16/04/2026
SUMMARY: The Faculty of Economics is attempting to suspend History & Philosophy of Economics. If you would like to sign a petition against these changes, follow the link: Bit.ly/supportpaper8 (also found in our bio). If you are a current student, you may also wish to express concerns to your DoS.
The convenors of the Part II optional paper on the “History & Philosophy of Economics” have been informed that the Faculty wishes to suspend this paper for another year.
The reasons for this are unclear. The initial suspension for the present academic year was because one of the main lecturers was on sabbatical leave. This is no longer the case and the convenors have made the necessary arrangements with the relevant lecturers and supervisors to allow the paper to go ahead as usual next academic year.
Because there is no real impediment to the paper going ahead, we can only conclude that the Faculty has chosen to quietly cancel it. By continuing to ‘suspend’ the paper in perpetuity, they can avoid the scrutiny of a formal process for as long as is necessary for the loss of resources, teaching staff and institutional memory to thwart any future attempt to revive it.
The paper is optional and was introduced because of a sustained student campaign to widen the intellectual scope of the Tripos. To cancel it without engaging with students is undemocratic and cannot be framed as serving the interests of the majority of students.
History & Philosophy of Economics provides students the opportunity to explore the contested history of their subject, understanding how politics and ideology have structured today’s discipline. They also receive a strong grounding in the philosophy of social science, developing a sensitivity to how ontological and epistemological assumptions shape research.
Undergraduates normally choose their optional papers at the end of April. We expect that at this point the decision will be made publicly known and become significantly harder to reverse.
We are urgently calling on anyone who opposes these changes to sign the attached petition to help keep History & Philosophy of Economics alive at Cambridge!
http://Bit.ly/supportpaper8
