Volume focusing on a multitude of incarnations and meanings of "masculinity" in German culture from medieval times to the present. Intended to encourage and disseminate lively and open discussion of themes pertinent to German Studies, viewed from all angles -- literary, artistic, musical, theoretical -- Edinburgh German Yearbook takes particular interest in cultural problems and issues arising out of politics and history. Each year, EGYB invites scholarly contributions on a topic of current challenge to German Studies. No other yearbook covers the entire field of GermanStudies while addressing a focused theme in each issue; by doing so, EGYB aims to encourage real debate around the issues at hand. Volume 2 examines the meanings and significance of "masculinity" in German culture, from medieval mystics to the cultural impact of young male immigrants living in Germany today. Other topics include medieval masculinity, the heroic Germanic ideal in the 16th and 17th centuries, masculinity in fairy tales, Jewishness andthe masculine, toys for boys in Wilhelmine Germany, the science of sexology, and the masculine as it appears in photography, fashion, army magazines, terrorism, and prison culture. Contributors: Peter Davies, Cordula Politis, Theresia Heimerl, Franziska Ziep, Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly, Hanne Boenisch, Antje Roeben, Laura Martin, Kristiane Gerhardt, Michael Gratzke, Martin Lucke, Stephanie Catani, Bryan Ganaway, Jason Lieblang, David James Prickett, Katie Sutton, Elisabeth Krimmer, Franz Bokel, Andrew Bickford, Ingrid Sharp, Clare Bielby, Sarah Colvin, Elke Gilson, Frauke Matthes. Sarah Colvin is Professor and Eudo C. Mason Chair of German, and Peter Davies is Senior Lecturer in German, both at the University of Edinburgh.

Drawing on a variety of techniques from history, anthropology and literary criticism the author argues toy consumption helped adults negotiate the transmission of middle-class values regarding modernity, technology, gender roles and nationalism to their children. Practices of consumption permitted self-fashioning from above and below; women used their control over childhood to insert themselves into political debates about the future shape of the nation at a time when they lacked the vote. Although the project to build a middle-class utopia via shopping never succeeded, millions of Germans happily bought toys at Christmas and birthdays showing their faith in the ability of modern society to make the world a better place. To understand why ordinary consumers made these choices, the book draws on a variety of sources including periodicals, trade journals, advertisements, pedagogical literature, memoirs, and toys.