Doctoral Colloquium 2024: Providence, Rhode Island

The BHC Doctoral Colloquium (DC) in Business History will be held on Thursday, March 14th, 2024.  The participants will be invited for a welcome dinner on Wednesday, March 13th in Providence. During the DC, there will also be professional development sessions scheduled. 

Typically limited to ten students, the colloquium is open to doctoral candidates who are pursuing dissertation research within the broad field of business history from any relevant discipline (e.g., from economic sociology, political science, cultural anthropology, or management, as well as history). Most participants are in year 3 or 4 or their degree program, though in some instances applicants at a later stage make a compelling case that their thesis research had evolved in ways that led them to see the advantages of an intensive engagement with business history. 

We welcome proposals from students working within any thematic area of business history. Topics (see link for past examples) may range from the early modern era to the present, and explore societies across the globe. Participants work intensively with a distinguished group of BHC-affiliated scholars (including the incoming BHC president), discussing dissertation proposals, relevant literatures and research strategies, and career trajectories.  

Applications (a statement of interest; CV; and a letter of support from the dissertation supervisor (or prospective supervisor)), and a three to five page presentation of the PhD project are due by Friday December 8th, 2023, via email to Carol Lockman (clockman@Hagley.org). Questions about the colloquium should be sent to its director, Prof. Eric Godelier (eric.godelier@polytechnique.edu). Applicants will receive notification of the selection committee's decisions by mid-January 2024. If they travel to Providence, all participants will receive a stipend that partially defrays travel costs to the annual meeting.  

If accepted, Colloquium participants have a choice of pre-circulating one of the following: 

• a 15-page dissertation prospectus or updated overview of the dissertation research plan; or 

• a draft dissertation chapter, along with a one-page dissertation outline/description.  

Participants should choose the option they feel will most assist them at this stage in their research and writing. We will need to send the prospectus/overview or a chapter draft and outline by February 26th. Those will then be posted on a Colloquium webpage on the BHC website and shared with all participants to read in advance. A photo will be needed for the DC webpage.