Overview

Patriarchy, colonialism, and the capitalist mode of production have shaped gender through time and across many different cultures. In historic America, gendered social relations were created, codified, and reproduced through the objects used in cultural rituals, the spatial organization of houses, the construction of village landscapes, and the institutions of society, in addition to other social, ideological, economic, and political forces. From domestic spaces to the public square, Deborah Rotmancontextualizes gender and the associated social relationships from the colonial period through the twentieth century. By exploring how individuals and families negotiated and mediated these relationships, she sheds light on how prescriptive gender categories were experienced by those expected to follow them and examines how diverse groups responded to popular gender ideologies. Additionally, she reveals the ways gender and society influence each other, exposing how American normative notions of masculinity and femininity intersect with class, ethnicity, race, sexuality, and identity. Albeit, Rotman contends, they do not intersect in mutually supportive ways, ultimately giving rise to transformative social changes.

Full Product Details

9780813051321

Table of Contents

Reviews

Rich in content and engagingly written. . . . A valuable, thought-provoking synthesis of gender archaeology in the United States. --Cambridge Archaeological Journal A very ambitious book that covers roughly two hundred years and an entire continent. . . . An important overview. --American Anthropologist A vital resource for the interpretation of the complexities of an inclusive national history. . . . An example of fine scholarship, casting light on the various ways in which gender structures material culture across centuries. --Public Historian An origin story for present-day conceptions of gender in the USA, as well as an analysis of the manifestations, mechanisms and limitations of ideology under modern capitalism. --Social Anthropology Illustrate[s] the variation in gendered social relations over time and . . . consider[s] how these relations connect to other aspects of social identity, such as class or race. --Choice

""Rich in content and engagingly written. . . . A valuable, thought-provoking synthesis of gender archaeology in the United States.""--Cambridge Archaeological Journal ""A very ambitious book that covers roughly two hundred years and an entire continent. . . . An important overview.""--American Anthropologist ""A vital resource for the interpretation of the complexities of an inclusive national history. . . . An example of fine scholarship, casting light on the various ways in which gender structures material culture across centuries.""--Public Historian ""An origin story for present-day conceptions of gender in the USA, as well as an analysis of the manifestations, mechanisms and limitations of ideology under modern capitalism.""--Social Anthropology ""Illustrate[s] the variation in gendered social relations over time and . . . consider[s] how these relations connect to other aspects of social identity, such as class or race.""--Choice

Author Information

Deborah L. Rotman is the Paul and Maureen Stefanick Faculty Director of the Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement at the University of Notre Dame, USA. She is the author of Historical Archaeology of Gendered Lives.

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