070124 PS Proseminar (2017S)

The evolutionary view of a world-historical development from unfree to free forms of labour relationships (from “feudalism” to “capitalism”, from “status” to “contract”) has been fundamentally challenged by recent historical scholarship. New interpretations now stress that wage labour was until the second half of the 19th century not solely based on a freely negotiated contract between sellers and buyers of labour power, but involved many elements of servitude. In a global historical perspective the simultaneity and interconnectedness of forms of free and unfree labour relations are debated. From this viewpoint, the early development of capitalism is no longer seen as identical with the establishment of free wage labour, but based on the interaction of different modes of production based on more or less unfree forms of labour. The subject therefore provides opportunities to investigate, compare and relate different forms of labour relationsships within wide historical and spatial dimensions.
The course will be held in weekly sessions during the first two months of the semester during which we will acquire a common base of knowledge of the subject by reading and discussing key texts. This is followed by a period of individual research. It is concluded by a symposium at the end of the semester where the participants present and discuss their research results. At this point a preliminary version of the seminar paper is due. On the basis of the discussions and feed-backs given during the symposium participants have to elaborate improved final versions of their papers until September.