Welcome to Economic and Social History at the University of Bayreuth!
Economic and Social History as a discipline investigates long-term processes of transformations in the economy, the organization of production and division of labour, the meaning of money and financial markets, and the role of the state, as well as the values, norms, and attitudes of people toward the economy. At the Chair of Economic and Social History we focus on the history of the "modern economy" since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century.
Our current research is about the history of the Federal Republic of Germany in the global economy, questions of economic inequality in historical perspective, a history of saving, a social and economic history of money illusion, crime, entrepreneurship, and institutional change, as well as the history of economic thought.
For B.A. (bachelor) level students (Europäische Geschichte, Economics, Internationale Wirtschaft und Entwicklung, Philosophy & Economics) we offer lectures in German language on German, European, and North American social and economic history as well as seminars on specific subjects of the field. Our M.A. (master) level classes are taught in English. Next to introductory "Foundations" Modules we also offer seminars on the methodology of economic history, organized together with the Chair of Quantitative Economic History (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Till Braun) at the Faculty of Law and Economics.