The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History by Lynn Dumenil

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History by Lynn Dumenil

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History brings together in a single authoritative reference work an extraordinary wealth of information about the history of everyday life in America. Sixty years ago, an encyclopedia devoted to U.S. social history would have been unthinkable. The term "social history" was not even in common use. By the 1960s, however, scholars had begun to reject the notion that what was solely important about the past were the actions of political and military leaders and the ideas of elite intellectuals. These historians insisted upon the value of the experiences of ordinary people. Often called "history from the bottom up," social history includes the study of marginalized people whose voices had been largely missing from the history books, and covers a wide span of activities embracing the whole range of ordinary people's life experience. Social structures and the environment that shaped American life, including family, work, leisure, social movements, and patterns of mobility and settlements, are central to the work, as are themes of race, gender, ethnicity, and class. Sensitive to transnational developments, the volume draws extensively on new literature on slavery, health and disease, sexuality, women's activism, and technology's impact on everyday life. With over 450 articles by expert scholars, each signed entry features numerous cross references and discussion of social history as well as additional sources for further study in this two-volume A-to-Z compendium. The encyclopedia is a reference work of unparalleled depth and scope and will introduce a new generation of readers to the complexities of this dynamic field of study. It also features key biographies of leaders in social history, a topical outline, and subject index.

Review by James Gregory, Prof of History, Univ of Washington I am impressed with the proposal and recommend publicationI do so knowing that this publication will be part of the Oxford encyclopedia series and closely linked to the Oxford Companion to United States History, which has proved to be an extremely valuable resource. I use it with some frequency in my research and teaching and recommend it to students and graduate students. It combines accuracy and sophistication with accessibility in language and approach. If the new encyclopedia meets the standards of the Companion, and especially if it is available in online as well as print editions, it will be widely embraced at the University of Washington and elsewhere. The new project will cover critical changes in the last two decades of social historical research with more attention to bodies, health, sexuality, nature, and, and environment; more attention to space, mobility, borders, and the transnational movement of people, institutions, and ideas; more attention to identity and the constructedness of races, classes, ethnicities, genders, and sexualities; more attention to the way the social and the political interact; and more attention to the overlaps between social and cultural history. Professor Dumenil is very well-qualified to serve as Editor. She is a renowned historian with deep roots in social history. Her books have been widely influential. The Modern Temper is one of the most important reevaluations of the 1920s to appear in recent years. Through Women's Eyes is the pre-eminent synthetic work on American women's History. I notice that the proposal does not mention that she is also co-author of the textbook, America's History, which has been a staple of undergraduate education for many years. I mention this because I think that her sense of how to write history for different audiences will be important as she guides this project. Although library budgets are reduced because of the economic crisis, I am sure that the library of the University of Washington (where I teach) will purchase the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History and that should be an indication that research libraries everywhere will make the same decision. I know little about the high school library market, but I would imagine that librarians and history teachers would also find this to be a valuable resource. I am happy to recommend publication.

Lynn Dumenil is the Robert Glass Cleland Professor of American History at Occidental College. She is the author of The Modern Temper: American Culture and Society in the 1920s (Hill and Wang, 1995, both cloth and pb); Freemasonry and American Culture, 1880-1930 (Princeton, 1984); Through Women's Eyes: An American History (with Ellen Carol DuBois; St. Martin's, 2005); America's History, 5th edition (with James Henretta and David Brody; St. Martin's, 2003); and America: A Concise History, 3rd edition (with James Henretta and David Brody; St. Martin's, 2005).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780199743360
ISBN 10	0199743363
Title	The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History
Author	Lynn Dumenil
Series	Oxford Encyclopedias Of American History
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Oxford University Press Inc
Year published	2012-06-07
Number of pages	1416
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.