Where are the Women in the History of Aging?

1985 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorie Chary Feinson
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Black Male ◽  
Aging Process ◽  
White Men ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Poor White ◽  
Female Slaves

Many Historians of the social aging process have focused primarily on the experiences of aging white men. A prime example is provided in the seminal work of David Hackett Fischer, Growing Old in America (1978). In tracing the reversal in societal attitudes toward the aged, from gerontocratic to gerontophobic, Fischer argues that the authority of the elders in the eighteenth century was very great (1978: 220). Clearly, he was not referring to women for, as Fischer himself acknowledges, “no one would claim that colonial females exerted much political power.” And obviously, he was not including black male and female slaves or poor white men. Nor does his general theme of exultation apply to aging colonial widows who were treated with a contempt which deepened all the more by their womanhood. Some were actually driven away by their neighbors, who feared an increase in the poor rates. The legal records of the colonies contain many instances of poor widows who were … forced to wander from one town to another (Fischer, 1978: 63).

Confining the Poor to Ignorance? Eighteenth-Century American Experiments with Charity Education

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Braslaw Sundue
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Great Success ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Religious Revivals ◽  
George Whitefield ◽  
Poor Children ◽  
Important Shift

In 1738, the English evangelist George Whitefield traveled to the new colony of Georgia intending to establish “a house for fatherless children.” Inspired by both August Hermann Francke, the German Pietist who had great success educating and maintaining poor orphans in Halle, and by charity schools established in Great Britain, Whitefield's orphan house and charity school, named Bethesda, opened its doors early in 1740. For years, Whitefield devoted himself tirelessly to ensuring the success of the Bethesda school, preaching throughout Britain and North America on its behalf. Whitefield's preaching tour on behalf of his beloved Bethesda is well known for its role in catalyzing the religious revivals known collectively as the Great Awakening. The tour also marked an important shift in the history of education in America. News of the establishment of the orphanage at Bethesda coincided with new efforts to school the poor throughout the colonies. Drawing on both the British and German models of charity schooling that were highly influential for Whitefield, eighteenth-century Americans began or increased commitments to charity schooling for poor children. But the European models were not adopted wholesale. Instead, local administrators of the schooling experiments deviated from these models in a striking way. In America, elites offered some children the opportunity for extensive charity instruction, but not necessarily children at the bottom of the social hierarchy. This article will argue that the execution of these charity schooling programs was contingent upon local social conditions, specifically what appears to have been local elites' desire to maintain a certain social order and ensure a continued supply of cheap labor.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Whyman
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
History Of The Book ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Literate Society

The introduction shows the convergence and intertwining of the Industrial Revolution and the provincial Enlightenment. At the centre of this industrial universe lay Birmingham; and at its centre was Hutton. England’s second city is described in the mid-eighteenth century, and Hutton is used as a lens to explore the book’s themes: the importance of a literate society shared by non-elites; the social category of ‘rough diamonds’; how individuals responded to economic change; political participation in industrial towns; shifts in the modes of authorship; and an analysis of social change. The strategy of using microhistory, biography, and the history of the book is discussed, and exciting new sources are introduced. The discovery that self-education allowed unschooled people to participate in literate society renders visible people who were assumed to be illiterate. This suggests that eighteenth-century literacy was greater than statistics based on formal schooling indicate.

Characters Before Copyright

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Birkhold
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Moral Rights ◽  
Fan Fiction ◽  
Unique Type ◽  
Collaborative Authorship ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Consumer Habits ◽  
Archival Work

How did authors control the literary fates of fictional characters before the existence of copyright? Could a second author do anything with another author’s character? Situated between the decline of the privilege system and the rise of copyright, literary borrowing in eighteenth-century Germany has long been considered unregulated. This book tells a different story. Characters before Copyright documents the surprisingly widespread eighteenth-century practice of writing fan fiction—literary works written by readers who appropriate preexisting characters invented by other authors—and reconstructs the contemporaneous debate about the literary phenomenon. Like fan fiction today, these texts took the form of sequels, prequels, and spinoffs. Analyzing the evolving reading, writing, and consumer habits of late-eighteenth-century Germany, Characters before Copyright identifies the social, economic, and aesthetic changes that fostered the rapid rise of fan fiction after 1750. Based on archival work and an ethnographic approach borrowed from legal anthropology, this book then uncovers the unwritten customary norms that governed the production of these works. Characters before Copyright thus reinterprets the eighteenth-century “literary commons,” arguing that what may appear to have been the free circulation of characters was actually circumscribed by an exacting set of rules and conditions. These norms translated into a unique type of literature that gave rise to remarkable forms of collaborative authorship and originality. Characters before Copyright provides a new perspective on the eighteenth-century book trade and the rise of intellectual property, reevaluating the concept of literary property, the history of moral rights, and the tradition of free culture.

scholarly journals QUESTÕES FUNDAMENTAIS DE TEOLOGIA DA LIBERTAÇÃO

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Francisco De Aquino Júnior
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of

Resumo: Ao considerar o que confere nova atualidade à Teologia da Libertação (TdL), o autor destaca o conflito teórico silencioso entre os teólogos da libertação, que perpassa a história desse movimento teológico; o projeto do papa Francisco de “uma Igreja pobre para os pobres” que reatualiza as intuições que estão na base da TdL; a participação dos crentes de diferentes tradições nas lutas por justiça no mundo e que torna urgente o desenvolvimento de teologias da libertação. A partir deste contexto ele se propõe a tratar de algumas questões que dizem respeito aos fundamentos epistemológicos da TdL: espiritualidade e eclesialidade, interesse e orientação práxicos e lugar social. É ressaltado também a complexidade práxico-teórica do que se convencionou chamar de TdL. De acordo com o autor, dessas questões acima mencionadas, o lugar social da teologia é, deveras, o aspecto mais conflitivo, embora seja o mais bíblico, mais profético e mais eficaz da TdL. Enfim, são indicados alguns desafios atuais para a TdL, desafios concernentes a seu estatuto teórico-teológico.Abstract: Considering what confers new relevance to the Liberation Theology (TdL), this text emphasizes: the silent theoretical conflict between liberation theologians, which runs through the history of this theological movement; Pope Francis’s project of “a poor Church for the poor”, which renews the intuitions that are on the basis of TdL; and participation of believers from different traditions in struggles for justice in the world, which makes it urgent to develop liberation theologies. Based on this context, the author proposes to address some topics that concern the epistemological foundations of TdL: spirituality and ecclesiality, praxis interest and orientation, and social place. The praxis-theoretical complexity of the so called TdL is also highlighted. According to the author, from these issues mentioned above, the social place of theology is, indeed, the most conflictive aspect, although it is the most biblical, prophetic and effective of TdL. Finally, some current challenges to TdL, related to its theoretical and theological status, are presented.

scholarly journals The Materiality of English Suicide Letters, c. 1700 – c. 1850

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Ella Sbaraini
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
History Of Emotions ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Press ◽  
History Of ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Scholars have explored eighteenth-century suicide letters from a literary perspective, examining issues of performativity and reception. However, it is fruitful to see these letters as material as well as textual objects, which were utterly embedded in people's social lives. Using thirty manuscript letters, in conjunction with other sources, this article explores the contexts in which suicide letters were written and left for others. It looks at how authors used space and other materials to convey meaning, and argues that these letters were epistolary documents usually meant for specific, known persons, rather than the press. Generally written by members of the ‘lower orders’, these letters also provide insight into the emotional writing practices of the poor, and their experiences of emotional distress. Overall, this article proposes that these neglected documents should be used to investigate the emotional and material contexts for eighteenth- and nineteenth-century suicide. It also argues that, at a time when the history of emotions has reached considerable prominence, historians must be more attentive to the experiences of the suicidal.

Consular Representation in an Emerging State: The Case of Norway

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halvard Leira ◽  
Iver Neumann
Keyword(s):  
State Formation ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Detailed Case ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Comprehensive History ◽  
History Of Diplomacy

AbstractThe consular institution has regularly been viewed by academics and practitioners alike as the poor sibling of diplomacy: as a career sidetrack or tour of duty for aspiring ambassadors; and as an example devoid of all the intrigue and politics by historians and theoreticians of diplomacy. Through a detailed case study of the emergence and development of consular representation in Norway, this article demonstrates that any comprehensive history of diplomacy must include a history of the consular institution; that the history of the consular institution is nevertheless not reducible to a history of diplomacy; and that studying the consular institution offers up fresh perspectives on the social practices of representation and state formation.

Rola społeczna aptek jezuickich w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej

2021 ◽  
pp. 42-83
Author(s):  
Andrea Mariani
Keyword(s):  
Surgical Procedures ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Academic Education ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
High Level

The article presents the social role of Jesuit pharmacies in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth based on the sources of religious provenance and inventories of Jesuit colleges drawn up as a result of the dissolution of the Society of Jesus in 1773. In the first part, the author analyzes the ecclesiastical and secular legislation and its impact on the activities of Jesuit pharmacies. Canon law did not forbid clergymen to deal with medicine, but only limited the possibility of obtaining academic education in this field and conducting surgical procedures. By adopting these rules, Jesuit legislation placed the main emphasis on superiors’ control over the finances of pharmacies and limited the sale of drugs to protect the order from being accused of unfair competition by the townspeople. In the context of state pharmaceutical law, the privilege of June 30, 1662, which allowed for the liberation of journeymen by Jesuit pharmacists, was of great importance. In this way, a path of professional education in the field of pharmacy under the management of the Society, an alternative to the guild system, was created. The second part of the article discusses the social factors that favoured the establishment of monastic pharmacies. Particularly noteworthy is the uneven distribution of Jesuit pharmacies in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. While in Royal Prussia the Jesuits did not run pharmacies to avoid conflicts with the Protestant bourgeoisie, in the eastern borderlands of the Polish-Lithuanian state, Jesuit pharmacies were often the only institutions of this type. The third part of the work presents the financial situation of Jesuit pharmacies. They had significant income, but also required considerable investments related to the purchase of raw materials and equipment in the Baltic ports. The fourth part of the article concerns the social scope of the activity of Jesuit pharmacists, who not only provided medicines to the poor, but also treated nobles, magnates and high church dignitaries. Not being obliged by guild regulations, apart from preparing medicines, they also diagnosed them, performed minor surgical procedures and assisted women during childbirth. The last part of the article discusses drugs and raw materials in terms of their availability to the broadly understood clientele. The offer of Jesuit pharmacies included both cheap products derived from the local flora, intended for the treatment of the poor, and expensive raw materials from abroad. Moreover, among the medical matter there were preparations for women and infants, as well as for people suffering from syphilis. In the end, the author emphasizes the centrality of pharmacies in the Jesuit pastoral strategy. Thanks to their high level, pharmacies not only corresponded to the ideal of mercy, but also contributed to gaining the favour and trust of representatives of social elites. In this context, the dissolution of the Society is an important turning point not only in cultural and religious life, but also in the history of medicine and pharmacy in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Conditions in Jewish Society in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Middle Decades of the Eighteenth Century

1996 ◽  
pp. 45-50
Author(s):  
Gershon David Hundert
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Social History ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Generational Conflict ◽  
East European ◽  
Explanatory Factors ◽  
Jewish Society ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

This chapter investigates the conditions in Jewish society in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the middle decades of the eighteenth century. The place of hasidism in the religious history of the eighteenth century ought to be reconsidered not only in light of the questions about the schismatic groups in the Orthodox Church raised by Ysander, but also in light of the general revivalist currents in western Europe. The social historian cannot explain hasidism, which belongs to the context of the development of the east European religious mentality in the eighteenth century. Social history does, however, point to some significant questions that ought to be explored further. One of these is the role of youth and generational conflict in the beginnings of the movement, and not only in its beginnings. A realistic recovery of the situation of the Polish-Lithuanian Jewry in the eighteenth century shows that neither the economic nor the security conditions were such as to warrant their use as causal or explanatory factors in the rise and reception of hasidism.

Out of Tlatelolco’s Ruins: Patronage, Devotion, and Natural Disaster at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Angels, 1745–1781

2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Ramírez ◽  
William B. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
City Center ◽  
The Social ◽  
Promotional Efforts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Bourbon Reforms ◽  
Disease Epidemics ◽  
The City

Abstract Colonial inhabitants of Mexico City were accustomed to coping with natural disasters, including disease epidemics, droughts, floods, and earthquakes, which menaced rich and poor alike and stirred fervent devotion to miraculous images and their shrines. This article revisits the late colonial history of the shrine of Our Lady of the Angels, an image preserved miraculously on an adobe wall in the Indian quarter of Santiago Tlatelolco. The assumption has been that archiepiscopal authorities aiming to deflect public worship toward a more austere, interior spirituality suppressed activities there after 1745 because they saw the devotion as excessively Indian and Baroque. The shrine has served as a barometer of eighteenth-century Bourbon reforms even though its story has not been fully told. This article explores the politics of patronage in the years after the shrine’s closure and in the decades prior to the arrival on the scene of a new Spanish patron in 1776, revealing that Indian caretakers kept the faith well beyond the official intervention, with some help from well-placed Spanish devotees and officials. The efforts of the new patron, a Spanish tailor from the city center, to renovate the building and image and secure the necessary permissions and privileges helped transform the site into one of the most famous in the capital. Attention to earlier patterns of patronage and to the social response to a series of tremors that coincided with his promotional efforts helps to explain why a devotion so carefully managed for enlightened audiences was nevertheless cut from old cloth.

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