*POSTPONED* 2020 Pre-ESHET Workshop: Politics and Economic Thought

Dear participants,

This event is postponed to September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will inform you about the new definite date in due time.

Best,

Ana Paula, Julia, Marius

The YSI History of Economic Thought working group organizes the 2020 Pre-ESHET Workshop on the topic “Politics and Economic Thought”. The workshop will take place on May 27th, 2020 at the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria (one day before the ESHET 2020 Conference).

We decided on the topic “Politics and Economic Thought” because a nexus between economic thought and politics becomes manifest when studying the history of economics. Whether economics drew inspiration from political debates, economic theories were put at the service of politics, or economists provided policy advice: economists and their ideas are not immune to politics and vice versa. As a result, historians of economic thought have to deal with this nexus when trying to understand the emergence and development of ideas.

Description:
The workshop will be divided into four sessions. Two sessions are reserved for the presentations of the Young Scholars’ own research in front of a small group. One session will focus on economic thought of the 18th and 19th centuries, a second one on the period after World War II. Two further sessions are dedicated to the invited speakers’ presentations and a general discussion. We invited Dr. Richard van den Berg (Kingston University) as an expert on the 18th and 19th centuries, and Dr. Danielle Guizzo Archela for the post World War II period.

The main questions explored at the Workshop are "What is the relation between economic ideas, political debate and the shaping of public opinion?" "To what extent are the History of Economic Thought and the History of Politics intertwined?" and "In what sense the political engagement of Economists changed between the 18th and the 21th century?".

Inspired by these questions, the workshop will address the methodological and epistemological challenges faced by Historians of Economic Thought working on political debates, both inside particular institutions and/or in public. We encourage young scholars working on the above mentioned topics to think collectively about the relationship between economics and politics in the History of Economic Thought during the workshop.

Participants:
We hope to motivate around 12-15 young scholars, whose research is related to the theme of the workshop, to participate, discuss and present their work. In order to promote YSI within Bulgaria, we encourage local students to participate and hope to fill at least 3-5 slots for Bulgarian young scholars. The ESHET's local committee has already agreed to advertise the event and YSI within the University of National and World Economy.

If you are interested in attending the workshop you should:
(i) be a young scholar (Master, PhD, Post-Doc);
(ii) send an email to het@youngscholarsinitiative.org until February 29th containing: your name, affiliation, title, country of origin, country/city of residence, a short summary of your research (max. 300 words), and a brief explanation of why you think this workshop will be useful for your research (max. 300 words).
Accepted applicants benefit from travel stipends and enjoy free lodging during the workshop and the ESHET 2020 conference.

Decisions are announced on March 7th.