[SIGCIS-Members] Last chance -- CFP Business History Conference in Milan, June 2009

[Thomas Haigh]

Hello everyone,

We've organized panels for the past couple of Business History Conferences
(in the not-so-glamorous locales of Cleveland and Sacramento). Next year the
BHC is in Milan, which I can testify from a trip last year is a great place
for eating, drinking and sightseeing. It's a big post industrial city, which
reminded me of Manchester with a liberal infusion of historical churches,
art galleries, a big castle, and roman ruins. That's the new shiny
Manchester, not the old sad one. It's got a little district holding is
probably the world's biggest collection of designer boutiques, though
there's probably not much crossover between the conference attendees and the
people who stagger back to the Four Seasons loaded down by Armani bags.

The CFP is almost upon us, but if anyone has work they'd like to present
then let me know ASAP and maybe we can work up a session proposal by the end
of the weekend. The Fashion theme is not compulsory, although it is a good
fit with many aspects of IT.

There isn't as much IT-related work at the BHC as there should be, though
the conference has taken definite turn toward issues of social and labor
history. 

Also note below the dissertation colloquium. This has been running for a few
years now, and seems to be doing a great job in helping graduate students
network with each other and with well known business historians, advance
their scholarly development, and freshen up the conference itself with
bright young people. Deadline for that is 15th December.

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: Carol Lockman [mailto:clockman at Hagley.org] 
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 1:16 PM
To: clockman at Hagley.org
Subject: BHC CFP


Dear Business History Colleagues:

Proposals for the BHC's annual meeting in Milan are due Monday, 29
September. As part of this final reminder, we also wish to call to your
attention that your proposal need not focus on fashion, whether as a
time
bounded set of activities or as a mode of attire. Consistent with BHC
and
EBHA policy and long-time practice, the program committee also will be
pleased to entertain submissions not directly related to the conference
themes. We very much look forward to having your proposal and to seeing
you
in Milan.

Best wishes,

Roger Horowitz, Secretary-Treasurer
Mark Rose, President, 2008-2009

Fashions: Business Practices in Historical Perspective

11-13 June 2009, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

Joint Meeting of the Business History Conference and the European
Business
History Association

THEMES

Fashion, as a concept, refers to much more than the way we dress. For
this
joint meeting of the Business History Conference (BHC) and the European
Business History Association (EBHA), we define fashion in two ways.
First,
we see fashion as a set of ideas and activities associated with business
firms and institutions that persisted over time. A fashion was a durable
but
often time-bound business practice or conceptual horizon in production,
management, marketing, strategy, taste, style, politics, trade, or
finance.
Fashion as a concept describing business firms and institutions directs
our
attention to trends, habits, and rules that delineated what was done and
what was not to be done. We particularly encourage participants to look
at
the role of firms, associations, government, consultants, media, and
other
agents in spreading "fashionable" business styles. As well, we seek
presenters who explore fashions in entrepreneurial action, corporate
organization and governance, in economics and business studies, and even
in
the writing of business history. For example, we would welcome papers
that
trace the flow of business history scholarship into cognate fields such
as
political science and sociology. Equally valuable would be presentations
describing popular ideas about what took place in earlier periods of
business. We approach fashion in each of these arenas not as a passing
fancy, but instead as a fundamental influence, a horizon of the possible
in
business that was (and perhaps remains) embedded in concrete practices
delineated by discrete turning points that made the previous practice or
set
of ideas "un-fashionable."

In keeping with the conference's location in Milan-one of Europe's great
industrial and design centers-we encourage papers on the business of
fashion
itself. In this second way of understanding fashion, we refer to the
creation of consumer goods whose appeals rested on values such as
utility,
practicality, design, aesthetics, style, and cultural symbolism. Whether
in
Renaissance Florence, nineteenth century Europe, or post World War II
America, those commodities and their meanings were part of a complex
interplay between the parties who created, purchased, and used them.
Furthermore, while fashion-industry entrepreneurs and companies have
recently emerged as icons of globalization, those actors were also
deeply
rooted in local contexts and enmeshed in constellations of relationships
that included designers, manufacturers, distributors, advertisers,
retailers, and consumers. Among many factors, we seek to understand how
the
local related to the global. Consistent with BHC and EBHA policy and
long-time practice, the program committee also will be pleased to
entertain
submissions not directly related to the conference themes.


Potential presenters may submit proposals either for individual papers
or
for entire panels. Individual paper or poster proposals should include a
one-page abstract and a one-page curriculum vitae (CV). The abstract
should
summarize the argument of the presentation, the sources on which it is
based, and its relationship to existing scholarship.  Each panel
proposal
should include a cover letter stating the rationale for the session, the
name of the panel's contact person, a one-page abstract and author's CV
for
each proposed paper (up to four), and a list of preferred chairs and
commentators with contact information.

The deadline for receipt of proposals is 29 September 2008. Please send
all
proposals to Dr. Roger Horowitz, Secretary-Treasurer, Business History
Conference, P.O Box 3630, Wilmington, DE 19807, USA.  Phone: (302)
658-2400;
fax: (302) 655-3188; email: rh at udel.edu. Presenters will be expected to
submit paper abstracts for posting directly to the conference website.
In
addition, presenters are encouraged to post electronic versions of their
papers prior to the meeting, and to submit their papers for inclusion in
the
BHC's on-line proceedings publication, Business and Economic History
On-Line.

BHC and EBHA colloquia for Graduate students
The BHC's Fifth Dissertation Colloquium will be held in conjunction with
the
2009 annual meeting. This intensive workshop, sponsored by the BHC and
funded by its Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. Fund, will take place at the
conference venue Tuesday, 9 June, and Wednesday, 10 June. Participants
will
work closely with a small, distinguished group of BHC-affiliated
scholars,
including at least two of its officers. The assembled scholars and
students
will review dissertation proposals, consider relevant literatures and
research strategies, and discuss the business history profession.
Limited to
ten students, it is intended for doctoral candidates in the early stages
of
their dissertation projects. Those interested in participating should
submit
to Roger Horowitz, BHC Secretary-Treasurer (rh at udel.edu), a statement of
interest, a preliminary or final dissertation prospectus, and a CV.
Please
make clear that you are interested in the Dissertation Colloquium. One
recommendation from the dissertation supervisor (or prospective
supervisor)
should also be faxed (302-655-3188) or emailed to Roger Horowitz by 15
December 2008. The review committee will notify all applicants of its
decisions after 15 February. Each student participant will receive an
honorarium to assist with travel expenses.

The EBHA's Fifth Biannual Summer School in Business History will be held
in
Italy in September 2009. Those interested in participating in this
residential, one-week course should write to the school's organizer,
Francesca Polese (francesca.polese at unibocconi.it). The official call for
applications will be issued at the end of 2008, and the application
deadline
is 15 May 2009. Summer school organizers will pay all local costs
(accommodation and food), but participants will be expected to pay their
travel expenses.

BHC and EBHA Prizes
Proposals are invited for the BHC's Herman E. Krooss Prize, which is
awarded
for the best dissertation in business history in the English language.
The
Krooss Prize Committee welcomes submissions from recent Ph.D.s
(2006-2008)
in history, economics, business administration, history of science and
technology, law, and related fields.  To participate in this
competition,
please indicate so in a cover letter, and include a one-page CV and
one-page
dissertation abstract. Semi-finalists will be asked to submit copies of
their dissertation. Finalists will present summaries of their
dissertations
at the Milan meeting. The BHC also awards the K. Austin Kerr Prize for
the
best first paper by a Ph.D. candidate or recent Ph.D. (2006-08).  If you
wish to participate in this competition at the Milan meeting, please
indicate so in your cover letter.  Proposals accepted for the Krooss
Prize
panel are not eligible for the Kerr Prize. Members and non-members are
eligible for these prizes.

The EBHA Dissertation Competition takes place every second year. The
next
are scheduled for the EBHA's annual meeting in Bergen, 2008, and then
for
Glasgow in 2010. For additional information on this competition, see the
EBHA website on the Bergen conference. Beginning at the Milan meeting,
the
EBHA will offer a prize for the Best Paper on European business history.

Grants for travel to the Milan meeting
In addition to travel grants to participate in the graduate student
colloquium, the BHC also offers grants to graduate students who are
presenting papers to offset some of the costs of attending the
conference.
Applicants for a BHC travel grant should so indicate in their cover
letter.
The EBHA offers travel grants for scholars residing in Eastern Europe
who
are presenting papers at the conference. Applicants seeking these grants
should so indicate in their cover letter.

Poster session
We encourage presentations at our poster session. Poster sessions are
especially appropriate and engaging for scholars at work on a new
project,
for graduate students developing a thesis, for scholars at every level
whose
work emphasizes audio/visual materials, and for persons who simply wish
to
talk with colleagues at greater length than provided in the usual format
of
a 90 minute session. Applicants for the poster session should so
indicate in
a cover letter.

Program committee
Francesca Polese (Chair), Bocconi University: Regina Lee Blaszczyk
(Co-chair), University of Pennsylvania & Hagley Museum and Library;
Franco
Amatori, Bocconi University; Per Boje (EBHA President, 2008-2009),
University of Southern Denmark; Albert Carreras, Universitat Pompeu
Fabra;
Jeff Fear, University of Redlands; Ellen Hartigan-O'Connor, University
of
California, Davis; Elisabetta Merlo, Bocconi University; Mark Rose (BHC
President, 2008-2009), Florida Atlantic University.