Peter N. Stearns

In this groundbreaking social history, Carol and Peter Stearns trace the two hundred-year development of anger, beginning with premodern colonial America. Drawing on diaries and popular advice literature of key periods, Anger deals with the everyday experiences of the family and workplace in its examination of our attempts to control our domestic lives and lessen social tensions by harnessing emotion. Offering an entirely new approach to the study of emotion, the authors inaugurate a new field of study termed "emotionology," which distinguishes collective emotional standards from the experience of emotion itself.

World history continues to evolve as one of the most popular and widely discussed approaches to the study of history. The second edition of World History: The Basics offers an updated introduction of this fast-growing field, addressing key questions such as: What is world history? How do we study a subject with such a broad geographic and chronological range? Why has world history been controversial? This new edition integrates both US and global perspectives, including up to date historiographical analysis and coverage of developments around the world since the first edition was published. The volume also addresses the challenge of considering Big History along with attention to major regional civilizations. Authored by one of the field's pioneers, the book explores key topics such as time, place, interactions, themes, and more. Serving as both an excellent introduction to world history and a significant commentary on the past, present, and future of the discipline, this volume is an essential resource for understanding the field.

World history continues to evolve as one of the most popular and widely discussed approaches to the study of history. The second edition of World History: The Basics offers an updated introduction of this fast-growing field, addressing key questions such as: What is world history? How do we study a subject with such a broad geographic and chronological range? Why has world history been controversial? This new edition integrates both US and global perspectives, including up to date historiographical analysis and coverage of developments around the world since the first edition was published. The volume also addresses the challenge of considering Big History along with attention to major regional civilizations. Authored by one of the field's pioneers, the book explores key topics such as time, place, interactions, themes, and more. Serving as both an excellent introduction to world history and a significant commentary on the past, present, and future of the discipline, this volume is an essential resource for understanding the field.

Now in its sixth edition, this book explores the ways in which the industrial revolution reshaped world history, covering the international factors that helped launch the industrial revolution, its global spread and its impact from the end of the eighteenth century to the present day. The single most important development in human history over the past three centuries, the industrial revolution continues to shape the contemporary world. Revised and brought into the present, The Industrial Revolution in World History extends the global analysis of the industrial revolution, looking beyond the West, extending to India, the Middle East and Africa and now including more on key Latin American economies and China, as well as environmental impacts in all these areas. A new chapter covers the heightened tensions, since 2008, about the economic aspects of globalization and the decline of manufacturing in the West, plus the implications of Artificial Intelligence. This edition also features an updated suggestions for further reading and boxed debate features that encourage the reader to consider diversity and different viewpoints in their own analysis. Illustrating the contemporary relevance of the industrial revolution’s history, this is essential reading for students of world history and economics, as well as for those seeking to know more about the global implications of what is arguably the defining socioeconomic event of modern times.

Now in its sixth edition, this book explores the ways in which the industrial revolution reshaped world history, covering the international factors that helped launch the industrial revolution, its global spread and its impact from the end of the eighteenth century to the present day. The single most important development in human history over the past three centuries, the industrial revolution continues to shape the contemporary world. Revised and brought into the present, The Industrial Revolution in World History extends the global analysis of the industrial revolution, looking beyond the West, extending to India, the Middle East and Africa and now including more on key Latin American economies and China, as well as environmental impacts in all these areas. A new chapter covers the heightened tensions, since 2008, about the economic aspects of globalization and the decline of manufacturing in the West, plus the implications of Artificial Intelligence. This edition also features an updated suggestions for further reading and boxed debate features that encourage the reader to consider diversity and different viewpoints in their own analysis. Illustrating the contemporary relevance of the industrial revolution’s history, this is essential reading for students of world history and economics, as well as for those seeking to know more about the global implications of what is arguably the defining socioeconomic event of modern times.

Historical perspective shows that concerns about the "kids these days" are as old as civilization itself. Today's young people are healthier than in the past and less likely to drink, smoke, or engage in reckless sex. The digital age has enabled them to learn, grow, and connect with the world in ways that were previously unimaginable. There is greater acceptance and understanding of diverse backgrounds, identities, and orientations, giving many children more freedom to express themselves and find communities that support them. Many young people are more politically knowledgeable and and socially aware than previous generations, speaking out about climate change, gun control, and social justice. Nonetheless, autism, attention deficit disorders, allergies, obesity, learning disorders, and online bullying, as well as suicidal ideation and self-harm, have become more prevalent. School shootings and the 24/7 news cycle make the world seem more dangerous for children than it actually is. Drawing on a wealth of previously untapped sources along with census data, reports, and surveys, Steven Mintz and Peter N. Stearns bring much-needed historical perspective to the profound transformations that have taken place in American childhood since World War II and their impact on children's well-being. Balancing genuine improvements with significant losses, they analyze how shifts in family life, education, and culture have reshaped childhood for good and for ill. Acutely attentive to issues of diversity in terms of class, ethnicity, gender, nationality, and race, this book places contemporary controversies-- rising rates of anxiety, depression, ADHD, and emotional distress-- within a historical context, challenging simplistic explanations that blame social media, the internet, or the decline of marriage. Instead, it reveals the deeper structural, cultural, and historical forces driving the challenges and opportunities facing today's children. The American Child examines the radical transformations in schooling, childrearing practices, children's play, kids' culture, and other areas to offer valuable insights on how childhood has changed, the consequences of those shifts, and what can be done to make childhood better.

Originally published in 1977, Old Age in European Society provides an historical perspective on aging, a process which had received little attention from any group in the social sciences and virtually none from historians at the time. Starting from the premise that ‘the elderly can and should be active, participant members of their society’ the book examines the ways in which old people were and are viewed by certain key groups. This is done in a series of thematic essays linked by the main theme of a dominant culture in which the elderly and the groups who deal with them were and still are ensnared. This dominant culture is one of denigration of the elderly: the traditional idea of veneration of the elderly is found to be largely mythical. Variations on this theme are dealt with in individual chapters concerned with the elderly in French working-class culture and geriatric medicine. Key groups are studied with an eye to distinct patterns of modernization, which involves particular attention to the working class and middle class as those exposed to the leading edge of change. Women are treated separately, as their aging process involves distinctive elements, which exacerbate the problems of old age. France, with its exceptional percentage of elderly and its low retirement ages, provides much of the material for these essays, the main purpose of which is to indicate those topics for which an historical treatment is vital to our understanding of the elderly and to the formulation of a more positive approach to old age.

This book offers a global, historical analysis of the changes and continuities in one of society’s basic functions: seeking to protect itself from disease.Hygiene offers an important lens for major aspects of world and comparative history. The volume explores the ways different regions and major religions approached hygiene both before modern times and through the present with the more recent uses of germ theory. Topics in “premodern” hygiene include toilet practices, remarkably varied views about bathing, and different levels of commitment to investments in hygiene infrastructure. The “sanitary revolution” of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries forms a major dividing line in the book, including the variations introduced by developments like colonialism or communism and various forms of resistance to “modern” hygiene. The book links current, often bitter, debates about hygiene, around practices such as masking, both to the larger history and to recent issues like Covid-19.Hygiene in World History is an accessible overview aimed at undergraduate and non-specialist readers interested in world history, public health, and the history of health and disease.

This book offers a global, historical analysis of the changes and continuities in one of society’s basic functions: seeking to protect itself from disease.Hygiene offers an important lens for major aspects of world and comparative history. The volume explores the ways different regions and major religions approached hygiene both before modern times and through the present with the more recent uses of germ theory. Topics in “premodern” hygiene include toilet practices, remarkably varied views about bathing, and different levels of commitment to investments in hygiene infrastructure. The “sanitary revolution” of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries forms a major dividing line in the book, including the variations introduced by developments like colonialism or communism and various forms of resistance to “modern” hygiene. The book links current, often bitter, debates about hygiene, around practices such as masking, both to the larger history and to recent issues like Covid-19.Hygiene in World History is an accessible overview aimed at undergraduate and non-specialist readers interested in world history, public health, and the history of health and disease.

The third edition of Consumerism in World History explores the nature of consumerism and its evolution, with particular emphasis on the modern “consumer revolution” and its global scope.The book deals with crucial interpretive issues, such as whether consumerism is a natural human expression or involves other causes, the relationship between consumer apparatus (such as shops and advertising) and human needs, and the interplay between Western and other regional forms of consumerism. It covers major historical moments and changes, including the consumer revolution in Western society beginning in the 17th century and regional cultural patterns from the 19th century onward. This is a substantially revised edition, with updated suggested readings, rewritten sections on premodern consumerism in agricultural societies, and globalization and consumerism, and expanded coverage of major regions like India and Latin America.This volume is essential reading for all students of world history and will be of great value to those in business history and environmental history.

The third edition of Consumerism in World History explores the nature of consumerism and its evolution, with particular emphasis on the modern “consumer revolution” and its global scope.The book deals with crucial interpretive issues, such as whether consumerism is a natural human expression or involves other causes, the relationship between consumer apparatus (such as shops and advertising) and human needs, and the interplay between Western and other regional forms of consumerism. It covers major historical moments and changes, including the consumer revolution in Western society beginning in the 17th century and regional cultural patterns from the 19th century onward. This is a substantially revised edition, with updated suggested readings, rewritten sections on premodern consumerism in agricultural societies, and globalization and consumerism, and expanded coverage of major regions like India and Latin America.This volume is essential reading for all students of world history and will be of great value to those in business history and environmental history.

Originally published in 1977, Old Age in European Society provides an historical perspective on aging, a process which had received little attention from any group in the social sciences and virtually none from historians at the time. Starting from the premise that ‘the elderly can and should be active, participant members of their society’ the book examines the ways in which old people were and are viewed by certain key groups. This is done in a series of thematic essays linked by the main theme of a dominant culture in which the elderly and the groups who deal with them were and still are ensnared. This dominant culture is one of denigration of the elderly: the traditional idea of veneration of the elderly is found to be largely mythical. Variations on this theme are dealt with in individual chapters concerned with the elderly in French working-class culture and geriatric medicine. Key groups are studied with an eye to distinct patterns of modernization, which involves particular attention to the working class and middle class as those exposed to the leading edge of change. Women are treated separately, as their aging process involves distinctive elements, which exacerbate the problems of old age. France, with its exceptional percentage of elderly and its low retirement ages, provides much of the material for these essays, the main purpose of which is to indicate those topics for which an historical treatment is vital to our understanding of the elderly and to the formulation of a more positive approach to old age.

In this fully revised fourth edition, this book treats globalization from several vantage points, showing how these help grasp the nature of globalization both in the past and today.The revisions include greater attention to the complications of racism (after 1500) and nationalism (after 1850); further analysis of reactions against globalization after World War I and in the 21st century; more discussion of student exchanges; and fuller treatment of developments since 2008, including the role of the Covid-19 pandemic in contemporary globalization.Four major chronological phases are explored: in the centuries after 1000 CE, after 1500, after 1850, and since the mid-20th century. Discussion of each phase includes relevant debates over the nature and extent of the innovations involved, particularly in terms of transportation/communications technologies and trade patterns. The phase approach also facilitates analysis of the range of interactions enmeshed in globalization, beyond trade and migration, including disease exchange, impacts on culture and consumer tastes, and for the modern periods policy coordination and international organizations. Finally, the book deals with different regional positions and reactions in each of the major phases. This includes not only imbalances of power and economic benefit but also regional styles in dealing with the range of global relationships.This volume is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of world history, economic history, and political economy.

In this fully revised fourth edition, this book treats globalization from several vantage points, showing how these help grasp the nature of globalization both in the past and today.The revisions include greater attention to the complications of racism (after 1500) and nationalism (after 1850); further analysis of reactions against globalization after World War I and in the 21st century; more discussion of student exchanges; and fuller treatment of developments since 2008, including the role of the Covid-19 pandemic in contemporary globalization.Four major chronological phases are explored: in the centuries after 1000 CE, after 1500, after 1850, and since the mid-20th century. Discussion of each phase includes relevant debates over the nature and extent of the innovations involved, particularly in terms of transportation/communications technologies and trade patterns. The phase approach also facilitates analysis of the range of interactions enmeshed in globalization, beyond trade and migration, including disease exchange, impacts on culture and consumer tastes, and for the modern periods policy coordination and international organizations. Finally, the book deals with different regional positions and reactions in each of the major phases. This includes not only imbalances of power and economic benefit but also regional styles in dealing with the range of global relationships.This volume is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of world history, economic history, and political economy.

This book focuses on major changes in punishment patterns during the principal phases of world history, tracing continuities, reforms, and regional differences.Punishment in World History studies the official penalties enacted by governments throughout time, chronicling the limited courses of action in hunting and gathering civilizations, the array of punishments in early agricultural societies, and the various efforts to reform these patterns since the 17th and 18th centuries. There is also discussion on community sanctions and disciplinary patterns applied to children. A secondary emphasis involves analyzing different regional traditions, including the impact of the principal religions, varying definitions of punishable crime, and, in the modern period, differing levels of reliance on physical punishments and imprisonment. The regional analysis also pays close attention to the effects of colonialism, imperialism, and the slave trade. Ending with an assessment of the contemporary period, the book considers the efforts to develop and apply global standards to punishment.With far-reaching coverage of a variety of human civilizations in history, this book is a core resource for students and scholars of the history of corrections, world history, and criminal justice.

This book focuses on major changes in punishment patterns during the principal phases of world history, tracing continuities, reforms, and regional differences.Punishment in World History studies the official penalties enacted by governments throughout time, chronicling the limited courses of action in hunting and gathering civilizations, the array of punishments in early agricultural societies, and the various efforts to reform these patterns since the 17th and 18th centuries. There is also discussion on community sanctions and disciplinary patterns applied to children. A secondary emphasis involves analyzing different regional traditions, including the impact of the principal religions, varying definitions of punishable crime, and, in the modern period, differing levels of reliance on physical punishments and imprisonment. The regional analysis also pays close attention to the effects of colonialism, imperialism, and the slave trade. Ending with an assessment of the contemporary period, the book considers the efforts to develop and apply global standards to punishment.With far-reaching coverage of a variety of human civilizations in history, this book is a core resource for students and scholars of the history of corrections, world history, and criminal justice.

This book takes a global historical perspective to trace the rise of human rights and their global impact from the 18th century to the present.This fully updated volume examines the complex relationships between Western concepts of human rights and developments in other world regions. After providing background on relevant premodern concepts and constraints, the book explores regional interactions with human rights, the disastrous impact of imperialism and racism, the recurrent expansion of the range of rights given to those including women and children, and indigenous rights from the 19th century to the present. Major revisions for the second edition include:• a new chapter focusing on recent historical and interdisciplinary debates• a separate chapter on developments between the world wars • greater attention to causation and an expanded treatment of some regions, including Africa• an analysis of the mix of setbacks and rights expansion during the past 15 years, within the global framework. Human Rights in World History is essential reading for students, scholars, and researchers interested in modern history, human rights, and political science.

This book takes a global historical perspective to trace the rise of human rights and their global impact from the 18th century to the present.This fully updated volume examines the complex relationships between Western concepts of human rights and developments in other world regions. After providing background on relevant premodern concepts and constraints, the book explores regional interactions with human rights, the disastrous impact of imperialism and racism, the recurrent expansion of the range of rights given to those including women and children, and indigenous rights from the 19th century to the present. Major revisions for the second edition include:• a new chapter focusing on recent historical and interdisciplinary debates• a separate chapter on developments between the world wars • greater attention to causation and an expanded treatment of some regions, including Africa• an analysis of the mix of setbacks and rights expansion during the past 15 years, within the global framework. Human Rights in World History is essential reading for students, scholars, and researchers interested in modern history, human rights, and political science.

Education in World History shows how broad currents in transnational history have interacted with trends in educational organization and teaching practices over time.From antiquity and early classical societies to present day, this book highlights the ways in which changes in religious and intellectual life and economic patterns in key world regions have generated developments in education. Since the postclassical period, cross-cultural connections have also influenced educational change. In more recent times, transnational dialogues and mobility have played a vital role in shaping educational patterns. Ranging through South and East Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, the book also considers how the impact of modern forces, such as industrialization and nationalism, have transformed education in fundamental ways. Throughout the volume, Mark S. Johnson and Peter N. Stearns emphasize the tensions between elite and state educational interests and more diverse popular demands for access and, often, for more innovative pedagogy.Suitable for introductory world history and history of education courses, this lively overview reconsiders the history of education from the perspective of world and comparative history.

Education in World History shows how broad currents in transnational history have interacted with trends in educational organization and teaching practices over time.From antiquity and early classical societies to present day, this book highlights the ways in which changes in religious and intellectual life and economic patterns in key world regions have generated developments in education. Since the postclassical period, cross-cultural connections have also influenced educational change. In more recent times, transnational dialogues and mobility have played a vital role in shaping educational patterns. Ranging through South and East Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, the book also considers how the impact of modern forces, such as industrialization and nationalism, have transformed education in fundamental ways. Throughout the volume, Mark S. Johnson and Peter N. Stearns emphasize the tensions between elite and state educational interests and more diverse popular demands for access and, often, for more innovative pedagogy.Suitable for introductory world history and history of education courses, this lively overview reconsiders the history of education from the perspective of world and comparative history.