Changes at the SILWCH

The Society for International Labor and Working-Class History has instituted a series of changes at its journal, International Labor and Working-Class History (ILWCH). In October 1999, Helmut Gruber (Polytechnic University) and Louise Tilly (New School) completed their tenure as coeditors and were succeeded by Joshua B. Freeman (Queens College, CUNY), and Michael Hanagan and Victoria Hattam (New School).

The ILWCH editorial board renewed its commitment to international and comparative history, publishing the works of younger historians, and bringing together scholars from a variety of disciplines interested in labor history. It expanded this mandate to include issues of economic inequality and class, broadly conceived. To better serve subscribers, ILWCH will soon be available online. The most recent issue of ILWCH, fall 1999, focuses on "Wartime Economies and the Mobilization of Labor"; the spring 2000 issue will be devoted to "Workers and Film as Subject and Audience."

The Society for International Labor and Working-Class History promotes the study of all varieties of labor history, local, national, and international, and links scholars interested in the history of labor and their organizations across continents. To encourage discussion of new approaches to the history of labor and class inequality, the society has begun sponsoring a series of public meetings. The first, at the 114th AHA annual meeting in Chicago, featured a panel discussion titled "The Politics of Inequality: New Directions in Labor History." A seminar series in the New York area is being planned, and panels will be sponsored at several upcoming scholarly meetings. For further information on the society and ILWCH, contact International Labor and Working-Class History, 80 Fifth Avenue, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10011. E-mail: ilwch@newschool.edu.

Catholic Historical Association Awards Annual Prizes

The American Catholic Historical Association at its 80th annual meeting held in Chicago (in conjunction with the 114th annual meeting of the AHA) awarded its 25th annual Howard R. Marraro Prize to Professor Konrad Eisenbichler, and its John Gilmary Shea Prize to Dr. Kathryn Jane Burns.

Eisenbichler is the director of the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. He was honored for his book, The Boys of the Archangel Raphael: A Youth Confraternity in Florence, 1411-1785 (University of Toronto Press, 1998).

In recommending the award, the judging committee declared, "Eisenbichler's study . . . is a historical tour de force on several counts. He has provided us with the first complete account of a youth confraternity. . . . Scouring the archives in Florence for over 20 years, Eisenbichler has created an amazingly rich picture of the religious, social, cultural, and even geographical life of the confraternity. . . . Eisenbichler traces the vicissitudes of the confraternity from the High Renaissance through its post-Tridentine phase to its Enlightenment demise."

The prize, named in memory of Howard R. Marraro, who was a professor in Columbia University, is awarded each year to the author of a distinguished scholarly work dealing with Italian history or Italo-American history or relations.

Dr. Burns, an assistant professor in the University of Florida at Gainesville, was awarded the Shea Prize for her book, Colonial Habits: Convents and the Spiritual Economy of Cuzco, Peru (Duke University Press, 1999).

The prize, named in honor of John Gilmary Shea (1824-1892), is given each year to the American or Canadian author who has made the most original and significant contribution to the historiography of the Catholic Church in the form of a book published during the previous 12-month period ending June 30.

In Colonial Habits, Burns follows the history of several convents from the mid-16th century to the mid-19th century, placing the convents in the social, political, and economic history of Peru.

In recommending the award, the judging committee remarked, "Dr. Burns offers a sensitive and sympathetic understanding of the religious calling of the nuns as well as an appreciation of the variety of their social roles. Still, she recognizes that however benevolent and constructive were the actions of these women, they were still supporting the racist, class-ridden, and patriarchal society of the Spanish colony."