As we start a new academic year, with our fingers firmly crossed that we will see the return of some kind of normality, I wanted to take the opportunity to bring you up-to-date with news from the Department. This is my first opportunity to write to you as Head of Department, as September marked the conclusion of Professor Joan Roses’ distinguished term in that role, but I know many of you from teaching in the department since I arrived here in 2004, and I look forward to meeting others at alumni events in the future.
One of the lessons we learnt during the lockdowns was the importance of staying in touch – with friends, family and colleagues – and alumni are very much part of the department’s academic family. Technology has made communication possible in new ways and, like so many of you, in LSE we have relied on online systems for our teaching and research over the last year (this has at least one benefit: if you missed any of our public events over the last academic year, you can find links to the recordings here).
This year, while we are hoping to give less time to zoom as we return to in-person teaching, we will still be running online public events that we hope you can attend. These include distinguished speakers ranging from nobel prize winner Thomas Sargent, Chief Economist of the World Bank, Carmen Reinhart, former president of the American Economics Association, Claudia Goldin. It was good to see so many of you at our discussion of Adam Tooze's new book Shutdown.
While the last few months have been tough for everyone, I’m pleased to report that our current students have coped with the challenges of online learning with resilience and grace, submitting work of an incredibly high standard. It is almost as though with the bars and nightclubs closed, they had more time for study. And at the same time, our faculty have continued to produce high calibre research, including several important new books that you can find out about in this newsletter.
The department is continuing to build its expertise in finance and money and will be launching a new MSc in Financial History specifically in that area in September 2022. This year, we are also proud to welcome a new faculty member, Melanie Xue, who brings a wealth of expertise on Chinese economic history and the role of culture in economics generally.
When I speak to alumni, I often hear enthusiastic offers to help and support the department and its students. In this newsletter, Peter Cirenza, Chair of the Economic History Advisory Board (EHAB), outlines some of the activities and initiatives the Board has already undertaken, and updates us with further plans and how you can get involved. We are very proud to have our first alumni-supported PhD student starting in the department this autumn, thanks to your generosity, and we hope to build on this in the future. We will be keeping you informed about their progress.
Studying in economic history leads to many destinations, and in this newsletter alumnus Harshika Singh (MSc Economic History, 2009) talks about life after LSE. We’d love to hear from you: whether you would like to be included as a profile, keep us up-to-date with life milestones (new job, family members), or get involved in careers advice for current students – just reply to the email. If you’d like to stay in touch with your colleagues, why not join our LinkedIn group. And to hear more often about what’s happening here, follow our Twitter account.