YSI Pre International Adam Smith Society Conference Workshop
University of Glasgow, 16th June 2026
“250 Years of the Wealth of Nations”
2026 marks the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Seeking to build on the momentum of Smith’s 2023 tercentenary, this major anniversary invites scholars to revisit his groundbreaking work of political economy. The YSI History of Economic Thought working group is organizing a one-day pre-conference workshop on 16 June 2026 ahead of the International Adam Smith Society (IASS) annual conference in Glasgow, UK (17-20 June 2026). This is an excellent opportunity for up to six young scholars working on Smith to be able to discuss their work in detail with peers and senior Smith scholars in a friendly and supportive context.
The workshop’s title “250 Years of the Wealth of Nations: New Perspectives on Adam Smith’s Political Economy”, deliberately leaves space for a broad range of approaches to re-interpreting Smith’s great work, including, but not limited to:
· The historical significance and legacy of Smith’s political economy
· Situating Smith’s major treatise in the political and intellectual context of its time
· Explorations of Smith’s ideas on poverty, inequality, empire, colonialism, slavery, corporate power and the environment
· Re-interpreting Smith’s political economy in the context of his wider philosophy
Participants will be asked to pre-circulate some written material two weeks prior to the date of the workshop. This could be a full paper, if available, or shorter draft material (suggested 4000-9000 words). The workshop itself will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions. In each session, the participants will have the opportunity to present their work briefly and discuss it with peers and our senior Smith scholars. Catering will be provided.
This is intended as a pre-conference, rather than a standalone, workshop. Participants will therefore also need to be registered for the main IASS conference. We are aiming to cover travel costs (up to US$ 200), and accommodation for two nights (the one before and the other after the workshop), but funding limits mean that we will not be able to provide accommodation for the whole of the conference duration, or cover conference fees. Participants are therefore advised to seek alternative sources of funding for these costs, where possible.
A special issue of the Adam Smith Review and of the Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics will mark this anniversary and scholars presenting at this workshop and the subsequent conference will be invited to submit their papers for publication.
If you are interested in attending the workshop you should:
(i) be a young scholar (masters, PhD, post-doc);
(ii) go to the workshop website page, click the “Apply now” button and fill out the form, including a title and abstract (up to 250 words) for the paper you wish to present, by 8th February 2026.We will let applicants know the outcome by 20th February 2026.
For further information, contact any of the workshop organizers:
Ivan Sternick, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, ivanprates@cedeplar.ufmg.br
Leo Steeds, King’s College London, leo.steeds@kcl.ac.uk
Zack Rauwald, University of Cambridge, jlzr2@cam.ac.uk
Reminder and Extended Call for Papers Wealth of Nations@250 Glasgow, June 2026
The International Adam Smith Society, The Center for the Study of Scottish Philosophy, and The History of Economic Thought Society issue a call for papers for a joint meeting to be held at The University of Glasgow 17-20th June 2026. The Meeting will form a central part of the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the publication of the Wealth of Nations at the University where Adam Smith was a student and professor.
Taking this anniversary as our inspiration we aim to explore the Wealth of Nations as a book that engaged with its time and speaks to ours. Major issues such as poverty, inequality, empire, slavery and the power of corporations were central to his concerns. What can we learn from Smith’s desire to influence debate on these issues? Can we apply a Smithian lens to the pressing issues of our time? The world in 1776 and the world in 2026 are very different, but many of the underlying issues that we face are startlingly similar and we can learn from Smith’s solutions to them. The conference offers a unique interdisciplinary opportunity to revisit one of the most influential texts in modern intellectual history. With this in mind we particularly welcome proposals that explore Smith in his 1776 context, addressing issues of empire and revolution, and proposals that apply Smithian ideas in our 2026 context, addressing issues such as monopoly, corporate governance, commerce and justice. Beyond this, we welcome papers which focus on the Wealth of Nations, on Adam Smith, and the legacy of Smithian ideas, in the widest sense, in philosophy, politics, and economics.
For Further Information see
Please submit titles and abstracts (150 words) to Craig.Smith@glasgow.ac.uk by 30th January 2026.
International Adam Smith Society 