Labour History of Russia and the Soviet Union: Work in Progress

A conference of the International Institute of Social History, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of East London
Amsterdam, 31 March - 2 April 2005

Background

The conference brings together specialists on Russian and Soviet labour history from North America, Western and Eastern Europe, representing the 'state of the art' of current research in the discipline. Labour history is broadly defined as the history of work and of the people whose livelihood depends on work. These include craftsmen, peasants, convicts, white collar and professional workers, service personnel, servants, and housewives, as well as waged workers. Such a definition no longer makes sharp distinctions between pre- and post-industrial, town and countryside, and is intended to contribute to a labour history which is both universal and global in scope.

Organisation

Organising committee: Gijs Kessler (International Institute of Social History), Donald Filtzer (University of East London), Wendy Goldman (Carnegie Mellon University), and Simon Pirani (University of Essex)

The conference is funded by: International Institute of Social History, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Friends of the International Institute of Social History, Unger-Van Brero fonds, and University of East London.

Publication

A selection of the papers presented at the conference has been published with Peter Lang Press: - Donald Filtzer, Wendy Goldman, Gijs Kessler and Simon Pirani (eds), A Dream Deferred: New Studies in Russian and Soviet Labour History, International and Comparative Social History 11 (Bern, Switzerland ; New York, 2008)

For further information please contact Dr. Gijs Kessler ().