Gender, Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe: A History from the French Revolution to the Present Day - Hardcover

A thorough and balanced analysis of why gender matters, and why the integration of gender into broader historical perspectives will always enhance our understanding of the past. Sensitive to the multiple hierarchies structuring social relations in modern Europe and its colonies, Timm and Sanborn offer a convincing reading of the centrality of gender to any reading of European history. A book worth reading and worth recommending. * Philippa Levine, University of Texas at Austin, USA * In their second edition of Gender, Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe, Timm and Sanborn have produced a vigorous account of the continent's recent history that argues emphatically for the centrality of gender as a political, economic, social and cultural force. This is a detailed, lively and engaging account that has been updated with fresh scholarship and a new final chapter taking the story into the twenty-first century, including the most recent controversies between gender activists, authoritarian regimes, and religious communities. It brings the personal to the heart of the historical, and will stimulate students to think critically about gender and the past. * Dan Healey, University of Oxford, UK * Historians Timm (Univ. of Calgary) and Sanborn (Lafayette College) have updated their widely heralded 2006 study (CH, Feb'08, 45-3427), incorporating almost a decade of new scholarship to include "far more change than we could have ever imagined" on sex and gender and how they have shaped European culture, society, and politics. This new edition expands each previous chapter to include recent work, and incorporates several important and timely issues in a new chapter titled "Sex, Gender and Politics in Twenty-First-Century Europe." Included in this new chapter are analyses of topics such as sexual assault on university campuses, child and family leave for men, and online verbal abuse. The authors seamlessly weave together the history of prostitution with present-day issues of sex trafficking while enhancing their previous examinations of topics like homosexuality and the malleable nature of the family. Timm and Sanborn have masterfully revised their important work, maintaining their broad, state-specific view of the European experience and enhancing further the conversation regarding the ways in which sex and gender have operated in European society from the French Revolution to the present. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above. * CHOICE *

Through a blend of history and historiography, Gender, Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe provides a clear and concise introduction to gender history in the region. The detailed examples and engaging language make this a useful overview for students not only of gender history, but also of European history more widely, as considerations of gender illuminate our understanding of historical change and individual experience.

In six thematic chapters that cover democracy and capitalism, imperialism and war, the authors explain how gender roles were socially constructed and how they influenced political and economic developments during the period.

This new edition has been thoroughly re-edited and expanded to take account of ongoing methodological innovation and recent scholarship in the field. The book also includes a brand new chapter on sexuality in the 21st century and extended material on:

· Scandinavia
· The Mediterranean
· Alternative Sexualities
· Women's history and femininity

Gender, Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe is a key text for all students of gender history and the history of modern Europe in general.