Economy and Society — State, Classes, and Gender

Coordination: Elisa Lopes da Silva

Contributing to the renewal of Economic History and Social History, by deepening the links between the two, the research developed by the group has studied and related the following subjects:

• The history of economic sectors such as banking, industry and commerce, within the framework of the emergence and development of capitalism at its various scales;
• The history of social classes, as well as of associations, social networks and sociability, in terms of labour, leisure, culture and daily life, with a focus on gender issues;
• The formation of the modern State and its institutions, in their relationship with the economy, social dynamics and territory, from social movements to migratory movements;
• The historical importance of economic policies, thought and knowledge throughout the contemporary period.

These and other questions are investigated within the framework of a historical reflection on the problems of modernisation, development and modernity, as well as on the historical nature of the ideas of economy and society themselves. The reflection of the Research Group is developed within the framework of Economic History and Social History, in dialogue with Historical Sociology, Intellectual History, Contemporary Archaeology or Social Anthropology.

Estas e outras questões são investigadas no âmbito de uma reflexão histórica acerca das problemáticas da modernização, do desenvolvimento e da modernidade, assim como da natureza histórica das próprias ideias de economia e sociedade. A reflexão do Grupo de Investigação é desenvolvida no quadro da História Económica e da História Social, em diálogo com a Sociologia Histórica, a História Intelectual, a Arqueologia Contemporânea ou a Antropologia Social.

The group also develops relevant historiographical and memorialising activities with public and private entities as diverse as the Union of Portuguese Mutualities, the EDP Foundation or the Association Mémoire Vive/Memória Viva.