Notizie
Office hours
TBA. Please send an email to <jacob.weisdorf@uniroma1.it> the day before to secure a time slot during the office hours. Outside the mentioned period, appointments are only available by email.
Master theses
For students wishing to write a master's thesis in economic or business history, please read the thesis instruction document available for download here carefully before contacting me. Please note: the earliest graduation session for students wishing to write their thesis with me is autumn 2025.
Reference letters
Please note that I only write reference letters for my PhD students, not for master's or master's thesis students.
Business History (in English):
The course explores why the business landscape appears as it does today. This includes the history of entrepreneurs, firms, and corporate systems, covering topics such as innovation, globalisation, and government regulation, as well as their impact on businesses and their management. Students will be introduced to the emergence of factory production; why some firms grew to large (or even ultra-large) sizes while others did not; why alternative models to mass production existed and persisted; and why people in the developed parts of the world are as wealthy as they are today.
The lectures took place in the autumn semester in Aula 8B on Thursdays from 16:00 to 18:00 and Fridays from 14:00 to 16:00, from 26 September to 20 December 2024. The course website can be accessed at this link. Please note that a @uniroma1.it email address is required to access the website. Practical questions, e.g. how to sign up for the exam on Infostud, etc, as well as any technical problems encountered by students, must be directed to the student administration.
Important note about the grading system: the final grade combines the score from an oral examination (up to 20 points) with an essay (up to 10 points). The essay must be submitted as a PDF via email to jacob.weisdorf@uniroma1.it for approval no later than one week before the official examination date. It should be 5,000 words long (excluding the reference list). The essay topic, chosen by the student, along with the two main research articles that form its basis, must be related to business history and must be approved by me in advance.
Economic History (bachelor level, in English):
The course introduces students to economic history, serving as a perfect complement for those interested in development economics. It takes students from the pre-industrial era through the first, second, and third industrial revolutions up to the present day. The course examines why some countries became wealthy while others remained poor, how this divergence occurred, what barriers to economic development might exist, and what the prospects for future economic growth are. A detailed course description can be found at this link.
Economic History (master level, in English):
The course introduces students to advanced economic history, serving as a perfect complement for those interested in development economics. It takes students from the pre-industrial era through the first, second, and third industrial revolutions up to the present day. The course examines why some countries became wealthy while others remained poor, how this divergence occurred, what barriers to economic development might exist, and what the prospects for future economic growth are.
The lectures took place during the autumn semester on Mondays from 16:00 to 18:00 and Tuesdays from 12:00 to 14:00 in Aula Fanfani, from 23 September to 18 December 2024. The course website can be accessed at this link. Please note that a @uniroma1.it email address is required to access the website. Practical questions, e.g. how to sign up for the exam on Infostud, etc, as well as any technical problems encountered by students, must be directed to the student administration.
Important note regarding the grading system: the grade combines the score from an oral examination (up to 20 points) and an essay (up to 10 points). The essay must be sent via email as a PDF to jacob.weisdorf@uniroma1.it for approval no later than one week before the official exam date. It should be approximately 5,000 words (+/- five percent), excluding the reference list. The essay topic, chosen by the student, along with the two main research articles that underpin it, must relate to economic history and be approved by me in advance.