Conrad Jacober is a historical sociologist with substantive interests in political economy, social theory, the history of capitalism, and the sociology of finance. His research explores the neoliberal and financial transformations of capitalism in the long twentieth century.
In his current project, Conrad examines the largely unexplored archives of postwar American bankers, tracing the development of a hegemonic project by banks to shape the future of American capitalism around unfettered financial markets and rising household indebtedness. His research has been supported by the Harvard Business School, the History of Economics Society, and the LBJ & Ford Presidential Foundations, among others. He is completing a PhD in sociology at Johns Hopkins University and serves as the graduate fellow for the History & Political Economy Project and as a trustee of the Economic and Business History Society.
Conrad has taught discussion-based courses on contemporary social theory and the history and theory of finance capitalism. In summer 2024, he will lead a Humanities for Just Communities project entitled “Archives Against the Grain,” in which Oxy students will develop their own community-engaged archival research projects to tell the stories of local struggles for social justice in Los Angeles.