Economic and Social History
There is a long tradition of Economic and Social History at the University of Exeter. A separate department of Economic and Social History in the Social Science Faculty existed until 1999, when it was merged with History. Economic and Social History is now taught within the general History degree at undergraduate level. The department offers ESRC-funded postgraduate study as part of the SWDPT, with an ESRC approved MRes in Economic and Social History, and ESRC funded PhD studentships.
Particular strengths in Economic and Social History at Exeter are early modern history (1500-1800), maritime history, and the use of manuscript documents for quantitative and qualitative research.
Exeter’s modern historians with economic and social interests are active in the department’s Centre for Imperial and Global History.
Current research projects led by Economic and Social Historians at Exeter include:
- Maria Fusaro: AveTransRisk – Average – Transaction Costs and Risk Management during the First Globalization (Sixteenth-Eighteenth Centuries) (ERC, 2017-22)
- Nandini Chatterjee: Forms of Law in the Early Modern Persianate World, 17th-19th centuries (ERC, 2017-22)
- Jane Whittle: Forms of Labour: Gender, Freedom and Experience of Work in the Preindustrial Economy (ERC, 2019-24)
- Henry French: A landscape transformed: the reclamation of Exmoor Forest (Leverhulme Trust, 2020-22)
History of Economy Research Blog
Staff in the Economic and Social History research cluster organise a themed blog and discussion group (History of Economy Research Blog or HERB) each year in which we discuss documents and case studies.
