Director's Statement
Pick a region of the world-East Asia, the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe-and think of the scholarship related to its economic evolution. Much of the good work will consist of articles and monographs focused on specific towns, countries, episodes, periods, or institutions. It is less common to find rigorous scholarly analyses of large regions in their entirety and over long time spans. This neglect causes scholars to overlook factors common to wide areas and of lasting importance, making them focus on phenomena of local or ephemeral significance. Broad syntheses alert specialized researchers to general intellectual puzzles. They also connect literatures, put findings in perspective, identify commonalities and variations, and establish linkages among phenomena that had seemed unrelated.
The Institute for Economic Research on Civilizations was founded during the 2004-05 year to provide such integrative functions at USC and beyond. Providing a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas on the economic evolution and performance of civilizations, it sponsors and supports research, workshops, lectures, and conferences.
The idea of establishing IERC grew out of my interest in understanding the role that Islam has played, over a millennium and a half, in shaping the economic course of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. As my research took on a comparative character, new questions arose about other religions and other regions of the world. It thus became apparent that great benefits could flow from interactions among scholars investigating long-term economic patterns in different areas. Along the way, it became apparent that very many scholars are doing exemplary work relevant to solving the puzzle of why the Middle East slipped into a state of underdevelopment without appreciating the full significance of their studies. Here, it seemed, was another justification for a forum designed to facilitate intellectual exchanges among scholars steeped in very diverse intellectual traditions.
Two critical developments occurred in 2003-04. Joseph Aoun and Donald Miller, respectively Dean of the College and CRCC Director, encouraged me to seek private funding to bring other faculty and more students into my project and also to link it with other research endeavors at USC and beyond. And soon after, Kimon Sargeant, Director of the Spiritual Capital Research Program at the Metanexus Institute in Philadelphia, brought news of a giant initiative to fund research at the interstices of religion and economics. A generous grant from the Metanexus Institute is the main source of IERC's initial activities.
The community of USC scholars interested in historical links between religion and economic performance is spread across the University Park campus. IERC runs programs that provide opportunities for this diverse community to exchange ideas regularly. A working group meets three times a semester, and there are frequent seminars organized jointly with various departments and research units. Ordinarily these events are open to interested academics from other universities. A portion of our events are open also to the general public. We welcome suggestions concerning possible speakers, events, and opportunities for collaboration.
Copyright 2005 - 2008 IERC and the University of Southern California