----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- 
In partial answer to Mat, and for the list, we have had recently to explain exactly this
point internally for the review. We noted that over the past decade or two perhaps the
most notable characteristics of our program are
unconventionality and experimentation.  We have often been regarded as rather eccentric in
the older HET community in the work we have undertaken.
 
We respect and tolerate the conventional exegetical approach to the history of ideas, but
we have been most interested in a variety of other approaches, including the relationship
of economics to other disciplines and the
involvement of economic ideas in the economy and various other social processes.  Most
recently, Neil DeMarchi and Craufurd Goodwin have been exploring connections between
economics and the arts, and Neil for example has been writing in art history with an art
historian while curating a show. Craufurd additionally has jointly supervised Ph.Ds in the
Divinity School. I have been writing in the history of mathematics, and collaborating as
well with individuals in the Program in Literature, and Cognitive Psychology.
 
A distinctive feature of the "Duke approach" to our subject has been to keep it firmly
embedded in the mother discipline of economics. We have all taught a variety of standard
courses in the various subdisciplines at the graduate and undergraduate level (including a
high proportion of the large introductory courses) and we have all done more than our
share of administration (chairing
and deaning).   
 
We think one of the mistakes our counterparts have made in other departments is to take a
highly critical and confrontational stance toward the mainstream of the discipline. The
result of that in a program such as ours would be to be "resourced" with reciprocal
contempt. Consequently the impact of our presence, on departmental hiring, on self-
governance issues, on the Duke Economics curriculum, and university affairs has been
considerable. In any given year, there are usually 6-7 courses related to the history of
economics, and often one of the many post doctoral visitors who come to work with us from
other universities and countries teaches as well.  Finally, we think we can say that, with
the possible exception of health economics, amd financial econometrics, we have had more
external funding for this field than for any other sub-field of economics.  We have had
grants from NSF, Ford, Rockefeller, Luce, Kanzanjian, and others. This enables us to
support graduate students, conferences, archival developments, HOPE, etc.
 
Consequently our students find desirable jobs, and are regarded as full members of their
new departments, not as critics of economics but as mainstream professionals doing cross-
disciplinary work as well.
 
E. Roy Weintraub 
Duke University 
 
------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ 
For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]