Looking at the past to understand the future
SHOC (Social History of Capitalism) is one of the recognized Large Research Groups of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Our core objective is to study the social history of capitalism from a bottom-up point of view. We conceptualize capitalism as a social process that exponentially boosted material production but also generated structural inequalities throughout the medieval, early modern and modern world. We aim to engage with the interactions and negotiations which shaped these outcomes, incorporating non-human, technological, and subaltern perspectives. Considering different contexts across the world allows us to disentangle the relationship between specific social configurations and the effects of capitalist expansion on welfare, social relations, migration and the environment in the long run, from the late middle ages until the 20th century.
Recent news
New publication by SHOC member Janny van Doorn
SHOC colleague Janny van Doorn publishes this month in the journal "Handelingen van het Genootschap voor Geschiedenis te Brugge". Have you always wanted to know under what conditions butchers were allowed to sell fish in the late Middle Ages?
Upcoming events
Practical info-International seminar: 200 years of wealth inequality
International seminar: 200 years of wealth inequality
Practical info-Journée d'histoire belge des migrations / Dag van Belgische Migratiegeschiedenis
The seventh edition of the Day of Belgian Migration History will take place on Wednesday 25 September 2024 at the General State Archives in Brussels.
Practical info-Public lecture: Prof. dr. Kwame Edwin Otu – Colonial Inhalations: E-waste work and Wastemen in Necropolitical Ghana
FORAGENCY, the SHOC research Group and the Atelier Genre(s) et Sexualité(s) from the Université Libre de Bruxelles are thrilled to welcome Prof. dr.
