----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- CALL FOR PAPERS HOPE CONFERENCE 2006 LIFE WRITING AND THE HISTORY OF ECONOMICS Historians of economics are profoundly ambivalent about life writing. Should biography be a part of what we do? We make use of autobiographical material in the construction of our histories but we havent, as a discipline, reflected upon how and why that material was constructed and preserved, and how it ought to be read and interpreted by contemporary historians. This conference is designed to facilitate that conversation. We intend to bring together an interdisciplinary group of 15 to 20 scholars with interest and expertise in life writing. The range of material that might engage the conferees is large, and might include such paper topics as: How should we treat autobiographical material in the construction of histories? How are heroes and villains created for popular (economists, historians) consumption? What relationship exists between scientific biography and literary biography in the history of economics? What do we need to know about property rights and ethical issues surrounding the use of non-public material, particularly material that concerns living subjects? How do people generally, or scientists in particular, present their lives in autobiographical material? Do economists present their lives in a similar fashion? How is autobiographical material subsequently used to reconstruct history? With respect to oral histories and interviews, can (and should) we systematically collect and interpret autobiographical material? Are there particular issues related to living subjects and recent history? Why and how do economists write autobiography? What relations exist between biographer and subject? Biographer and reader? Reader and subject? What can historians of economics learn from scholars in other disciplines? Of course, this list is simply suggestive, and the organizers will welcome potential contributions on related subjects as well. The conference will take place at or near Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, in mid-April 2006. (In the past, HOPE Conferences have been held from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning). We will to be able to pay local expenses (food, airport transfers, lodging, etc.) for participants, but not for transportation of conferees to or from Durham, North Carolina. Proposals for papers (not to exceed five hundred words) and complete contact information should be sent to both conference organizers, Evelyn Forget and Roy Weintraub, by October 15, 2004 (see contact information below). Papers will be selected and authors will be notified by November 30, 2004. The complete papers are due March 1, 2006. All conference sessions will be plenary and the number of papers will be limited to 15 to 20 to ensure adequate time for general discussion. All papers will be circulated to all conference participants in advance of the conference. Papers will be refereed for inclusion in a special supplement to History of Political Economy (HOPE), and will be published as a special volume by Duke University Press. For further information, please contact Evelyn L. Forget, Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, 750 Bannatyne Ave., Winnipeg MB CANADA R3E 0W3 ([log in to unmask]) or E. Roy Weintraub, Department of Economics, Duke University, Box 90097, Durham NC, 27708-0097 USA ([log in to unmask]). ----------------- FOOTER TO HES POSTING ----------------- [log in to unmask] http://eh.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/hes