Economic and Social History
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Welcome to Economic and Social History in Edinburgh. We are a team of eleven permanent, full-time academic staff based in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, making us one of the largest Economic and Social History units in the United Kingdom.

Our research interests are wide ranging, including the study of economic development, energy policy, globalisation, slavery, demography, urban history, consumption, material culture, museums and collecting, leisure, religious belief, popular culture, medicine and disease, gender, sexuality and the family.

What is Economic and Social History?

Economic History is the study of the way in which economies develop, why that development differs between countries and over time, and how individuals, households and communities contribute to, and are affected by, economic change. Social History is concerned with how people have lived their lives and how and why their experiences and behaviour have changed over time, asking a wide range of questions about social behaviour, organisations and identities in the past.