This fifth and final volume in an award-winning series charts the
remarkable inner history of our times from the tumult of World War
I to the present day, when personal identity was released from its
moorings in gender, family, social class, religion, politics, and
nationality. Nine brilliant and bold historians present a dynamic
picture of cultures in transition and in the process scrutinize a
myriad of subjects-the sacrament of confession, volunteer hotlines,
Nazi policies toward the family, the baby boom, evolving sexuality,
the history of contraception, and ever-changing dress codes. They
draw upon many unexpected sources, including divorce hearing
transcripts, personal ads, and little-known demographic and
consumer data. Perhaps the most notable pattern to emerge is a
polarizing of public and private realms. Productive labor shifts
from the home to an impersonal public setting. Salaried or
corporate employment replaces many independent, entrepreneurial
jobs, and workers of all kinds aggressively pursue their leisure
time-coffee and lunch breaks, weekends, vacations. Zoning laws
segregate industrial and commercial areas from residential
neighborhoods, which are no longer a supportive "theater" of benign
surveillance, gossip, and mutual concern, but an assemblage of
aloof and anonymous individuals or families. Scattered with
personal possessions and appliances, homes grow large by
yesterday's standards and are marked by elaborate spatial
subdivisions; privacy is now possible even among one's own family.
Men and women are obsessed with health, fitness, diet, and
appearance as the body becomes the focal point of personal
identity. Mirrors, once a rarity, are ubiquitous. In the search for
sexual and individualistic fulfillment, romantic love becomes the
foundation of marriage. Couples marry at an older age; families are
smaller. The divorce rate rises, and with it the number of
single-parent households. Women, entering the workforce in
unprecedented numbers, frequently function as both breadwinner and
homemaker. The authors interrelate these dramatic patterns with the
changing roles of state and religion in family matters, the
socialization of education and elder care, the growth of feminism,
the impact of media on private life, and the nature of secrecy.
Comprehensive and astute, Riddles of Identity in Modern Times
chronicles a period when the differentiation of life into public
and private realms, once a luxury of the wealthy, gradually spread
throughout the population. For better or worse, people can now be
alone. This fifth volume, differing significantly from the French
edition, portrays Italian, German, and American family life in the
twentieth century. The authors of these additional chapters-Chiara
Saraceno, Ingeborg Weber-Kellermann, and Elaine Tyler May-enlarge
and enhance the already broad European and Atlantic canvas that
depicts the modern identity.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
