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Beyond Backwardness. Russian Economy in Global Historical Perspective (1750-1914)

November 17, 2015 @ 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

Please join us on November 17th, 2015 for “Beyond Backwardness. Russian Economy in Global Historical Perspective (1750-1914),” a lecture with Alessandro Stanziani from École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS).

Economic backwardness, Asiatic despotism, and orientalism have strongly influenced our perceptions of modernization, democracy, and economic growth over the last three centuries. This lecture will provide an iconoclastic view of Russian and Eurasian history into a global perspective. While there never was a central institutionalization of “serfdom” in Russia, there were local forms of bondage, which was vital to Russian economic growth. This conclusion implies that there is no evidence that Russian and Eastern European serfdom constituted the quasi-periphery of Europe.

If this is so, then the history of global capitalism needs to be re-assessed. Contrary to commonly held views, this lecture will argue that political rights and a free market are not guaranteed or a necessary condition for markets to function. The examples of nineteenth-century Russia and modern-day China testify to this fact. Revisiting the history of Russia and Eurasia, it is evident that economic growth and markets are perfectly capable of operating without democracy or equal social rights. It is time for us to reconsider the aims and goals of economic growth.

Alessandro Stanziani is a Professor of Global History at EHESS and is a Research Director at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Naples (1991) and a PhD in History from EHESS (1995). His interests and fields include: Russian history (16th-20th centuries); serfdom, slavery in inner Asia, economic growth; labor in the Indian Ocean (18th-19th centuries); economic, business and labor history in Europe (France, Britain) in the early 18th-20th centuries; food history (18th-20th centuries).

 

This event is co-sponsored by the NYU Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia and the Department of History.

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Details

Date:
November 17, 2015
Time:
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Event Categories:
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Organizer

Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia / Department of History

Venue

King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, Room 701
53 Washington Square South
New York, NY New York, NY United States
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Phone
(212) 998-3650