Presentation

Shocks!

43rd Conference of the Portuguese Economic and Social History Association (APHES)

Shocks matter! Unforeseen events shattering seemingly stable systems or orders are a prime topic for historians. From the Persian Wars to the Subprime Crisis, historical research has explored the origins and consequences of shocks. Originating in finances (the term ‘financial shock’ was coined in the 1820s), the concept of shock proved to be extremely adaptable to other dimensions. Successively, authors started to speak about ‘economic’, then ‘military’, then ‘cultural’, and finally ‘technological shocks’ over the last century. Different social sciences developed their taxonomies of shocks: endogenous and exogenous, domestic and international, certain and uncertain. Such diversity and complexity are the ideal terrain for historians, especially for those with interdisciplinary interests, as they tackle the financial effects of climatic shock or the military consequences of a cultural shock. However, the physical analogies of shocks and structures invite historians to make their claims as precise and testable as possible. We thus call for papers for this 43rd conference of the APHES. Within the broad field of social and economic history, we welcome papers on:

– shocks as an interdisciplinary subject (cultural shocks and their social repercussions, financial shocks and their military consequences, etc…)
– new perspectives on well-known shocks
– little-know shocks
– comparisons between shocks
– averted or mitigated shocks
– modelling and measurement of shocks

As usual, applications for other original research on social and economic history will also be considered. We look forward to welcoming you at ISEG, in Lisbon, overlooking the Tagus, the setting of a fair share of natural and military shocks, with cultural and economic consequences. As hosts, we promise to do our best to create a shockingly good conference.

Pedro Lains Prize

Since 2006, the Portuguese Association of Economic and Social History (APHES) awards the best research paper by a young researcher at its meeting, in order to encourage the future of economic and social history research in Portugal. In 2021, the prize was renamed the Pedro Lains in honor of the late former APHES president, whose legacy continues to inspire academic research in the field.