Prof. Dr. Katja Patzel-Mattern Economic and Social History

Welcome to the website of the Chair for Economic and Social History!

Heidelberg’s Chair for Economic and Social History focuses on economic and social transformation processes since the Early Modern Period, but especially since the industrialization. Its main emphasis lies on European history, which cannot be understood without its global connections. Beginning in England, the industrialization changed not only the living and working conditions of people in various parts of the world, but also played a crucial role in establishing today’s global economic order with its worldwide trade relations. At the center of our interest lies how societies and economies of our present day emerged, and which crises they went through.

As a bridging discipline, Economic and Social History connects historical with economic and social science thinking. This is done in a theory-driven manner. Approaches from New Institutional Economics and Neo-Institutionalism are brought into a fruitful exchange with gender, crisis, and discourse theories. On this basis, it is possible to examine not only the structures that shape society and the economy—such as gender or economic systems—but also the actors and their actions, for example within families and companies.