EH.N: CfP: Commerce and Religion in Medieval and Early Modern Times

[Francesca Trivellato]

*Call for papers:  _Commerce and Religion in Medieval and Early Modern 
Times_*

*European Social Science History Conference (Ghent, Belgium, 13-16 April 
2010)
* 

How did merchants belonging to different religious groups conduct trade 
with one another during the Medieval and Early Modern period?   How did 
different societies accommodate "infidels" in the interest of promoting 
profitable commercial activity?   We seek papers that focus on specific 
instances of inter-faith commerce from around the world in the period 
from 1000 to 1800.   Papers from a variety of perspectives (e.g. 
economic history, legal history, cultural history) are welcome.  They 
should be based on original research.
 
We are particularly eager to receive contributions that approach two 
inter-related themes:

a)  the emergence of institutions, technologies, and forms of social 
organization that may have reduced the uncertainty of commercial 
exchanges, which was particularly acute in the absence of family and 
religious ties.  For example, papers might explore the mechanics of 
medium- to long-term credit between individuals and groups who shared no 
religious affiliation and traded over significant distances.  Analyses 
of failed or coerced inter-faith commercial exchanges are also welcome 
if they reveal larger patterns of cross-cultural interaction.

b)  the tension between economic pragmatism, legal prescriptions, and 
religious prejudice.  We are eager to link the mechanics of commercial 
exchange to their broader cultural implications in a wide variety of 
contexts and historical moments.  In particular, we want to understand 
how and whether the quest for profit either encouraged more tolerant 
attitudes or merely enabled different groups to coexist in the context 
of religious biases and patterns of segregation. 

The ultimate goal of this session is to develop a comparative approach 
to these questions and to trace changes over time, while respecting the 
historical particularity of diverse cases. 

Please send a paper title and an abstract of no more than 800 words via 
email to both session organizers no later than 1 April 2009.  Proposals 
should be written in English.  We are especially keen to review papers 
that combine empirical research and theoretical reflections.


Francesca Trivellato
Professor of History
Yale University
Email:  francesca.trivellato at yale.edu <mailto:francesca.trivellato at yale.edu>

Cátia Antunes
Assistant Professor of History
Leiden University
Email:  c.a.p.antunes at let.leidenuniv.nl 
<mailto:c.a.p.antunes at let.leidenuniv.nl>