Taking the Hard Road Life Course in French and German Workers` Autobiographies in the Era of Industrialization

Mary Jo Maynes

ISBN 10: 0807844977 / ISBN 13: 9780807844977

Published by Univ of North Carolina Pr, 1995

About this Item

1st edition. 278 pages. 9.50x6.50x0.75 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-0807844977

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Taking the Hard Road Life Course in French and German Workers` Autobiographies in the Era of Industrialization
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807844977
• ISBN 13: 9780807844977
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.45 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

"Taking the Hard Road" is an engaging history of growing up in working-class families in France and Germany during the Industrial Revolution. Based on a reading of ninety autobiographical accounts of childhood and adolescence, the book explores the far-reaching historical transformations associated with the emergence of modern industrial capitalism. According to Mary Jo Maynes, the aspects of private life revealed in these accounts played an important role in historical development by actively shaping the authors' social, political, and class identities. The stories told in these memoirs revolve around details of everyday life: schooling, parent-child relations, adolescent sexuality, early experiences in the workforce, and religious observances. Maynes uses demographics, family history, and literary analysis to place these details within the context of historical change. She also draws comparisons between French and German texts, men's and women's accounts, and narratives of social mobility and political militancy.

About the Author

Mary Jo Maynes is professor of history at the University of Minnesota. She is author of Schooling in Western Europe: A Social History and coeditor of Interpreting Women's Lives: Feminist Theory and Personal Narratives.