Giuliana Gemelli Livres

Building on the nexus between philanthropy and government that emerged during the late 1920s, American foundations played a significant role in developing American-European cultural relations. They shaped the interaction between government and private agencies; they acted as catalysts of social change; they served as 'global' bridges between East and West; and they stimulated political, intellectual and economic elites to co-operate with one another, in both national and international contexts. This volume assembles the contributions of an international conference held at Amalfi in 2001. The authors explore emerging connections between the history of international relations, the history of scholarship, and the history of philanthropy. Their work focuses on the role of the larger American foundations in Europe during the 20th century, and explores the ways in which the foundations worked - across countries and cultures, and throughÿ- across countries and cultures, and through bi-lateral, trans-national and international projects and programmes.

Originating from a workshop organized by the Adriano Olivetti Foundation (Rome), in the framework of an international research program on «The Role of American Foundations in Europe (1920s -1990s)», this book aims to fill a gap in the social history of sciences, combining two research approaches, which had been developed as separate fields of the study of American and European co-operation in science policies, particularly in what concerns the funding of scientific programs, and the role of émigrés scholars in strengthening American and international research. The book is focused on the exploration of the role of the Rockefeller Foundation, in a dramatic period of the intellectual history of Europe, from the perspective of the recipients of grants, in its premises and effects on scientific processes as well as on individual paths and careers. From this point of view, it intends to stimulate the exploration of cross-cultural phenomena, which represent an uncertain dimension between strategy as a project and strategy as a conduct, and are shaped by situations and circumstances as well as by the stream of individual actions.

Traduit dans plus de vingt langues, ce livre présente avec verve les conclusions de trente ans de recherches sur l'histoire économique du monde entre le XVe et le XVIIe siècle. Économique fait peur, sonne étroit et abstrait. Pourtant, nous dit Braudel, cette histoire-là est "l'histoire entière des hommes, regardée d'un certain point de vue. Elle est à la fois l'histoire de ceux que l'on considère comme les grands acteurs, un Jacques Cœur, un John Law ; l'histoire des grands événements, l'histoire de la conjoncture et des crises, et enfin l'histoire massive et structurale évoluant lentement au fil de la longue durée." C'est donc une histoire concrète, fondée sur le quotidien, en même temps qu'une réflexion sur l'évolution des économies-mondes : ainsi l'Europe a-t-elle vu en quatre siècles son centre de gravité se déplacer de Venise à Anvers, puis Gênes, Amsterdam, et Londres. C'est là que, successivement, "le soleil de l'histoire fait briller les plus vives couleurs, là que se manifestent les hauts prix, les hauts salaires, la banque.. . Toute une modernité économique en avance s'y loge."