Contested Paternity: Constructing Families in Modern France - Softcover

Fuchs, Rachel G. G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801898331 ISBN 13: 9780801898334

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010

Synopsis

Winner, 2009 J. Russell Major Prize, American Historical AssociationWinner, 2009 Frances Richardson Keller-Sierra Prize, Western Association of Women HistoriansWinner, 2008 Charles E. Smith Award, European History section of the Southern Historical Association

This groundbreaking study examines complex notions of paternity and fatherhood in modern France through the lens of contested paternity. Drawing from archival judicial records on paternity suits, paternity denials, deprivation of paternity, and adoption, from the end of the eighteenth century through the twentieth, Rachel G. Fuchs reveals how paternity was defined and how it functioned in the culture and experiences of individual men and women. She addresses the competing definitions of paternity and of families, how public policy toward paternity and the family shifted, and what individuals did to facilitate their personal and familial ideals and goals.

Issues of paternity and the family have broad implications for an understanding of how private acts were governed by laws of the state. Focusing on paternity as a category of family history, Contested Paternity emphasizes the importance of fatherhood, the family, and the law within the greater context of changing attitudes toward parental responsibility.

About this title

About the Author

Rachel G. Fuchs is a professor of history at Arizona State University.

From the Back Cover

Winner, J. Russell Major Prize, American Historical Association
Winner, Frances Richardson Keller-Sierra Prize, Western Association of Women Historians
Winner, Charles E. Smith Award, European History section of the Southern Historical Association

This groundbreaking study examines complex notions of paternity and fatherhood in modern France through the lens of contested paternity. Drawing from archival judicial records on paternity suits, paternity denials, deprivation of paternity, and adoption from the end of the eighteenth century through the twentieth, Rachel G. Fuchs reveals how paternity was defined and how it functioned in the culture and experiences of individual men and women.

"A masterpiece in French social, cultural, and gender history."―Lenard Berlanstein, University of Virginia

"Fuchs opens up a new window into the history of families by perceptively examining the legal and customary ways that paternity was negotiated in French society from the old regime to the present."―Robert A. Nye, Oregon State University

"Fascinating in every particular . . . One of the most important aspects of Contested Paternity is the way in which Fuchs uses the history of paternity suits as a way to analyze changing attitudes towards fatherhood, motherhood, and childhood."―H-France

"A compelling study that examines the epochal shift in French fatherhood over the past two centuries."―American Historical Review

"A tour de force on the history of family law in France from the eighteenth century to modern times."―French Studies

"Fuchs's treatment of the theme of constructions of paternity is stimulating, clear, and yet highly refined . . . With her considerable methodological expertise as a social historian of France, she weaves an exceedingly colorful picture of disputes around paternity."―French History

Rachel G. Fuchs is a professor of history at Arizona State University.

From the Inside Flap

Winner, J. Russell Major Prize, American Historical Association
Winner, Frances Richardson Keller-Sierra Prize, Western Association of Women Historians
Winner, Charles E. Smith Award, European History section of the Southern Historical Association

This groundbreaking study examines complex notions of paternity and fatherhood in modern France through the lens of contested paternity. Drawing from archival judicial records on paternity suits, paternity denials, deprivation of paternity, and adoption from the end of the eighteenth century through the twentieth, Rachel G. Fuchs reveals how paternity was defined and how it functioned in the culture and experiences of individual men and women.

A masterpiece in French social, cultural, and gender history.--Lenard Berlanstein, University of Virginia

Fuchs opens up a new window into the history of families by perceptively examining the legal and customary ways that paternity was negotiated in French society from the old regime to the present.--Robert A. Nye, Oregon State University

Fascinating in every particular . . . One of the most important aspects of Contested Paternity is the way in which Fuchs uses the history of paternity suits as a way to analyze changing attitudes towards fatherhood, motherhood, and childhood.--H-France

A compelling study that examines the epochal shift in French fatherhood over the past two centuries.--American Historical Review

A tour de force on the history of family law in France from the eighteenth century to modern times.--French Studies

Fuchs's treatment of the theme of constructions of paternity is stimulating, clear, and yet highly refined . . . With her considerable methodological expertise as a social historian of France, she weaves an exceedingly colorful picture of disputes around paternity.--French History

Rachel G. Fuchs is a professor of history at Arizona State University.

--Robert A. Nye, Oregon State University "Journal of Law and History Review"

Edition details

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801898331
• ISBN 13: 9780801898334
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368