This year's Low Countries Conference will take place in Antwerp, 1-2 December 2011. The conference follows up on five earlier, successful events in the previous years. The purpose of the two-day meeting is to allow the participants in the Posthumus programma 'Economy and Society of the Pre-Industrial Low Countries in a Comparative Perspective' to present recent findings on topics related to the theme of the conference and to stimulate new research.

The general theme of this year's conference is 'Rich and Poor'.

Wealth and poverty take an important place among the issues that continue to fascinate many social and economic historians in the Low Countries and elsewhere. The development of living standards and the origins of the divergence between rich and poor regions are certainly not new objects of study, but they continue to present challenging questions. New approaches present themselves. Among them are studies of agency in relation to differences in material well-being and economic

development: studies of household strategies with regard to asset management for instance, of mechanisms of social, economic, cultural and political inclusion or exclusion and their impact on well-being, or of collective action as a way to help communities to deal with exogenous shocks. Another strain of research explores material culture as an indicator of wealth. Because of their early efflorescence, the Low Countries provide a fruitful field of study for scholars interested in these issues, especially when the findings are placed in a comparative perspective.

We invite paper proposals by the participants in the Low Countries programme as well as submissions from others working on the theme of the conference. We particularly welcome papers that draw comparisons between the Low Countries and other societies, or between regions within the Low Countries.

Please submit your paper abstract by e-mail to Jessica Dijkman ( j.dijkman@uu.nl < > ) no later than 15 September 2011. Notification of acceptance will be given before 1 October 2011.

The conference will also host a separate session for PhD-students and postdoc-researchers preparing to submit their own research proposal for funding by NWO or FWO in january or february 2012. The participants in this session will be given the opportunity to present a draft version of their proposal and receive feedback that can be used to improve the proposal.

If you wish to participate in this session, please submit your proposal abstract by e-mail to Jord Hanus (jord.hanus@ua.ac.be) no later than 15 September 2011. Notification of acceptance will be given before 1 October 2011.

There is no registration fee and the organizers of the conference can offer lunch, dinner and other refreshments during the conference. Hotels and travel expenses, however, must be covered by the participants themselves.

Organizers:
Jessica Dijkman (Utrecht University) - j.dijkman@uu.nl
Jord Hanus (Antwerp University) - jord.hanus@ua.ac.be