Synopses & Reviews
New edition of Merry Wiesner-Hanks' prize-winning survey of women and gender in early modern Europe. The updated edition features an entirely new chapter on gender and race in the colonial world; expanded coverage of eighteenth century developments including the Enlightenment; and enhanced discussions of masculinity, single women, same-sex relations, humanism, and women's religious roles within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. All of the chapters incorporate the newest scholarship and the book preserves the clear structure of previous editions with its tripartite division of mind, body, and spirit. Within this structure, other themes include the female life-cycle, women's economic roles, artistic creations, education and witchcraft. Coverage is geographically broad, including Russia, Scandinavia, the Ottoman Empire, and the Iberian peninsula. This is essential reading for all students of early modern Europe and gender history and is accompanied by a website featuring extensive updated bibliographies, weblinks and primary source material.
Synopsis
This is a major new textbook, designed for students in all disciplines seeking an introduction to the very latest research on all aspects of women's lives in Europe from 1500 to 1750, and on the development of the notions of masculinity and femininity. The coverage is geographically broad, ranging from Spain to Scandinavia, and from Russia to Ireland, and the topics investigated include the female life-cycle, literacy, women's economic role, sexuality, artistic creations, female piety - and witchcraft - and the relationship between gender and power. To aid students each chapter contains extensive notes on further reading (but few footnotes), and the approach throughout is designed to render the subject in as accessible and stimulating manner as possible. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe is suitable for usage on numerous courses in women's history, early modern European history, and comparative history.
Table of Contents
List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Ideas and laws regarding women; Part I. The Body: 2. The female life-cycle; 3. Women's economic role; Part II. The Mind: 4. Literacy and learning; 5. Women and the creation of culture; Part III. The Spirit: 6. Religion; 7. Witchcraft; 8. Gender and power; Index.