My History is Bigger than Yours...
Given the location, the conference themes are apropo:"Global Cities" and"The Sea: Highway of Change." The program is chock full of papers that actually address the subjects, too. Go figure. The setting has also helped draw in presenters from all over the world, which seems right and proper.
Keynote speakes include Professor Leonard Blussé Leiden University, who will speak on "Global Cities: Did they Exist in Early Modern Times?" and Felipe Fernández-Aremesto (Queen Mary and Tufts Universities) will speak on "The Sea and the World."
And... while the dollar may be weak, let me say that the Curries and Biryanis to be had here in London's East End are both delicious and inexpensive. And that should be a requirment for a "Global City."