History G 8105:
Commercial practices, commercial imaginations,
Europe: 1300-1750
Professors Martha Howell and Carl Wennerlind
Fall, 2006, Tuesday, 2:10 – 4:00, Fayerweather 302
Professor Howell: 614 Fayerweather, x 4-7404
Mch4@columbia.edu
Office hours: Wednesday 11-12:00 and by appointment
Professor Wennerlind: 403 Lehman Hall, 4-2055
Cw503@columbia.edu
Office hours: Tuesday 4:30-6:00
Readings:
Books: (all books have been ordered at Labyrinth Bookstore, 112th Street between B’way and A’dam; none has been put on reserve but the library will have at least one copy of each). We will not be reading entire books (for the most part), but we recommend nevertheless that you purchase these books for your library.
1. Carlo Cipolla, Before the Industrial Revolution
2. Henri Pirenne, Medieval Cities
3. Jean Favier, Gold and Spices
4. Fernand Braudel, vol. 2 of Civlilization and Capitalism (The Wheels of Commerce), trans. Sian Reynolds.
5. Lester Little, Religious Poverty and the Profit Economy
6. Jean-Christophe Agnew, Worlds Apart : The Market and the Theater in Anglo-American Thought, 1550-1750
7. Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation
8. The Marx-Engels Reader, ed. Tucker, 2nd ed.
9. Richard Hakluyt, Voyages and Discoveries,
10. Robin Blackburn, Making of New World Slavery
11. John Brewer, Consumption and the World of Goods
12. Peter Linebaugh, The London Hanged
13. Joel Mokyr, Levers of Riches
Articles and excerpts from books that will be available from Course Works: aka CW
1.“Introduction, “ in The Culture of the Market, eds., Haskell, Thomas and Teichgraeber,
2. Arjun Appadurai, “Introduction,” in The Social Life of Things, ed. Appadurai
3. Douglass C. North and Robert Paul Thomas, “An Economic Theory of the Growth of the Western World,” The Economic History Review, second series, XXIII – 1 (1970), pp. 1-17
4. John H. Munro, “Money and Coinage in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe”
5. Hoppit, “Attitudes to Credit in Britain, 1680-1790,” Historical Journal
6. Maxine Berg and Elizabeth Eger, “The Rise and Fall of the Luxury Debates,” in Maxine Berg and Elizabeth Eger, Luxury in the Eighteenth Century: debates, desires and delectable goods.
7. B. Mandeville, “The Grumbling Hive”
Excerpts that will be in reading packet to be purchased from Columbia Copies (107th and Broadway): aka Packet
1. selection from Maurice Dobb, Studies in the Development of Capitalism (pp. 1-83)
2. selection from P. Sweezy et al., The Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism (introduction by Rodney Hilton), pp. 33-67
3. J. H. Parry, The Age of Reconnaissance, chapters 9-11, 13-16.
4. Craig Muldrew, Economy of Obligation, Introduction and chapters 4-6.
5. Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World System, vol. 1, Introduction and chapters 2, 5, and 7; vol. II, Introduction and chapters 1, 3. And 6.
6. Douglass North, Part I of Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance
Assignments
1. Two papers, each 6-10 pages
Paper # 1: Due October 31st: Use the readings from week 7 and 8 to consider the readings from weeks 2-6.
Paper #2: Due December 16: Use readings from weeks 9-14 to consider commerce’s role in constructing formal and informal relations of power.
2. One class presentation: choose one week’s reading (weeks 3-7, 9-13), and organize material for a discussion of the readings with your classmates. Students will sign up for presentations during class week 2.
3. Attendance and participation in discussion (we will take both into account in the final grade).
Syllabus
Week 1: September 5: Introduction
Part I: Stories of Commerce
Week 2: September 12: A sketch of the economy, 1300-1750
- Carlo Cipolla, Before the Industrial Revolution, all.
Weeks 3-4: September 19, 26: Late Medieval Markets and Commercial Techniques
- Henri Pirenne, Medieval Cities, all
- Jean Favier, Gold and Spices, pp. 1-100
- Jean Favier, Gold and Spices, pp. 101-279
- Lester Little, Religious Poverty and Profit Economy, pp. 1-59
Weeks 5-6: October 3, 10: Renaissance and Early Modern Expansion
- Fernand Braudel, Civilization and Capitalism, vol. 2 (Wheels of Commerce), pp. 231-54; 374-457; 514-55; 600-01.
- Immanuel Wallerstein, Modern World System, excerpts in Packet
- Jean-Christophe Agnew, Worlds Apart, pp. 1-101
Weeks 7-8: October 17, 24: Interpretations
- North selections in CW
- Mokyr, Levers of Riches, Introduction and chapters 7-9.
- “Introduction, “ in The Culture of the Market, eds., Haskell, Thomas and Teichgraeber (CW)
- Marx, in Tucker, pp. 302-61; 431-38.
- Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation, pp. 33-76.
- Dobb in Studies (Packet)
- pp. 1-67 in Transitions from Feudalism (Packet)
Part II: Why Did It Matter?
Weeks 9, 10: October 31, November 14 [NB: November 7 is a holiday]: Money, Credit, and the Merchant
- John Munro, “Money and Coinage in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe” (CW)
- Craig Muldrew, The Economy of Obligation: the culture of credit and social relations in early modern England, selections in Packet
- Hoppit (CW)
- Richard Hakluyt, Voyages and Discoveries, Introduction (9-29), XIII (60-66), XXII (91-102), XXIV (105-116), XXXIII (164-171), XXXIV (171-188)
- John Parry, The Age of Reconnaissance, in Packet
Weeks 11 and 12: November 21 and 28: Labor
- Robin Blackburn, Making of New World Slavery, Chapters 8-10, 12
- Peter Linebaugh, The London Hanged, Parts I and II
Weeks 13 and 14: December 5, 12: Commodities, Consumption and Class
- John Brewer, Consumption and the World of Goods, articles by deVries, Agnew, Campbell, Shammas, Vickery, Fairchilds, Breen, and Mintz
- “Introduction,” in The Social Life of Things, ed. Appadurai (CW)
- Mandeville, “The Grumbling Hive,” (CW)
- Berg essay, “The Luxury Debates” (CW)