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​Universitat de Lleida, 2nd - 4th February 2024

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Following the wake of the first two congresses for young researchers in Social and Economic History held in Girona and Barcelona in 2022 and 2023, this year we have come together again with the aim of organizing the third edition. The broad participation in those first two congresses showed us the need to create spaces where new researchers could share our research and concerns, both in terms of the main theme and in terms of the sources and methodologies used. On the other hand, it also became clear how enriching it is to get to know each other, share, debate, and reflect on our research and that of our colleagues, and to discover that our discipline is not as solitary as it can sometimes seem. It is with the aim of meeting this need that we have organized ourselves to hold this Third Congress, to create this much-needed space for cooperation and collaboration among young researchers.

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The third edition of the JIHSE Congress will be held at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lleida from February 2 to 4, 2026. While the first and second editions focused on sources and the main historiographical themes of social and economic history, this year the emphasis is on methodology. The main objective is to share the different methodologies used in current research, as well as their main difficulties and challenges, but also their potential. 

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In this regard, we would like to emphasize that the objective of this congress is to stimulate debate on the methodological challenges of research, so proposals focused on final results will not be accepted. Instead, texts must focus on the methodological problems encountered and how they were resolved. We believe that sharing the different ways and methods of working on similar topics will allow us to approach social and economic history from diverse and pluralistic perspectives, through approaches that we believe will enable participants to find common ground between their research and help them to obtain a more holistic view of their subjects of study.

 

This congress is aimed at early-career researchers who are in the initial stages of their research, from master's students to postdoctoral researchers.

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We have proposed the following thematic areas around which the congress will revolve:

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• Statistics. Data compilation: As a result of advances in computer science in recent decades, the creation and compilation of data for historical studies has undergone significant changes, from the proliferation of specific database software to the ways in which data is represented and visualized. The greater ease of collecting and processing information has often led to optimism about the interpretive possibilities of this history with more resources and potential. But we must avoid falling into the trap of simple accumulation and remember that software cannot do the work of the historian. Furthermore, our training as historians rarely includes any real knowledge of statistical methodologies and data collection processes, a fact that can lead to significant errors in method and interpretation. As novice historians, and even more in an academic world that is pushing for digital conversion, this can be a major stumbling block when thinking about how (and why) we want to create our databases for social and economic studies.
  
  That is why this theme invites reflection on the methodological problems of using databases and quantitative approaches to social and economic history, and encourages young historians to submit papers explaining their research projects and any methodological problems they may have encountered. Papers on specific problems with quantitative sources, the creation and management of databases, specific software, challenges in data presentation, among others, are welcome.
   

• Archives and written sources: Written sources form the basis of much historical research, both because of their capacity for preservation and because of their quantity and availability. They also offer the possibility of infinite interpretations of the texts, data, and information they contain and, therefore, of the social and economic processes of a given period. Their diversity—ranging from notarial and judicial documentation to private correspondence, tax records, and the press, to name a few examples—opens up a wide range of possibilities for understanding and interpreting the ever-changing dynamics of the past, given that we inevitably read them in light of the questions we ask ourselves in the present.
  
  This theme invites reflection on the uses, limitations, and potential of these sources, as well as on the methodologies used to analyze and interpret them in the context of social and economic history. In this way, it aims to be a space for debate on how the historiographical perspective evolves and reinterprets written sources, highlighting their relevance and their capacity to generate new questions and readings about the past.
   

• Oral sources and memory: Since the late 20th century, oral sources have attracted considerable interest in history, sociology, and anthropology, giving rise to studies that have generated a multidisciplinary approach ranging from history to psychology and linguistics. Based on direct witnesses and memories, the use of oral sources as a historical method attempts to address the understanding of the past and its changes, thus providing an analysis and a better understanding of past reality. The combination of oral sources and the exercise of memory are key to rescuing those figures and events that, until then, had been relegated to secondary roles. In fact, oral methodology as a historical tool provides a wide range of perspectives among the new historiographical trends that have recently been emerging but which, even so, have been questioned as a valid source due to the intrinsic biases that they sometimes entail.
  
  We therefore invite submissions on this topic in order to highlight the problems and challenges involved in working with this type of source, to bring them up for debate and to show the obstacles and possible ways of overcoming their limitations, with particular emphasis on contributions that focus on the approach, questioning, coordination, and application of the research working method.
   

• Archeology: Developed early on from Renaissance antiquarianism, archeology has since served as a way to access pre-Medieval societies through their materiality. Several theoretical currents have dominated the interpretation of the archaeological record (architecture, material culture, landscape transformations), a fact that has led to a constant evolution of what is known about historical and protohistoric peoples such as the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and pre-Roman peoples (Iberians, Celtiberians, Lusitanians, Turdetani, etc.). Despite its long history, the study of the material culture of pre-industrial societies continues to be a highly dynamic discipline; the search for more accurate absolute dating methods, less destructive excavation methodologies, and the constant revision of interpretative discourses make archaeology a valuable tool for understanding the most remote and poorly documented past. For this reason, participants in this congress are encouraged to submit proposals that analyze the main methodological challenges still present in archaeological contexts: fragmentary or incomplete archaeological records, treatment of architectural remains, management of large amounts of topographic data, issues related to material culture (ceramics, metals, glass, etc.) and aspects related to physical anthropology.
  
  In any case, discussions are encouraged to focus on how a review of current methodological paradigms (using specific case studies) can improve our knowledge of the socioeconomic dimension of past societies.
   

• Digital and cartographic methods: Digital advances in recent decades have opened up new avenues for the analysis and representation of historical, social, economic, and archaeological data. Data systematization techniques and geographic information systems (GIS) now make it possible to visualize and reinterpret historical and heritage processes through dynamic maps, interactive cartography, and spatial models. In archaeology, methodologies such as photogrammetry, 3D scanning, and digital terrain models have transformed the way sites, structures, and landscapes are documented and analyzed. These tools not only offer an innovative way to present results, but above all, they raise new questions and enable methodological approaches that were unfeasible until recently.
  
  This theme invites reflection on the challenges and potential of digital historical cartography and spatial analysis applied to both economic history and archaeology: how to manage and standardize heterogeneous data sets, what are the technical and conceptual limitations of digital models, to what extent does cartographic representation condition the interpretation of the past, and how to integrate these resources with other documentary and material sources. It is also interesting to discuss the collaborative and open dimension offered by these methodologies, both through shared data platforms and interdisciplinary projects.
  
  This line of research aims to be a space for debate on the critical use of digital and cartographic tools in historical and archaeological research, emphasizing how they transform our research practice rather than the final results.

 

The languages accepted for the submission of papers are Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and Italian.

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To submit proposals, interested parties must send us:

 

• A summary of no more than 400 words of your proposal and the thematic area in which it fits.

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• A brief CV of no more than one page, including personal information (name, surname(s) and academic affiliation), email address, and contact telephone number.

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The deadline for submitting proposals is November 5, and they should be sent to: congresjihse@gmail.com  

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Each presentation will last a maximum of 15 minutes.

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Registration to participate in this congress is free of charge. 

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The scientific committee is composed of:

• Ignasi Garcés Estalló (Universitat de Barcelona)

• Pere Benito i Monclús (Universitat de Lleida)

• Natàlia Alonso (Universitat de Lleida)

• Rosa Congost (Universitat de Girona)

• Joaquim Maria Puigvert (Universitat de Girona)

• Manel López Esteve (Universitat de Lleida)

• Joan Busqueta i Riu (Universitat de Lleida)

 

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