A World of Their Own Making Myth, Ritual, and The Quest for Family Values

Gillis, John R.

ISBN 10: 0465054145 / ISBN 13: 9780465054145

Published by Basic Books, 1996, 1996

About this Item

Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good+. First Edition, 1st Printing. Ex-Library. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Withdrawn stamp on top page edges is the only exterior library marking, library label on ffep, mylar covered d/j taped on. 310 pages.

Seller Inventory # 010091

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A World of Their Own Making Myth, Ritual, and The Quest for Family Values
• Publisher: Basic Books, 1996
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465054145
• ISBN 13: 9780465054145
• Binding: Hard Cover
• Edition: First Edition, 1st Printing
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Very Good+
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+
• Book Type: Ex-Library
• Seller catalogs:
  • Sociology, Anthropology, and Culture

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.