6th ESHD Conference in Bologna

The event was held at the University of Bologna and brought together a large number of scholars. In fact, this was the most attended edition since the first conference in 2014: nearly 300 participants presented a total of 250 papers. The programme also featured five keynote talks in equally well-attended plenary sessions.

The keynote speakers at this edition were:

• Guido Barbujani – The famous human races

• Lisa Y. Dillon – Fertility transition(s) in a context of cultural diversity

• Martin Dribe – Mortality Inequality from Industrialization to the Welfare State

• David Kertzer – Changing Jews into Aryans in Fascist Italy’s Office of Demography and Race

• Julieta Rotaru – Ethnic Identity Formation and Socio-Professional Dynamics: A Study of Romanians, Gypsies, and Rudari in the Romanian Principalities

Throughout the conference, participants enjoyed the opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues from across Europe. Particular attention was given to early career researchers, who accounted for about 30% of all presenters. Their contributions fostered fruitful discussions and allowed them to receive valuable feedback from leading figures in European historical demography.

At the closing session, the ESHD Awards were presented:

• The Tamara Hareven Award was awarded to Björn Quanjer (Radboud University Nijmegen);

• The Roger Schofield Award went to Emma Diduch (Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure);

• The Louis Henry Award was given to the paper “Mosaic Database: Consolidation, Innovation, and Challenges in the Comparative Family Demography of Historical Europe”;

• The Massimo Livi-Bacci Award was presented to Angélique Janssens.

The next ESHD Conference will take place in Paris in two years’ time — see you there!