Welcome
This workshop will explore new approaches to the Great Depression. The crash of global markets in 1929 was a major turning point, as crises of unemployment, commodity prices, industrial output led nations to experiment with new policies and political arrangements. The Great Depression also remains a point of reference for contemporary discussions of how governments should respond in moments of economic and financial tailspin. As we continue to grapple with the after-effects of the Global Financial Crisis and Great Recession of 2008 and face uncertainties in the global economy thanks to the Russian War on Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be time to return to the Great Depression. How can recent trends in economic history shed a new light on the Great Depression? The workshop welcomes insights from various perspectives, including (but not limited to):
- Economic policies and political action
One of the major trends of recent economic history involves connecting macro-economic cycles to political history: what are the role of economic institutions, the State, or private “experts” in responding to crisis? How did political and social movements such as corporatism, mutual insurance companies, labor unions, community activists, or social scientists reacted to the crisis?
- Welfare state and institutional actors
The crisis is inextricably linked to the history of social protection of impoverished populations. Some Depression programs have received a great deal of scholarly attention, like the New Deal in the United States or the rise of the welfare state in Europe. Still, how did the Great Depression impact countries beyond industrialized Western contexts? What of the consequences in Latin America? Or imperial possessions? And what has been the role of “intermediary” actors such as philanthropic societies or international organizations? We aim to bring an international and global perspective to this collective exploration of the Great Depression.
- Social history and economic life experiences
We aim to engage micro-historical approaches to economic history to consider how the Great Depression impacted the everyday life of impoverished populations. What was its impact on workers? Farmers? Small business owners and small-scale enterprises? What can histories of consumption or of poverty tell us about the difficulties experienced by urban working-classes or rural families? How did the crisis penetrate even “enclosed” institutions such as prisons?