A Day in the Life: Studying Daily Life through History

(Hardback)

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Description

This book offers a guided tour of the current state scholarship on daily life, including the knowledge that generated and suggestions for further research. Edited by Peter N. Stearns, the eminent social historian and Chair of the Advanced Placement World History committee. The history of daily life is one of the fastest growing areas of student inquiry and popular interest. Little wonder it raises so many mesmerizing questions and makes the familiar fascinating. What does it mean, for example, that dolls for American girls in the 1870s and 1880s often came complete with caskets and mourning clothes Or, when and why did work and leisure become two separate spheres in most people's lives What do the foods one eats tell us about class, gender, or even health What do our ways of celebrating holidays tell us about our cultures and ourselves A Day in the Life offers the background information needed to start a serious look at these, and many other, fascinating and vital questions. Edited and led by Peter N. Stearns, eminent social historian and Chair of the Advanced Placement World History committee, this book offers a guided tour of the current state of scholarship on daily life, providing an indispensable aid to students and teachers interested in the how's and why's of the little and big things people do, think, and feel as a matter of course throughout their lives. Designed to lay out the broader currents of the scholarship on daily life and the many directions for inquiry that have recently opened, this book will appeal to students and teachers alike. It guides readers to the wider questions raised by studies of normal people in normal times, doing normal things.

Reviews

This collection of essays asks a series of intriguing questions - such as why dolls originally came with mourning clothes and caskets - the answers to which reveal a great deal about culture and history. Aimed at high school students, the text covers topics about normal people in normal times, including the body in health, disease and medicine, material culture, work and consumerism. Each essay concludes with an annotated bibliography and suggestions for further research. * Reference & Research Book News *

Author Bio

Peter N. Stearns is Provost of George Mason University, and teaches courses in world history and social history. Stearns is a past vice president of the American Historical Association, in charge of the Teaching Division. He currently serves as chair of the Advanced Placement World History committee, founded and continues to serve as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Social History. Stearns is the author or editor of over 85 books.