Monday, July 12, 2010

CFP Charity and the City: Ancient, Medieval and Modern, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, 23 September 2010


A Workshop for Postgraduates and Early Career Researchers. 

This one-day workshop, organized by the New Researchers Committee of the Voluntary Action History Society and supported by the Economic History Society, offers postgraduate students and early career researchers in history an opportunity to discuss issues relating to the study of urban charity, in all periods (ancient, medieval and modern) and all parts of the world. We welcome 20-minute papers addressing conceptual and methodological challenges arising from the speaker's own research on charity and the city. 

Possible topics might include: 
  • The impact of urban growth and crises (plague, famine, economic depression)
  • The role of ecclesiastical and municipal authorities 
  • Charity in the parish and the family 
  • Documentary sources 
  • The charity of guilds, confraternities and professional associations 
  • Spaces of urban charity (institutions, almsgiving, the suburbs) 
  • Attitudes towards the urban poor 

The day will be introduced by Sarah Squire, President of Hughes Hall, and will conclude with a roundtable discussion led by Professor John Henderson (Birkbeck, University of London). 

300-word abstracts for papers should be emailed to Elma Brenner at workshops@vahs.org.uk by 31 July 2010. 

Download the CFP here