----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- 
Deadline extended: OCTOBER 15, 2003 
 
 
NINTH ANNUAL EUROPEAN CONFERENCE 
ON THE HISTORY OF ECONOMICS (ECHE 2004) 
 
University of Reims Champagne Ardenne 
25-27 March 2004 
 
CALL FOR PAPERS 
 
 
THE POLITICAL ELEMENT IN ECONOMIC INQUIRY 
 
Throughout the history of the field, the distance separating economic inquiry and
politics, broadly defined, has never been very great. Whether one considers the birth of
the discipline as political economy, the political critiques of mainstream economic theory
as a form of "apologetics", or the use of the "objective" tools of neoclassical economics
to explain public choice and political processes, to mention but a few areas, questions of
politics, value judgment and ideology have always permeated the discipline.
 
The purpose of this conference will be to examine anew the connections between economics
and politics, at a time when the issue has arguably ceased to be an issue of intellectual
debate. The scope of the conference will be broad and all proposals treating the topic
will be considered.
 
Potential areas that might be examined include, but are by no means limited to, the
following:
 
-       How have political commitments shaped the theoretical work of individual thinkers?
And what can be said about influence in the opposite direction?
-       How have various movements or schools of thought reconciled their political
engagements and the pursuit of "dispassionate" scientific inquiry?
-       What role has economic theory played in shaping public political debates? 
-       What political commitments, if any, are implied by different understandings of the
economic agent, or different conceptions of economic rationality?
-       How have changes such as the omputer's "domination" of economics, or the rise of
experimental economics, affected the political dimension of the discipline?
-       What has been the role of economic lobbies and corporate interests in the
definition of public policies?
-       How has the distinction between economics as "science" and as "art" affected the
politicization or de-politicization of the field?
 
Proposals should contain roughly 1000 words and indicate the originality of the paper and
how it contributes to the theme of the conference. Proposals from doctoral students are
welcome. The deadline for the submission of paper proposals is OCTOBER 15, 2003. Proposals
will be evaluated by mid-November 2003, and completed papers will be due in early March
2004.
 
 
The organizing committee consists of: 
Alain Marciano (University of Reims Champagne Ardenne) 
Jose Luis Cardoso (Technical University of Lisbon) 
Philippe Fontaine (Ecole normale superieure de Cachan) 
Albert Jolink (Erasmus University Rotterdam) 
Robert Leonard (University of Quebec at Montreal) 
 
All proposals and requests for information should be sent to: 
 
Alain Marciano 
University of Reims Champagne Ardenne 
Faculty of Sciences Economiques et de Gestion 
57b, rue Pierre Taittinger 
F-51096 Reims Cedex FRANCE 
 
 
Tel. : (+) 00 33 (0)3 26 91 38 01 
Fax : (+) 00 33 (0)3 26 91 38 69 
E-mail : [log in to unmask] 
 
 
------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ 
For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]