ABSTRACT
This volume takes a fresh and innovative approach to the history of ideas of work, concerning perceptions, attitudes, cultures and representations of work throughout Antiquity and the medieval and early modern periods. Focusing on developments in Europe, the contributors approach the subject from a variety of angles, considering aspects of work as described in literature, visual culture, and as perceived in economic theory. As well as external views of workers the volume also looks at the meaning of work for the self-perception of various social groups, including labourers, artisans, merchants, and noblemen, and the effects of this on their self-esteem and social identity. Taking a broad chronological approach to the subject provides readers with a cutting-edge overview of research into the varying attitudes to work and its place in pre-industrial society.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |2 pages
PART 1: THE HERITAGE OF ANTIQUITY
part |2 pages
PART 2: WORK AND IDENTITIES
part |2 pages
PART 3: REPRESENTATION OF WORK IN VISUAL IMAGES AND IN LITERARY TEXTS
part |2 pages
PART 4: PERCEPTIONS OF WORK IN EARLY MODERN THEORY
part |2 pages
PART 5: PERCEPTIONS OF WORK AND LABOUR PRACTICES
part |2 pages
PART 6: DISCUSSIONS AND COMMENTS