Jürgen Dinkel | All remains in the Family: A History of Inheritance in the US and Europe Since 1800
Over the next 25 years, Americans will inherit more than $100 trillion. Economists anticipate a "great wealth transfer" from the Baby Boomer generation to their children and grandchildren. At the same time, this enormous wealth will be distributed extremely unevenly throughout society. While a select few will inherit vast fortunes, many will inherit little, nothing at all, or even debt. This raises questions with renewed urgency-questions that have been debated in the transatlantic world since the American and French Revolutions: Who should receive a deceased person's estate? Who counts as family? Who should decide how an estate is distributed? How can the unequal distribution of inherited wealth be justified, and how can the rights to private property and equal opportunities be reconciled? In his lecture, Jürgen Dinkel traces the history of inheritance in the US and Europe since 1800. He demonstrates how governments, families, and individuals repeatedly negotiated the transfer and distribution of estates, thereby also renegotiating kinship relations, the bonds between the individual, the family, and the state, as well a s the legitimization of wealth inequalities within their societies. Ultimately, this lecture contributes to the new histories of capitalism, the family, and the state, arguing that Euro-American societies from the 19th to the 21st century are fundamentally structured around inheritance and the family. Jürgen Dinkel is Professor of Modern and Global History at the University of Leipzig. His research focuses on the history of colonialism and decolonization, the Global South in World Politics, and European social history. His most recent publications include: Acknowledgments: The History of Academic Gratitude, in Bulletin of the German Historical Institute, Washington D.C. 76 \(Fall 2025\); "'The Rich Uncle from America': Transnational Inheritance Transfers between the United States, Germany, and Russia, 1840s-1980s," Law and History Review \(2025\); an d "The Non-Aligned Movement: The Role of Diplomacy in Third-worldism and the Global South," in Oxford Handbook on the History of the Global South \(Oxford UP, 2025\). He is currently writing a short history of gratitudeIf you require an accommodation for effective communication \(ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.\) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact [email protected] with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days before the event.French Revolutions: Who should receive a deceased person's estate? Who counts as family? Who should decide how an estate is distributed? How can the unequal distribution of inherited wealth be justified, and how can the rights to private property and equal opportunities be reconciled?
In his lecture,
Jürgen Dinkel traces the history of inheritance in the US and Europe since 1800. He demonstrates how governments, families, and individuals repeatedly negotiated the transfer and distribution of estates, thereby also renegotiating kinship relations, the bonds between the individual, the family, and the state, as well as the legitimization of wealth inequalities within their societies. Ultimately, this lecture contributes to the new histories of capitalism, the family, and the state, arguing that Euro-Am erican societies from the 19th to the 21st century are fundamentally structured around inheritance and the family.
Jürgen Dinkel is Professor of Modern and Global History at the University of Leipzig. His research focuses on the history of colonialism and decolonization, the Global South in World Politics, and European social history. His most recent publications include: Acknowledgments: The History of Academic Gratitude, in Bulletin of the German Historical Institute, Washington D.C. 76 \(Fall 2025\); "'The Rich Uncle from America': Transnational Inheritance Transfers between the United States, Germany, and Russia, 1840s-1980s," Law and History Review \(2025\); and "The Non-Aligned Movement: The Role of Diplomacy in Third-worldism and the Global South," in Oxford Handbook on the History of the Global South \(Oxford UP, 2025\). He is currently writing a short history of gratitude
If you require an accommodation for effective communication \(ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.\) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact [email protected] with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days before the event.