Association of Business Historians Annual Conference

‘Pluralistic perspectives of business history: gender, class, ethnicity, religion’

The Open University Business School, 29-30 June 2018

Call for papers

The 2018 Association of Business Historians Annual Conference will be held on 29-30 June 2018 at the Open University Business School in Milton Keynes. The conference theme is ‘Pluralistic perspectives of business history: gender, class, ethnicity, religion’. The role of different social groups and identities in business is an important, though under researched, topic in business history. However, there is, increasing recognition that, for example, women were not simply ‘angels in the home’, keeping their distance, when compared with men, from the grime of the industrial revolution and the financial transactions which that involved. Social class had an impact in the City, and Quakers, for example, were important in the banking sector. There is now evidence of women occupying roles, not just as workers but also as lenders, business owners, managers, and investors in significant numbers. To what extent did culture or religions influenced occupation of these roles? There is evidence also that lower social classes did invest to some extent in newly launched companies, as did members of the clergy, as in ‘Widows, clergymen and the reckless’.

This conference aims to explore the impact of gender, social class, ethnicity, and religion on business success, fraud, funding, financial markets, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. Proposals for individual papers, or for full sessions, panel discussions or other session formats are invited on this topic, broadly conceived. Specific topics may include, but are not restricted to:

• Ethnic, religious, class groups and women as entrepreneurs, lenders, investors, managers and/or workers.
• Archival sources and methodologies to document and analyse different social groups’ participation in business.
• Comparative studies of different social groups in business.
• Social groups and business failure.
• Social roles and relations in the workplace.
• Cross-cultural issues in business and management.
• Business and social movements.
• Cultural, religious, gendered, class-related business networks.
• Social groups and fraud, business failure, or market bubbles.
• The influence of the law on different social groups or classes’ financial and business decision making.
• Social groups or identities and corporate social governance.
• Social groups, business and philanthropy.
• Social groups or identities and the family firm.
• The impact of social groups on business and corporate finance.
• Social groups or identities, business, legislation and taxation.
• Gendered, cultural, religious and class preferences for business characteristics.
• Social groups as colonial and foreign investors.

As always, the ABH also welcomes proposals that are not directly related to the conference theme.

How to submit a paper or session proposal

The program committee will consider both individual papers and entire panels. Individual paper proposals should include a one-page (up to 300 word) abstract and one-page curriculum vitae (CV).

Panel proposals should include a cover letter stating the rationale for the panel and the name of its contact person; one-page (300 word) abstract and author’s CV for each paper; and a list of preferred panel chairs and commentators with contact information.

The deadline for submissions is 15 January 2018.

If you have any questions, please contact the local organisers: dimitris.sotiropoulos@open.ac.uk or Janette.Rutterford@open.ac.uk

Your application for the conference should come through our online submission platform: http://unternehmensgeschichte.de/public/C4

First you make a choice for uploading a single paper or a full-session. After pressing each button you will find a mask guiding you through the upload process. Please have available your CV and your Abstract.

Any other idea regarding the conference – workshops, poster sessions, or panel discussions – must be suggested directly to the Programme Committee.

Submit your Papers and Sessions: http://unternehmensgeschichte.de/public/C4

Call for Tony Slaven Doctoral Workshop in Business History, 28th June 2018

The ABH will hold its seventh annual Tony Slaven Doctoral Workshop on 28 June 2018. This event immediately precedes the 2018 ABH Annual Conference held in Milton Keynes. Participants in the Workshop are encouraged to attend the main ABH Annual Conference following the Workshop. The Workshop is an excellent opportunity for doctoral students to discuss their work with other research students and practicing academics in business history in an informal and supportive environment. Students at any stage of their doctoral career, whether in their first year or very close to submitting, are urged to apply. In addition to providing new researchers with an opportunity to discuss their work with experienced researchers in the discipline, the Workshop will also include at least one skills-related session. The Workshop interprets the term ‘business history’ broadly, and it is intended that students in areas such as (but not confined to) the history of international trade and investment, financial or economic history, agricultural history, not-for-profit organisations, government-industry relations, accounting history, social studies of technology, and historians or management or labour will find it useful. Students undertaking topics with a significant business history element but in disciplines other than economic or business history are also welcome. We welcome students researching any era or region of history. Skills sessions are typically led by regular ABH members; in the past these have included ‘getting published’ and ‘using sources’ sessions. There will be ample time for discussion of each student’s work and the opportunity to gain feedback from active researchers in the field.

How to Apply for the Tony Slaven Workshop

An application should be no more than 4 pages sent together in a single computer file:

1) a one page CV;

2) one page stating the names of the student’s supervisors, the title of the theses (a proposed title is fine), the university and department where the student is registered and the date of commencement of thesis registration;

3) an abstract of the work to be presented. You may apply via email to Dr Mitch Larson at mjlarson@uclan.ac.uk.

Please use the subject line “Tony Slaven Workshop” by the 15 January 2018.

Call for Coleman Prize for Best PhD Dissertation

Named in honour of the British business historian Donald Coleman (1920-1995), this prize is awarded annually by the Association of Business Historians to recognise excellence in new research in Britain. It is open to PhD dissertations in Business History (broadly defined) either having a British subject or completed at a British university. All dissertations completed in the previous calendar year to that of the Prize are eligible. In keeping with the ABH’s broad understanding of business history, applications are strongly encouraged from candidates in economic history, social history, labour history, intellectual history, cultural history, environmental history, the history of science and technology, the history of medicine, or any other subfield. The value of the prize is £500, sponsored by the Taylor & Francis Group, a scholarly publisher. To be eligible for the Prize, finalists must present their findings in person at the Association’s annual conference, held on 29-30 June 2018.

A complete list of previous winners may be found at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/external/ABH/coleman.html

How to Apply for the Coleman Prize

Supervisors are encouraged to nominate recent PhDs, and self-nominations are also strongly welcomed. Please send a PDF including the title of your PhD dissertation and a brief abstract (up to 2 double-spaced pages) to christine.leslie@glasgow.ac.uk by 15 January 2018. Shortlisted candidates will be requested to submit electronic copies of their theses by 15 February 2018. Finalists will be notified by 15 March 2018.

Deadline for All Submissions

The deadline for receipt of all proposals (papers, sessions and panels, Coleman Prize, and Tony Slaven Workshop) is 15 January 2018. Acceptance letters will be sent by 15th March 2018. Everyone appearing on the program must register for the meeting. PhD students whose papers are accepted for the meeting may apply for funds to partially defray their travel costs by applying to the Francesca Carnevali Travel Grant for PhD Students. A limited number of scholarships are available from the Francesca Carnevali fund of the ABH to contribute towards the travel, accommodation, and registration costs of students doing a PhD in the United Kingdom, who are presenting in the Slaven Workshop or the ABH conference. These will be awarded competitively prior to the Workshop. Please indicate in your application whether you would like to be considered for one of these travel grants.

To apply for this grant please email Christine.Leslie@glasgow.ac.uk by 31 March 2018. Further information about the Carnevali Grant will be placed on the ABH website early in the New Year at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/external/ABH Submit your Papers and Sessions: http://unternehmensgeschichte.de/public/C4