Cultural Change in Modern World History: Cases, Causes and Consequences

Description

In this innovative textbook, leading world historian Peter Stearns analyses key examples of culture change from around the world, highlighting what culture change involves and how it can be explained and assessed, both historically and in the contemporary world. Culture change is one of the most interesting and significant features of human society, but until now there has been no book for the classroom which looks explicitly at this phenomenon. Cultural Change in Modern World History covers different kinds and levels of culture change since 1500 – from colonial culture contact in British India to modernization in Meiji Japan and changing attitudes towards gay marriage in the past decade – considering how we should define culture change, how to deal with causation and how to evaluate continuities and consequences. Stearns addresses fundamental questions: why do groups of people change their beliefs and values, and what happens when they do? Conversely, why do some groups resist culture change, and how do some manage to combine novel and more traditional cultural components? Figuring out how better to understand why groups or societies change their minds – or refuse to do so – provides a crucial perspective on human behaviors and values. As the first book to explore this important question, Cultural Change in Modern World History is a ground-breaking text for students of world history, cultural history and anthropology. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 Introduction Why Culture Change? The Range and Significance of Culture Change Challenges and Responses The Basics: Defining Culture The Case Study Approach 2 Organizing Analysis Interdisciplinarity: A Strength and a Challenge Analyzing Change: Key Ingredients APPENDIX 1 APPENDIX 2 3 Culture Change on the Grand Scale Accepting a Major Religion The Turn to Individualism in Western Culture Big Culture Change: the National Level: Modern Turkey 4 Protest, Revolution, and Culture Change The Cultural Framework for Modern Protest The French Revolution Marxist Impact on Twentieth-Century Revolution Communism and Culture in China Conclusion: Culture Change and Protest 5 Organizations and Culture Change Some Classic Cases: Installing Bureaucratic and Industrial Cultures Contemporary Cases: New Issues of Organizational Culture Change Conclusion 6 Health and the Body The Impact of Cultural Medicalization A First Example: Culture Change, Hygiene, and Smell The Curious Case of Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century: Medicalization at an Extreme Medicalization and Death: The Most Significant Culture Change Culture Change and the Battle Against Fat More Recent Trends: The Ongoing Process of Cultural Medicalization Conclusion: The Several Sides of Cultural Medicalization 7 Emotion, the Family, and Culture Change A More Personal Scale Illustrating Changes in Emotional Culture Emotional Culture and the Family The Comparative Context: A Final Challenge Conclusion: Culture Change and Emotional Life 8 Culture Contacts and Culture Change Latin America: A Classic Case “British” India Cultural Globalization: Change and Resistance Conclusion: Contact, Tolerance, and Culture Change 9 Prejudice and Acceptance Culture Change and Social Hierarchies A Warm-up: The Neglected History of Left-handers The Nature of Women Attacking India’s Caste System Gay Rights A Final Frontier? Rights for the Disabled Conclusion: Culture Change and Prejudice Conclusion Where Can We Go from Here? Key Targets NOTES FURTHER READING INDEX