Project Summary
This project is hosted by: Institute of Latin American Studies
- Research interests:
- Colonies & Colonization, emigration & immigration, Contemporary History, Globalization & Development, History, Modern History , Regional history, Social Sciences
- Regions:
- Africa, Africa, Asia, Asia, Australasia, Australasia, Caribbean, Caribbean, Europe, Europe, Middle East, Middle East, North America, North America, South America, South America, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Project period:
- 04-Jan-2007 - 30-Mar-2030
- Project categories:
- Research project
- Project summary:
The project aims to explore the networks through which a range of commodities
circulated within, between and beyond empires during the rise of global capitalism
from the eighteenth century to present day, through comparisons between
different spatial contexts in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. It seeks to assess the
differential impact of commodity networks on regions and societies in 'south' and
'north', drawing on new historical perspectives to interrogate earlier as well as
more recent periods of globalisation. Building on the project's track record since
2007, its web presence, growing network of scholars, research, publications and
events, our specific aims over the current 2016-2021 five-year period are to foster
innovative international research collaboration on commodity frontiers,
quadrupeds and commodity processing; develop the application of comparative
historical GIS methods; co-organise three major international conferences;
explore publication of a Bloomsbury Academic Commodities series; and widen our
outreach with audio-visual materials.
Management Details
Lead researcher & project contact:
| Name | Position | Institute | Organisation | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professor Jean Stubbs | Associate Fellow | Institute of Languages, Cultures & Societies/CLACS | SAS | jean.stubbs@sas.ac.uk |
Researchers:
| Name | Position | Institute | Organisation | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Jonathan Curry-Machado | Associate Fellow | Institute or Languages, Cultures & Societies/CLACS | SAS | jon.curry-machado@sas.ac.uk |
Other collaborative organisations:
| Name | URL | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Centre for Modern and Contemporary History, University of Birmingham | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/centre-for-modern-and-contemporary-history | s.jackson.1@bham.ac.uk |
Funding:
| Funder | Grant type | Award |
|---|---|---|
| British Academy | Academy Research Project (ARP) | £25,000 (2025-2030) |
Related Activities
Related events:
| Title | Details | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Threads of Empire: Modes, Materials and the Making of Textiles | The British Academy ‘Commodities of Empire’ Academy Research Project invites paper proposals for an international, two-day workshop on the theme: Threads of Empire: Modes, Materials & the Making of Textiles. The workshop will be hosted at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) on 8-9 September, 2025. The deadline for submitting a paper abstract is 28th March 2025. The lead organisers are Dr Jelmer Vos (Jelmer.Vos@glasgow.ac.uk), Dr Sally Tuckett (Sally.Tuckett@glasgow.ac.uk) and Dr Meha Priyadarshini (meha.priyadarshini@ed.ac.uk). |
01-Jan-2025 |
Related publications/articles:
| Title | Details | Publication date |
|---|---|---|
| Working Paper Series | The Commodities of Empire Working Papers series provides a space in which both members of the Commodities of Empire project, and others whose research is related to the aims of this project, can publish their findings in a form that enables rapid dissemination in the public domain. It is hoped that this will help to stimulate debate, and further develop project-related knowledge and ideas. |