Global History and Culture Centre
Management Committee Meeting Minutes
20 May, 2009 – 4.00 – 5.30
Royal College of Surgeons, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London
External members: R Bin Wong (UCLA), David Washbrook (Trinity College,
Cambridge)
Other members: Maxine Berg, Anne Gerritsen, Giorgio Riello, Luca Mola,
David Arnold, Bishnupria Gupta
Visitors: Billy Kee-long So, Ken Pomeranz, Patrick O’Brien
Apologies: Margot Finn, Clare Anderson, Ann Caesar
1. Welcome
2. New members
Stella Bruzzi, new Chair of Arts Faculty joins the Committee, while Ann
Caesar, formal Chair of Arts Faculty stays on the group. Also welcome
Leonard Seabrooke to join the Committee.
3. New leaflets and Centre web page
Many thanks to Giorgio who keeps them up to date.
A video clip of the Venice Summer School has been added on the web
that you could watch or download.
‘Transnational and Global History’ in discussion with Filipe FernándezArmesto
BBC 3 – Night Waves 9.15PM-10PM. Tuesday 12 May.
4. The MA in the Global History
The MA core course was very successful. Anne Gerritsen reports that
the programme recruits well and it is the 2nd most popular module. It
has drawn a number of lecturers to teach a range of very interesting
topics. 11 students have been accepted for the next year. The MA was
directed by Anne Gerritsen and will be directed by David Arnold next
year.
5. Events
 David Arnold continued with his 3-year ESRC Professorial
Fellowship, ‘Everyday Technology in Monsoon Asia, c. 18801960’. Researcher Erich De Wald. Conference planned for 1819th March, 2010
 Anne Gerritsen was awarded an AHRC Early Careers grant on
‘Global Jingdezhen’ for two years. Researcher Stephen
McDowall. Conference and exhibition planned for 22-25th April,
2010.
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Maxine Berg. Marie Curie award (2 years) for Marie ThébaudSorger from the University of Paris.
Anne Gerritsen and Giorgio Riello, Leverhulme Collaborative
Interchange Project: ‘Material Culture of Early Modern Global
Connections’ Outline bid approved and Full bid submitted.
March, 2009.
IAS events:
Visiting Fellowships
Christian Hess: Jeff Wasserstrom from UC Irvine to visit for a
week in October, 2008.
Anne Gerritsen: Dorothy Ko from Columbia to visit for two
weeks in May, 2010.
Bishnupria Gupta: Latika Chandhery (Stanford), May-June,
2010
Karen O’Brien: Charles Withers to visit for two weeks in
April/May 2010
IAS Workshop and Early career Summer Schools
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Giorgio and Luca organised the Venice Summer School
Giorgio reports that the Summer School on Exchange and
Innovation of Visual and Material Culture and Global History is
aimed at an international and multidisciplinary constituency of
MPhil, PhD and postdoctoral students, scholars in the early
careers. The Summer School had 17 international students and
lasted 8 days (25 – 31 March, 09) in Venice. Activities included
lectures and seminars with readings of primary and secondary
sources and visits to museums, archives and historical working
places. Feedback requests have been sent out to students in
order to not only to keep in touch, but also to prompt for future
postdoctoral opportunities.
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Gurminder Bhambra has organised the Early Career Summer
School: Theory for a Global Age – 6 – 10th July, 09, which is
focus on the theoretical Sociology.
AHRC Global Arts workshops
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The Natural World and Global Culture – Museum of History of
Science, Oxford, 17 October, 2008
Global History and Design – the V&A Museum, 6th February,
2009.
Maxine reports that the grant has completed 7 workshops, of
which above two were held in this current academic year. Plan
is under go to organise a special issue on China, Europe clocks
in Waddersdon Manner.
RDF Initiative for Centre for the History of Innovation and Creativity
(CHIC), Luca Molà: Workshop at Palazzo Papafava, 6th December,
2008
Conference Panels:
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Berg, Arnold, Finn, van Damme, Hodges, to
Warwick/EHESS conference in Pondicherry 5-6 November,
2008; Presentations to IIT Madras and University of
Pondicherry
Maxine Berg, ‘Global Commodities Panel participant’ AHA,
New York, 2 January, 2009
Anne Gerritsen and Giorgio Riello, Conference papers at
Global Commodities conference, University of Konstanz,
March 2009
Anne Gerritsen and Giorgio Riello, Panel on Global Material
Cultures, Social History Society Conference, Warwick, 28
March, 2009
Anne Gerritsen and Chris Hess, Papers at the Association of
Asian Studies, Chicago, 28 March, 2009
Maxine Berg, ‘Colonialism and European Identities’
Conference speaker, Yale University, 17-18 April, 2009
Global History seminars:
Maxine reports that the Centre has invited a number of speakers
to cover a wide range of topics: Tirthankar Roy, Kapil Raj, Om
Prakash, Gagan Sood, Lissa Roberts, Li Bozhong and Kent
Deng.
6. Other Upcoming Events:
 British Academy conference ‘Writing the History of the Global’
British Academy 21-22 May, 2009. Event fully booked.
Delegates include Eric Hobsbawm, Hutton to name just a few.
Event to be digitally recorded and held on website.
 Panels for the International Economic History Congress,
Utrecht, August, 2009
o Riello and Gerritsen, ‘Global Material Cultures’
o Berg ‘Economic History in the Age of World Congresses:
Early Years of the International Economic History
Association’.
7. Grant applications and Funding:
 Berg: ESRC project application ‘Wealth and Knowledge’
unsuccessful
 ERC Advanced Researcher application ‘Europe’s Asian
Centuries: Trading Eurasia 1600-1830’ submitted 15 April, 2009
 Riello and Berg: AHRC Collaborative PhD application with
Maritime Museum unsuccessful
 Berg: Marie Curie application from CEU, Budapest
unsuccessful.
 Chris Hess, ESRC International Training and Networking Grant
application submitted 30 April. ‘Globalization and the City in East
Asia: New Approaches’. Partners from Warwick, Oxford, Bristol,
and University of California (Irvine, San Diego, Berkeley).
Expecting to hear result in Mid August 2009.
 David Arnold and Clare Anderson, AHRC PhD award on Indian
Ocean. PhD Erin Jaffer.
8. International Links.
Following network events last year, research links have been
formed with a number of individual researchers in India, China,
Turkey and the US. Network and Interchange applications have
been submitted to include the Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Bogazci University (Istanbul), University of California, Irvine, the
V&A, the Peabody Essex Museum, Mass.
9. Strategic Development and Funding
 The Global MA course has been successful. The core course
was taught with a circuit of seminar leaders, and this met a good
response from students through the access it provided to the
range of staff working in the area. Problems arise over
availability of option modules due to staff teaching commitments
on undergraduate courses and staff away on leave. Daniel
Branch will be available to teach a session next year.
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Committee agreed to drop the Erasmus Mundi programme for
now.
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Language teaching and PhD training:
To prevent MA students leaving Warwick for Cambridge and
Oxford,
we need to resolve funding opportunities to
provide language training. Warwick Language Centre currently
offers European languages for
postgraduate and provision for
Chinese and Japanese Language but no taylor made
courses. This training is not adequate for in depth PhD
research.
Maxine suggests to explore the options in British Academy.
David Arnold suggests to investigate in AHRC.
Bin Wong suggests to investigate National Chengchi University
(NCCU, 国立政治大学). This university is keen to build
international relationship on institution level and offers intensive
language programmes for international individual students.
Giorgio Riello points out that Capital Normal University, China is
keen to establish international relationship, which could
explore.
Maxine points out that we also need to investigate about the
Indian Language training opportunities.
David Arnold suggests that one option could be to recruit PhD
students who already have some language knowledge.
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We have attempted to reduce Global Centre seminars to two a
term. We have in fact held six despite the limited funding.
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Other connections:
At Warwick:
The Globalization Centre. Leonard Seabrooke is the new
Director. He has strong history and politics interests, and we
hope to develop some joint initiatives.
Sociology. Links are strong here through Clare Anderson and
Gurminder Bhambra. Bhambra taught a session on the Global
MA core course, and Berg and Riello will do a session at her IAS
‘Theory for a Global Age workshop in July.
Outside Warwick:
British Academy Commodities of Empire group. Maxine Berg is
on the Advisory Board of this group, and we have had a meeting
at Warwick with two members of the group, Sandip
Hazareesingh and Jean Stubbs. Possibilities of a network
application discussed.
European University Institute. Luca Molà has been seconded to
the EUI for four (renewable to eight) years as Professor of
Renaissance Mediterranean history from September, 2010.
Luca Molà reports that EUI is keen to develop Global History
research subjects and should be able to establish good links.
He continues to develop his initiative for a Centre for the History
of Creativity and Innovation (CHIC) to be based at the Palazzo
Papafava in Venice. To discuss CHIC and further initiatives
which may develop with the EUI.
 Suggestions for funding
Warwick’s fund for activities for GHCC is to end by the end of
July 2009, while fEC research grants are incomes to History
department not GHCC.
David Washbrook suggests Standard Chartered Bank, who
mainly operates in China and India.
Patrick O’Brien suggests EU Commission, who encourages
younger colleagues to apply funds to develop their research
careers. Giorgio Riello points out that the application success
rate is very low.
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British Academy is shifting their funding from Archaeology to
Global History, which should be explored.
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Access to archive of Indian proven to remain difficult.
10. AOB
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Ken Pomeranz’s fund is to end June 2010.
Maxine points out that British Academy is keen to publish papers
of the conference on ‘Writing the History of the Global’. We
should take this as a good opportunity to prompt British
Academy to put money in this area.
Warwick has invested a good deal of money in modern media
broad casting, pod cast, filming and recording etc. A two minute
video clip edition will be added on the website, as well as the
filming of the conference on ‘Writing the History of the Global’.