Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to share with you the program of the workshop celebrating the 100th anniversary of Hazel Kyrk's Theory of Consumption (1923).
The workshop is co-organized by Rebeca Gomez Betancourt and myself, and will be held on May 30, 2023 at CY Cergy Paris University (10am-6pm, Paris Time, CEST/UTC+2).
The workshop will be in a hybrid format. If you wish to attend via zoom, please fill in the registration form below.
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Abstract of the workshop:
Following its publication in 1923, Hazel Kyrk’s Theory of Consumption soon became the flagship of the female-dominated field then known as the ‘economics of consumption’ and a canonical milestone of household economics’ history. Over the last couple of decades scholars interested in women’s history and its relation to the household and economics have demonstrated both the importance and significance of her work (Kiss and Beller 2000, van Velzen 2001, Tadajewski 2013, Le Tollec 2020). However, for most historians of economics, her contribution remains, at best unclear, at worst unknown. Yet, through the theoretical and empirical work she conducted in the 1920s-1940s, Kyrk produced a highly innovative and influential body of work, ranging from institutional theoretical work to the production of empirical data on consumer spending. At the University of Chicago and within Federal Departments, she developed new approaches to address a broad array of issues including the consumer’s choice and education, household production and time allocation, the status of women, women and children’s working conditions, wages, firms’ profit, marketing, or advertising, for example. We believe that Kyrk’s forgotten contribution and influence deserve to be brought to light. To this end, we take the opportunity of the 100th anniversary of Kyrk’s Theory of Consumption in 2023 by bringing together experts on her work during a one-day workshop organized in her honor.
10:00am-10:30am | Arrival & coffee
Welcome: David Philippy & Rebeca Gomez Betancourt
10:30am-11:30am (Paris Time) | David Philippy, Robert W. Dimand & Rebeca Gomez Betancourt, “Hazel Kyrk’s Intellectual Roots: When First-Generation Home Economists Met the Institutionalist Framework”
Discussants: Miriam Bankovsky & Edith Kuiper
11:30am-12:30am | Miriam Bankovsky, “What Should Families Want? From Hazel Kyrk to Margaret Reid and Beyond”
Discussants: Manfredi Alberti & Yann Giraud
12:30pm-1:30pm | Lunch Break
1:30pm-2:30pm | Juliette Blayac & Rebeca Gomez Betancourt, “Standard of Living, Thrift and Economics of Consumption in Kyrk, McMahon and Peixotto”
Discussants: Giandomenica Becchio & Robert W. Dimand
2:30pm-3:30pm | Marianne Johnson, “Kyrk’s Students: Measuring the Distribution of Income”
Discussants: Thomas Stapleford & Rebeca Gomez Betancourt
3:30pm-4:00pm | Coffee Break
4:00pm-5:00pm | Edith Kuiper, “Hazel Kyrk and her Research on Consumption Standards”
Discussants: Malcolm Rutherford & Julie Nelson
5:00pm-6:00pm | Manfredi Alberti & Pier Francesco Asso, “Hazel Kyrk and the Rise of Empirical Research in Interwar America”
Discussants: Juliette Blayac & David Philippy
Concluding Remarks
8:00pm Dinner in Paris
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Venue: CY Cergy Paris University
1 rue Descartes, Neuville-sur-Oise (France) MIR (CY Advanced Studies), Grand Amphithéâtre
Contact & information: [log in to unmask]
Registration: https://forms.gle/wcuYBzH2ng3d2UUV6
Best wishes,
David Philippy (CY Cergy Paris University)
& Rebeca Gomez Betancourt (University Lumière Lyon 2)