Overview

American Sexual Histories is a collection of fourteen articles investigating human sexuality in America from the colonial period to the modern day. The essays reflect the many ways historians analyze sexuality and sexual trends, and explore such topics as contraception, interracial sex, ""free love,"" hysteria, homosexuality, reproductive issues, and the sexual revolution. The volume shows how the evolution of sexuality in America is a product of ongoing negotiation of moral values and shifting political and economic circumstances. Arranged chronologically, the chapters each contain an introduction and one major article, plus supporting documents that illustrate the time, place, and issues covered by the main article. Editor Elizabeth Reis provides a general introduction, questions for study and discussion, and further reading lists that make this an ideal collection for students studying the history of sexuality in America.

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9780631220817

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Reviews

""Elizabeth Reis's American Sexual Histories is a highly readable and utterly valuable resource for students and for the generally curious. This book traces the ever-changing fears, obsessions, and sometimes surprisingly tolerant attitudes Americans have held on the subject of sexual practice from the Puritans to 'liberation' in the late twentieth century."" Nancy Isenberg, University of Tulsa ""American Sexual Histories is that all-too-rare achievement: a book of first-rate scholarship that encourages equally first-rate teaching. It is an extremely valuable book for students, teachers, and scholars."" Peggy Pascoe, University of Oregon ""This is a wonderful resource. Reis's clear introductions, thought-provoking scholarly articles, and exciting primary sources combine to create an indispensable collection for undergraduate classes."" Sharon Block, University of California, Irvine ""Each chapter starts with an easy-to-read, very clear introduction written by Reis which should serve as a helpful guide for students ... American Sexual Histories makes on reconsider what is 'natural' or 'normal' in certain historical periods. And it sends the message that sex has a history like everything else. H-NET

"Elizabeth Reis's American Sexual Histories is a highly readable and utterly valuable resource for students and for the generally curious. This book traces the ever-changing fears, obsessions, and sometimes surprisingly tolerant attitudes Americans have held on the subject of sexual practice from the Puritans to 'liberation' in the late twentieth century." Nancy Isenberg, University of Tulsa "American Sexual Histories is that all-too-rare achievement: a book of first-rate scholarship that encourages equally first-rate teaching. It is an extremely valuable book for students, teachers, and scholars." Peggy Pascoe, University of Oregon "This is a wonderful resource. Reis's clear introductions, thought-provoking scholarly articles, and exciting primary sources combine to create an indispensable collection for undergraduate classes." Sharon Block, University of California, Irvine "Each chapter starts with an easy-to-read, very clear introduction written by Reis which should serve as a helpful guide for students ... American Sexual Histories makes on reconsider what is 'natural' or 'normal' in certain historical periods. And it sends the message that sex has a history like everything else. H-NET

"""Elizabeth Reis's American Sexual Histories is a highly readable and utterly valuable resource for students and for the generally curious. This book traces the ever-changing fears, obsessions, and sometimes surprisingly tolerant attitudes Americans have held on the subject of sexual practice from the Puritans to 'liberation' in the late twentieth century."" Nancy Isenberg, University of Tulsa ""American Sexual Histories is that all-too-rare achievement: a book of first-rate scholarship that encourages equally first-rate teaching. It is an extremely valuable book for students, teachers, and scholars."" Peggy Pascoe, University of Oregon ""This is a wonderful resource. Reis's clear introductions, thought-provoking scholarly articles, and exciting primary sources combine to create an indispensable collection for undergraduate classes."" Sharon Block, University of California, Irvine ""Each chapter starts with an easy-to-read, very clear introduction written by Reis which should serve as a helpful guide for students ... American Sexual Histories makes on reconsider what is 'natural' or 'normal' in certain historical periods. And it sends the message that sex has a history like everything else. H-NET"

Author Information

Elizabeth Reis teaches history and women's studies at the University of Oregon. She is the author of Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England (1997) and the editor of Spellbound: Women and Witchcraft in America (1998).

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