The role of seminars in the history of economic thought has transitioned from an understudied background of key concepts, theories, models or practices into a full-fledged object of study. This recent shift has particularly emphasized two functions that seminars can serve, either as sites of construction or as weapons of dissemination (Cherrier & Saïdi, 2021). Because the social conditions of knowledge are challenging to document, usually leaving no published footprints, oral history provides a crucial tool for documenting these moments.

The Trust in Economics collection focuses on “Trust and Social Changes", a seminar series held between 1985 and 1986 at King's College, Cambridge. Organized by sociologist Diego Gambetta, the aim of these sessions was to explore “what generates, maintains, substitutes, or collapses trusting relations” (Gambetta [1988], p. ix). Interviews were conducted with seminar speakers with the aim of documenting both the organization and proceedings of the seminar, as well as its impact on participants.

This collection has been produced as by Nicolas Camilotto during his PhD dissertation. The materials collected have been notably used to write the history of the "Trust and Social Change" seminar (2022's laureate of the Gilles Dostaller Award).

1. Diego Gambetta

2. Partha Dasgupta

3. John Dunn

4. David Good