A World Of Their Own Making: Myth, Ritual, And The Quest For Family Values

Gillis, John

ISBN 10: 0465054145 / ISBN 13: 9780465054145

Published by Basic Books, 1996

About this Item

This is a used book. It may contain highlighting/underlining and/or the book may show heavier signs of wear . It may also be ex-library or without dustjacket. This is a used book. It may contain highlighting/underlining and/or the book may show heavier signs of wear . It may also be ex-library or without dustjacket.

Seller Inventory # mon0003351489

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A World Of Their Own Making: Myth, Ritual, And The Quest For Family Values
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465054145
• ISBN 13: 9780465054145
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Acceptable

About this title

Synopsis

Our whole society may be obsessed with "family values," but, as historian John Gillis points out in this entertaining and eye-opening narrative, most of our images of "home sweet home" are of very recent vintage. In fact, our most cherished family rituals (Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, white weddings, reunions, Father's Day, and Mother's Day) didn't even exist until the Victorian era.
A World of Their Own Making questions our idealized notion of "The Family," a mind-set in which myth and symbol still hold sway. As the families we live with become more fragile, the symbolic families we live by become more powerful. Yet it is only by accepting the notion that our rituals, myths, and images must be open to perpetual revision that we can satisfy our human needs and changing circumstances. Our families are worlds of our own making. By using the past to throw light on the present, Gillis empowers us to enjoy and accept responsibility for our own creations.

About the Author

John R. Gillis is a professor of history at Rutgers University.