invite members of the Working Group, and all other interested colleagues, to come up with paper and session proposals under the following open call:

Open Call for Proposals – Deadline: September 1, 2023

The Feminist Labour History Working Group (WG) participates in the Fifth ELHN
Conference (https://socialhistoryportal.org/elhn/conference-2024) with several events, including thematic sessions. For the latter, we invite members of the Working Group, and all other interested colleagues, to come up with paper and session proposals under the following open call:

Open Call for Proposals – Deadline: July 1, 2023.

The legacy4reuse workshop aims to gather existing expertise on legacy collections in social and economic history in order to find answers to four questions related to the sustainability requirement.

Business cooperation has been a vital component of economic development throughout history. From ancient merchants forming trade networks to modern multinational corporations, cooperation has allowed for sharing of resources and expertise to mobilize assets to achieve business goals. Business historians accumulated many examples of how cooperative business ventures have facilitated the exchange of goods, the expansion of markets, and the creation of new industries. By working together, businesses can pool their resources and knowledge, overcome obstacles, and increase their chances of success.

Cooperation has been a key factor in driving business innovation and growth. From joint ventures and strategic alliances to mergers and acquisitions, businesses have utilized a variety of cooperative arrangements to achieve their goals. In the Middle Ages, guilds provided a framework for skilled artisans to collaborate and mobilize resources, and protect their social interests. During the industrial revolution, corporations emerged as a means for investors to pool capital and resources to finance ambitious projects. Firms also cooperate with the aim of controlling markets and limiting exposure to competition, including trade associations that helped introduce technical standards and shared understandings within an industry or national and international cartels that emerged in the late 19th century and have been legal in many countries until the late 20th century.