A World Of Their Own Making: Myth, Ritual, And The Quest For Family Values - Hardcover

Gillis, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465054145 ISBN 13: 9780465054145

Verlag: Basic Books, 1996

Inhaltsangabe

Our whole society may be obsessed with "family values," but, as historian John Gillis points out in this entertaining and eye-opening narrative, most of our images of "home sweet home" are of very recent vintage. In fact, our most cherished family rituals (Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, white weddings, reunions, Father's Day, and Mother's Day) didn't even exist until the Victorian era.
A World of Their Own Making questions our idealized notion of "The Family," a mind-set in which myth and symbol still hold sway. As the families we live with become more fragile, the symbolic families we live by become more powerful. Yet it is only by accepting the notion that our rituals, myths, and images must be open to perpetual revision that we can satisfy our human needs and changing circumstances. Our families are worlds of our own making. By using the past to throw light on the present, Gillis empowers us to enjoy and accept responsibility for our own creations.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

John R. Gillis is a professor of history at Rutgers University.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Basic Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1996
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0465054145
• ISBN 13: 9780465054145
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 336
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar