The Economic History Association would like to get some feedback
on a program it is considering launching in September 1997 at its
meeting to be hosted by Rutgers. As some of you may know, the
Association has been looking at ways to draw historians back into
the field, and has taken several steps that direction. At last
September's conference, a breakfast meeting for historians drew
almost 40 people; an EHA-sponsored Roundtable, "The Future of
Economic History," also got a crowd. A number of good ideas
surfaced, among them an idea for a one-day "preconference for
historians" to be held prior to the EHA's annual meetings.
We have mapped out a format and would like your suggestions.
There seem to be two problems to address. The first is to create
a forum for genuine exchange between the two halves of the fields
of economic history. That means getting people in the same
place, and establishing some common grounds for discussion. The
EHA can certainly be one such venue. Second, an important part
of the plan is to find an efficient way to get historians more
basic information on the workings of economic models and on where
the cutting edge of the historiography for some of the big issues
in the field. As cultural models have taken over the field of
history, fewer historians have received any training in
economics, and indeed, many historians are skeptical of the
assumptions that underlie some economic models. It may seem
difficult to find some common areas of inquiry, yet what we hope
will happen is that a real dialogue can be created.
In no way is there any subtext here that historians are less
rigorous, behind the game, etc., vis-a-vis economists. Nor does
the EHA wish for historians interested in economic issues to
suddenly become economists.
Instead, we are trying to establish some common areas for
discussion and interaction, and we hope that it will be fruitful
for all concerned. My impression, and this is simply speaking as
an historian of Old Regime and 19th-c France, is that there are a
number of projects that are returning to economic questions after
the "linguistic turn" and so there is some opening for
interdisciplinary approaches that didn't exist 5-10 years ago.
The plan under consideration will try to bring more historians to
the conference, and get more dialogue going. The EHA meetings
begin on Fri afternoons, so we thought that we might hold a
preconference for historians that begins on Thursday afternoon.
The Thursday afternoon session(s) would offer a presentation and
discussion of one of the basic economic models in use - the first
might be along the lines of explaining what regressions are, or
something of a similar level and importance for understanding
other economic models. Other suggestions for this would be "What
is an Economic Model?" "Introduction to Game Theory," "Wage
determination," "Theories of Economic growth," or "Theory of the
Firm." Over the course of a few years, the EHA could work its
way through a good number of basic models in each year's opening
session.
The "models" sessions would probably be led by an economist, but
not necessarily. The goal here would be get interested
historians additional background in economics.
Then the second round of sessions in the preconference, probably
Friday morning, would be more interdisciplinary, addressing
specific topics in the historiography, such as "Gender and the
Labor Force," "Regionalization in Economic Development:
Core/Periphery Distinctions," "Defining Industrial Revolutions,"
"The Standards of Living Debate in the Nineteenth Century,"
"Consumer Revolutions," or "Determinants and Effects of
Taxation," At this point, these are just suggestions under
discussion, but they seem to be topics that in which there are
literatures in both history and economics, and where some
dialogue might develop. These would be co-led by economists and
historians and try to show where and why approaches differ, and
what bottom lines could be drawn in terms of the present
understanding of these topics.
The preconference would also have some time for informal
discussion, probably a reception, and maybe a dinner or lunch.
Then, when the regular EHA conference begins on Friday afternoon,
we hope the sessions will have greater interdisciplinary
discussion, more informed, on both sides. At some point, perhaps
on Sunday before people take off, we would have a follow-up
session to assess how the preconference went.
My question for you - does this seem an interesting option?
Would you come to a preconference such as the one outlined above?
What do you like about this plan? What does not seem workable?
Do you have some other suggestions to add to our list of possible
topics? Do you have some overall suggestions for other ways in
which the EHA could try to create more dialogue? We see this as
a multi-year effort, and hope that over time, we came address a
number of topics, and if needed, adjust the preconference as we
go along. We think we have mapped out a workable format, but
want your feedback before we swing into gear.
This summer, I will take the reactions and suggestions you send
me, and trun them into a report and a proposal to submit to the
EHA this coming September. (The meeting is in Berkeley and all
are invited to attend, btw - stand by for announcements on the
program and registration later this summer. Incidentally, the
Association is also planning some special events specifically for
historians at the Berkeley meeting.) Then, providing there is
interest from historians, a committee will be formed to organize
a preconference for the Sept 1997 meeting at Rutgers. Given this
location, we hope that a number of historians can make it for
some part or all of the preconference and the meeting itself.
Email, fax, or snail mail your reactions to me. Please feel free
to resend this to anyone interested, or over other email lists (I
think I have covered HNet.) Apologies if you were "hit" multiple
time with this message -- we are trying to get the info out as
widely as possible.
Very best - Judith A. Miller
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Judith A. Miller Ph: 404-727-6564 Dept. of History
Fax: 404-727-4959 Emory University Email: histjam@emory.edu
Atlanta, GA 30322