Travel & conference funds available

The following may be of interest to PhD students whose topics fall into the very broad definition of 'business history' as outlined in the notice.

Association of Business Historians: New Tony Slaven doctoral workshop in business history

This year ABH is holdings its first doctoral training workshop. This will take place on 5th-6th July, immediately preceding the 2012 ABH Annual Conference at Aston Business School. Participants will also be welcome to attend the Annual Conference. We very much hope that this will become an annual event and will provide an opportunity for doctoral students to discuss their research with other research students in business history-related disciplines in an informal environment.

The workshop is open to all students undertaking research degrees in business history-related topics and it is hoped that both students in their initial year of registration and those at more advanced stages of their thesis research will find it of benefit. In addition to providing new researchers with an opportunity to discuss their work with other research students in the same discipline, the workshop will also include a session related to careers. Business history doctoral work is spread over a large number of departments and institutions and by bringing students from throughout the UK together for an annual workshop, we hope to strengthen links between students working on business history - related topics.

For the purposes of the workshop `business history’ is interpreted broadly, and it is intended that students in areas such as financial history, agricultural history, not for profit organisations, government-industry relations, government policy towards trade and industry, the history of international trade and investment, accounting history, social studies of technology, and labour history will find it of interest. Students undertaking topics with a significant business history related element but in disciplines other than economic and business history are also welcome. A limited number of Tony Slaven scholarships are available, to contribute towards the travel, accommodation, and registration costs of attending the doctoral workshop and ABH conference. These will be awarded competitively prior to the workshop.

First year students would be expected to present an overview of their research (with around 20-30 minutes for the presentation and a roughly equal time for discussion). Those at a more advanced stage of their thesis might wish to present a draft chapter, or focus on one particular section of their thesis. Participants would also be expected to act as discussant for one of the other papers to be presented.

Students interested in attending the workshop and those wishing to apply for the Tony Slaven scholarship (for both the workshop and the ABH conference) should contact Prof. Peter Scott, IBS, Henley Business School at the University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6UD (p.m.scott@reading.ac.uk). The application should comprise a short cv and an abstract (maximum four A4 sides of single-spaced typed text).

This should include the names of the student’s supervisors; the title of their thesis; the university and department where they are registered; the date of commencement of their thesis registration, and an outline of their research. Students in their first year of registration may wish to focus on their thesis literature review and research plan. Students in subsequent years may also want to discuss one particular chapter or section of their thesis that they would like to present at the workshop.

 For full consideration, applications should be submitted prior to 15th May 2012. For further information, please contact Peter Scott at the above e-mail address.