I hope our summer newsletter finds you well. The Coronation has now passed, leaving London putting itself back to normal, and our students have moved into final exams, giving Houghton Street the air of anxiety that many of you may remember.
It has been an interesting few months for economic historians. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse have led a lot of people back to financial crises for lessons and comparisons (again). The debate about the connections between slavery and the wealth and prosperity of Britain continues, and we will be hosting a discussion on this in the autumn centred on a new book by Maxine Berg & Pat Hudson. Even the Coronation prompted some reflection on how much had changed since the 1950s, as Jason Lennard discusses in this edition, taking a closer look at the very different economic backdrops to Charles III’s Coronation compared with that of his mother, Elizabeth II 70 years ago.
Please keep 5th June free in your diary, as we are delighted to announce that Professor Edward Glaeser, Harvard University, will deliver our joint Economic History/EHAB Lecture Urban Resilience. This event will be in-person with a live stream for those unable to be in London. You can find out more, including how to book, here.
We have several other events planned for the Autumn Term (which you may remember we used to call Michaelmas Term!) including Eric Schneider’s Inaugural Lecture, an event with Mary Morgan to celebrate her Presidency of the Royal Economic Society, and a lecture by Martin Daunton based on his new book – you can find out more later in this newsletter.
Since our last contact, Juan Jose Rivas-Moreno and Andrea Ramazzotti have been awarded their PhDs. Several more students are scheduled to be examined in the coming months, so we wish them all the best for the final furlongs.
As always, please do stay in touch – we’d love to hear from you!
I wish you all a wonderful, relaxing summer!