University Seminar in Economic History
Co-chairs 2019-2020:
Alan Dye, Barnard College ( adye@barnard.edu )
David Weiman, Barnard College ( dweiman@barnard.edu )
Susie Pak, St. John's University ( paks1@stjohns.edu )
Rapporteur
Robert Corban, Columbia University ( rlc2179@columbia.edu )
University Economic History Seminar Schedule
Fall 2019
Oct 4
Kara Dimitruk,
Stellenbosch University and LEAPThe Development of Coercive Labor Laws in the British Cape Colony
Nov 7 Wright Kennedy,
Columbia UniversitySeparate but Dead: Measuring the Mortality Burdens of Jim Crow
Dec 5
Sean Vanatta,
NYUSpring 2020
Feb 6 Paul Rhode,
University of MichiganSlave Productivity in Cotton Picking (joint with Alan Olmstead) Mar 5 David Weiman,
Barnard CollegeApr 2
Dan Bogart,
UC IrvineTBA May 7
Guido Alfani, Bocconi University
Preindustrial inequality and the rise of the fiscal-military state.
Meetings take place at the Columbia University Faculty House 7:30-9:00 pm. Before the seminar, we assemble at the Faculty House for drinks (5:45-6:30pm) and dinner (6:30-7:30). RSVP is required for dinner.
The concerns of this seminar are wide ranging in time, place, and method. Emphasis is on the logic of European and American economic growth from feudal times forward with regular, but less frequent, contributions on Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Topics range from microeconomic studies of firms undergoing rapid technical change and households changing their interaction between home and market to more macroeconomic topics concerned with national and regional economic growth performance, the economics of imperialism, and the political economy of the Great Depression. Given the breadth of the seminar’s membership and interests, comparative economic history is often a central element in seminar discussions. Pre-circulation of papers permits vigorous discussion.