The European Family

This is a concise, yet wide–ranging, history of the family in Europe from antiquity to the present day. It examines the effects on domestic life of key social, political and economic developments in European history, including the coming of Christianity; feudalism; the Renaissance; the Reformation; and most significantly, the Industrial Revolution. Goody sets his analysis in a broad comparative perspective, drawing examples from across the continent. He not only shows the experiences of regions within Europe differed at stages, but also highlights how the European experience paralleled and contrasted with that of other parts of the world, such as Africa and Asia. He asks whether the European family had any differentiating characteristics, and explores why such features might have developed over time. The final two chapters focus on the theory and practice of contemporary family life. The examine the facts behind claims that contemporary society is witnessing a so–calling ′break–down′ of traditional family structures, and discuss the changes to accepted ′norms′ in domestic groups. The myths and realities of family life at the end of the twentieth century are contextualised within the discussions of earlier developments, giving an unusual and stimulating historical perspective on this key aspect of contemporary European society.

Series Editors Preface. Preface. 1. The Beginnings. 2. The Heritage of Greece and Rome. 3. The Coming of Christianity. 4. The German Lands. 5. The European Patterns and Medieval Regimes. 6. Women, Children and Fathers in the Reformation and Counter–Reformation. 7. Dowry and the Rights of Women. 8. The Differences. 9. Proto and Full Industrialization. 10. Modernization and the Family: The Theories. 11. The Contemporary Family in Practice. Notes. Glossary. Bibliography. Selected Reading. Index.

Jack Goody is a Fellow of St John′s College, Cambridge, and was William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at Cambridge from 1973 to 1985. He has written extensively on the family, memory, ritual, and literacy, in a wide variety of regional and historical contexts. His many books include Death, Property and the Ancestors (1962), The Domestication of the Savage Mind (1977), The Development of the Family and Marriage in Europe (1983), The East and West (1996), Representations and Contradictions (Blackwell, 1997) and Food and Love (1999).

"Goody′s writing is always focused, concise to the point of economy, and never driven by a particular ideology or by political correctness. This is a book that stimulates the reader to take a long view of the family and one that counsels wisely against making generalisations and jumping to simple conclusions about the past." The Times Higher Education Supplement <!––end––> "Jack Goody has a well–deserved reputation for pithy analysis and breathtaking international comparisons ... The book is filled with seasoned insights and shrewd observations." Population and Development Review "Highly recommended for those who seek a broad, if polemical, history of the family." CHOICE