Tired of Living Suicide in Italy from National Unification to World War I, 1860-1915 (Studies in Modern European History) - Hardcover

Geltmaker, Ty

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 082045544X ISBN 13: 9780820455440

Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers, 2002

Synopsis

This original work examines the bases for the widespread belief among Italians during their first fifty years as a unified country that suicide was a growing epidemic. The story of this concern over the rise in suicide is told within the context of related debates over Italy’s emerging national identity and what it meant to be Italian. Many commentators saw suicide in this period as a «safety valve» peculiar to Italy’s late political and economic development. Popular «Degeneration» theories gave scientific credibility to such sociological analyses, while the Roman Catholic Church linked the rise in suicide to the secular unification of the state. Controversies over a resurgence of dueling and a fascination with war as «indirect» suicide are examined in this overview of Italian social, cultural, and legal history.

About this title

About the Author

The Author: Ty Geltmaker received his B.A. in history from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, his M.A. in history from New York University, and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Southern California. He has taught history and literature at California Institute of the Arts, the University of Southern California, and community colleges in Los Angeles and New York. Before working in academia, he was an editor at United Press International in New York and a journalist in Rome. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 082045544X
• ISBN 13: 9780820455440
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 137