Graduate Institute Department of International History Assistant Professor Carolyn Biltoft and colleagues launched a new academic journal on history and economics. Published by the University of Pennylvania Press, Capitalism: A Journal of History and Economics, offers a trans-disciplinary forum for the examination of the history of economic phenomena broadly conceived.

The journal grew out of conversations between Marc Flandreau (University of Pennsylvania), Francesca Trivellato (Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton University) Julia Ott (New School)  and Professor Biltoft.

Because of the growing interest in the history of capitalism, especially after the financial crisis of 2008, this group of editors discussed the need for a journal that would try to bridge the space between the nascent and primarily ‘historical’ approaches to capitalism and the longer tradition of classic economic history, which had traditionally been located inside economics departments.  While not only limited to a conversation about economic phenomena between the disciplines of history and economics – the journal will feature articles from philosophers, literary scholars, economists and political scientists – the project is based on the concept of post-disciplinarity. Namely, it is founded on the principle that non-territorial discussions between fields can generate creative perspectives and renewed forms of innovate scholarship that become less and less possible when bound to the narrow confines of a single disciplinary debate or set of methods. 

Especially in the current climate when both private and public discussion forums are circling the question of the viability of the current global economic system, the editors want to offer an intellectually-rigorous platform that would be open to any number of scholarly perspectives on the pressing issues of the past (and implicitly the future) of markets and societies. 

In short, Capitalism is a journal designed for an ‘open society’ in the widest possible sense. The first issue is available online for free and includes a contribution from Carolyn Biltoft.

For the journal’s webpage and details about upcoming issues and how to subscribe please consult this page.