The Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin
announces its 2014-15 theme, "Capital and Commodities."
For the
Institute’s 2014–15 program, we invite proposals for research
into the
history of capital and commodities. The co-development of
financial and
ecological crises, the global proliferation of mass
consumerism, and ongoing
social and military conflicts over access to
natural resources suggest the
critical importance of historicizing the
study of capital and commodities.
Indeed, over the last several
decades, historians have compiled an
impressive body of work on the
history of commodities and their production,
circulation, uses, and
cultural significance. Research into commodity chains
has forced
historians to consider questions of social identity formation and
has
invigorated analysis of systems of communication and
representation.
Historical studies have also revealed the impact of commodity
production
and consumption on natural landscapes and sociopolitical
formations.
Recent globalized economic crises have further helped focus
scholarly
attention on how commodity exchange and capital creation involve
the
conjunctural dimensions of history: credit booms and debt
crises,
cycles of inflation and deflation, economic growth (and its
intellectual
constructions) and limits to growth. In this vein, the
Institute
encourages analytical approaches that underscore the
sociocultural,
political, environmental and intellectual underpinnings of the
history
of capital and commodities. We especially welcome proposals
that
encompass broad timespans (including the medieval and early
modern
periods) and that reach across geographic areas and
disciplinary
boundaries. Read more at:
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/historicalstudies/news/7106
The
IHS invites applications for resident fellows at all ranks.
Deadline: January
15, 2014 (12:00 midnight CST). For more information
about the institute's
fellowship and application process, please visit:
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/historicalstudies/fellowships/resident-fellows.php
For
further information on IHS, including events programming and
applications for
residential fellowships for 2013-14, please visit the
IHS website:
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/historicalstudies/
Queries:
historyinstitute@austin.utexas.edu
Please
forward widely.
Thank you.
Courtney Meador
University of Texas,
Austin
