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Economic History in Departments of Economics

The Case of the University of Chicago, 1892 to the Present

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2016

David Mitch
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Abstract

Since the emergence of distinctive social science disciplines in American universities in the late nineteenth century, there have been recurring tensions over whether history should be practiced within or pursued separately from particular social science disciplines. This study considers this issue for the case of economic history in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago. Economic history was active as an inter-disciplinary field throughout the twentieth century, and it had a substantial presence throughout the twentieth century at Chicago, in one of the world’s leading economics departments. This study focuses on how economic historians and economists at Chicago have conceived of the relationship between economic history and economics over the past century. It argues that a key set of tensions has been, on the one hand, developing a conception of the economy that is subject to historical forces yet, on the other hand, allowing adequate scope for employing the tools of economics.

Type
Special Section: The Past, Present, and Future of Economics for History
Information
Social Science History , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , Summer 2011 , pp. 237 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © Social Science History Association 2011 

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