Engaging with Labor History: A Roundtable

Business and labor historiographies have traditionally developed along largely separate lines. While business historians adopted methods inspired by Alfred Chandler’s emphasis on firms and institutional structures, the “new labor history,” inspired by the work of EP Thompson and formalized by such scholars as David Montgomery, examined processes of class formation and the development of class identities within working-class communities.
In recent years, however, scholars have challenged the traditional boundaries dividing business and labor histories in innovative and creative ways. Inspired by this year’s conference theme, “The Business of Labor,” this roundtable will explore more deeply the opportunities for collaboration between business and labor historians, as well as the potential barriers to such collaborations. How can we promote greater dialogue between business and labor historians? What can business historians learn from engaging with labor historians and labor histories? How can studying labor from the perspective of business history inform or change our understanding of labor history, and vice versa? Finally, how, and with what methods, can we study the "business of labor"?
Roundtable participants will each provide brief comments, which will be followed by a robust discussion with audience engagement.