Call for Papers
XVth World Economic History Congress Utrecht, Netherlands, 3-7 August 2009
Session on The History of Global Labour Relations, 1500-2000
The "Global Collaboratory on the History of Labour Relations, 1500-2000" proposes this panel in order to present its findings on long-term institutional and geographical shifts in the organization of work. Our central concern is to explain the rise and decline of all types of labour relations worldwide in the period from 1500 to 2000. Setting out from gender- and age-specific statistical explorations of slavery, indentured labour, free wage labour, self-employment, and domestic subsistence labour in all their facets and combinations in states, empires, and macro regions over the world in the five cross-section years of 1500, 1650, 1800, 1900, and 2000, we will discuss the "logic" of particular labour relations. What were their economic merits and disadvantages for employers and the employed? Why did specific types of labour relations compete and give way to others at historical turning points?
Since quantitative information on the earlier time span 1500 to 1650 is generally scanty, we invite specialists for this period to submit papers on labour relations, especially for the regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab-Islamic world, and the Americas. Contributions on labour ethics and work norms are also very welcome. They should focus either on texts and terminology; or on the ranking of work, the worker, and the labour relations in the social order; incentives and remuneration. The contributions will be commented and discussed by experts of global history.
If you are interested in presenting a paper in this panel, please provide a short resume containing your institutional affiliation(s), a brief list of your publications relevant to the topic, and a one page abstract. We particularly encourage graduate students to participate.
Please submit applications to [mailto]kho@iisg.nl[/mailto] before March 1, 2009. Acceptance decisions will be communicated soon afterward. Papers will be circulated to the discussants in advance, and all papers will be submitted to the WEHC by 31 May 2009.
For more information on the World Economic History Congress, see [url]http://www.wehc2009.org/default.asp[/url]
Organizers:Prof. Dr. Karin Hofmeester
Prof. Dr. Marcel van der Linden
Prof. Dr. Jan Lucassen
Participants:
Kenneth Pomeranz
Maxine Berg
Osamu Sait?
Alessandro Stanziani
Steven Topik
Christine Moll-Murata