Interest Groups

Women in Business History (WiBH) consists of an informal group who have joined together at Business History Conference meetings for several years. Over lunch, they network, share career information, and trade insights on professional development. Some of the women work in areas related to gender in business and economic history, but the group's scholarly interests span the field.

Business history has long been included in the curriculum of MBA and undergraduate business programs in the conviction that training in leadership requires a long-term and internationally focused view of the world. Faculty and programs in business schools around the world have made significant contributions to the development and growth of business history. Yet the culture and priorities of management training differ somewhat from those in departments of history and economics. The BHC has many members teaching in schools of management and business who work to expand the role of business history in the curriculum of their institutions. They have created an informal networking group whose members come together over lunch at the BHC annual meeting to discuss issues and concerns.

 

[Scroll down for a list of BHC emerging scholars]

The Emerging Scholars Committee (ESC) of the Business History Conference focuses on introducing junior scholars to the possibilities of researching and teaching business history. The committee also works to integrate new talent into the BHC community.  The ESC invites junior scholars to various events that provide a space for engaging with business history and meeting members of the BHC community. These events include a mentoring program (virtual) ahead of the annual meeting and workshops and an evening reception at the conference (see events from BHC 2023). All are opportunities for new scholars to network with BHC-affiliated members with a wide range of experiences within the field . Following the conference the committee also follows up with attendees to gauge their experience in order to improve future events and to continue to expand the network of historians of business.

The following program refers to activities organized ahead of BHC 2025.


Mentoring Week (Online)


The Business History Conference (BHC) is excited to announce the return of the Mentoring Week, organized by the BHC's Emerging Scholars Committee. Taking place from March 3rd to March 7th, 2025, the Mentoring Week precedes the annual BHC meeting and offers a platform for emerging scholars to engage in skills development, networking, and career orientation.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow scholars in the field of business history. We look forward to welcoming you to Mentoring Week! For any questions, please contact emerging.scholars.committee.bhc@gmail.com.

Mentor-mentee program
Connecting Experienced Scholars with Emerging Scholars
The core program of Mentoring Week is our mentor-mentee scheme, which facilitates exchanges between experienced scholars and graduate students, early-career academics, and whoever else self-identifies as emerging scholars. Mentors will be paired with mentees and will then meet online for a one-on-one meeting between the 3rd and the 7th of March. The meeting is an opportunity for the mentee to ask any questions they might have about pursuing a career as a business historian, ranging from teaching to publishing, applications, the job market and other topics. It is also hoped that the meeting might be the starting point for further exchanges in the future, be that at the BHC Conference the following week, or elsewhere.
Emerging scholars are usually graduate students and recent PhDs. Experienced scholars are usually established in their careers (and within the BHC).
Please note that the mentoring scheme is primarily designed for career-related issues. For deep engagement with research, the BHC offers two in-person opportunities at the annual conference:
·       For Ph.D. dissertations: the Doctoral Colloquium [link]
·       For publishing your first book: the Book Proposal Workshop [link]
Get Involved: Become a Mentor or Mentee
Whether you're an experienced scholar eager to share your expertise or an emerging scholar seeking guidance and mentorship, we invite you to participate in Mentoring Week. To express your interest in becoming a mentor or mentee, please fill out this form by January 15th, 2025: [link].

Online Workshop: Teaching business history
One of the key features of the Mentoring Week is an online workshop designed to equip emerging scholars with the necessary skills for a successful career in business history.
This year’s workshop is scheduled for March 5th, 2025, at noon eastern time, addressing the teaching of business history. Emerging scholars attending the session will gain insights into a number of different ways in which the broad field of business history is tackled from the instructors’ side, including the use of the case method, the integration of material culture, and the history of capitalism.
Three panelists, whom participants will have the opportunity to engage with through Q&A at the end of the session, will share their insights: Sophus A. Reinert (Harvard Business School), Marina Moskowitz (UW-Madison), and Sharon Murphy (Providence).
To register for the workshop, please fill out this form: [link].

 

Conference Workshops (in Person)
 

Book Proposal Workshop
The BHC’s Emerging Scholars Committee is hosting an in-person book proposal workshop on Thursday afternoon, March 13th. This is an exciting opportunity for up to five emerging scholars to improve their book proposals under the guidance of a senior BHC member. We’re happy to announce that this year’s faculty director for the workshop will be award-winning historian Seth Rockman.
The workshop is not limited to those who identify as business historians. We conceive of business history broadly and welcome proposals on a wide variety of topics, including but not limited to political economy, labor history, consumption studies, financial history, the history of science and technology, and many more across eras and regions. The workshop aspires to support a new generation of historians working on topics related to business history in interesting and innovative ways.
Workshop participants will pre-circulate and read all book proposals, then discuss them for up to 45 minutes each. This style of peer review is designed to replicate the general scholarly audience a proposal must speak to. This workshop is an opportunity to receive that support within the friendly confines of the Business History Conference.
Thanks to the support of TBC, successful applicants will receive TBC. Workshop participants will also have the opportunity to meet university press and series editors. Additional career and publishing-related workshops that are free for all to attend are run by the Doctoral Colloquium [link].
To apply for a place in the book proposal workshop, please send the following documents to emerging.scholars.committee.bhc@gmail.com by December 15th, 2024: (1) A cover letter, max. 1 page, that briefly summarizes your dissertation and states why you would benefit from the workshop. (2) A writing sample, max. 25 pages, that shows promise for your first book. This could be part of your introduction, a concept document, an article, etc. Please leave this document free of any personal information (name, affiliation etc.). (3) An academic curriculum vitae, max. 2 pages.
Selection criteria: Our primary interest lies in helping early career scholars develop great book proposals judged by research quality. In light of the ESC’s mission to help the career development of all recent graduates, and the BHC’s DEI guidelines, we may also consider the level of available institutional support of applicants and the diversification of BHC membership. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. by the time of the workshop and must be writing their first book.

Emerging Scholars Ice Cream Social
The Emerging Scholars Committee (ESC) invites you to be part of the welcoming activities for early career scholars at the BHC Conference.
Please join us at the Ice Cream Social on Friday March 14th. Generously sponsored by TBC, this is a social gathering open to both emerging and senior scholars. No registration is necessary - please see the conference program for the exact timing. We hope to see you all there!
Please note that conference attendees will be able to self-identify as emerging scholars through their conference badges. We hope this will open up conversations. Don’t be shy and join us in welcoming new members into the BHC community!
 


Dr. Ashton Merck's interviews with emerging scholars are available on H-Business. Check out the first season here:

Interview with Peter Labuza || Interviews with Daniel Rowe || Interview with Elizabeth O'Brien Ingleson || Interview with Ann Daly || Interview with Ghassan Moazzin || Interview with Mircea Raianu || Interview with Zhaojin Zeng || Interview with Dylan Gottlieb || Interview with Grace Ballor || Interview with Dan Du || Interview with Mandy Cooper || Interview with Sabine Pitteloud || Interview with Mary Bridges || Interview with Sven Kube || Interview with Ashton Merck