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Title: Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914 by Eugene Weber ISBN: 0-8047-1013-9 Publisher: Stanford University Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1979 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: For students of nationalism, French history, sociology
Comment: Wonderful reading, but this is a lengthy book. . .adressing so many important aspects about French peasant society. It was written in a time when advanced students were expected to know French, so it may present some difficulty to those without the knowledge or a dictionary handy, assuming one wants to understand the quotations, samples of poetry, song, or colloquial dialogue. It is not of major consequence to understand the book, but it might be a little annoying to someone without an intimate grasp of French.
Since there are great content reviews already, I will not add anything more than the tips above. Overall, this is a book rich in facts and will certainly prove a welcome addition to the library of any advanced student or scholar in this subject area.
Rating: 5
Summary: Outstanding Social History
Comment: This superb book traces the modernization of rural France in the last quarter of the 19th century. The book is divided into 3 parts; descriptions of traditional rural France, analysis of the agents of change, and discussion of how changes took place. This book is about both material changes and the parallel changes in psychology that were part of and the result of modernization in France. The emphasis is not primarily on economic statistics but on the day to day life and psychology of rural France. This book provides real insight into the mentality of French peasants and how this mentality was transformed from parochial self-conceptions and accompanying insular social organization to conceptions of French nationality and conscious membership in French society. For example, in the mid-19th century, a large number of Frenchmen did not speak French but rather a variety of regional languages. Expansion of the national economy, mandatory primary education, and other forces would eventually destroy local languages and produce a more homogenous French speaking nation. Weber demonstrates convincingly that this process took place relatively rapidly, focused in the years between the Franco-Prussian War and WWI. While this is a very thick and scholarly book, the quality of writing is excellent and the book is packed with entertaining and revealing anecdotal information.
It is clear that the process of modernization was accompanied by loss of regional cultural distinctions and languages. This cultural homogenization is perhaps regrettable but was an inevitable part of a process that resulted also in higher standards of living, greater individual freedom, and several other benefits. For example, Weber reminds us that in much of traditional rural France, seasonal hunger was common and famine a real possibility. By the end of the 19th century, famine was a vague memory and seasonal hunger largely banished. Similarly, modernization was accompanied by a fall in violence against persons, less child abuse, and weakening of overbearing patriarchial family structure.
This book has a couple of interesting resonances. The period covered by this book is also the height of European Imperialism. As Weber points out, the processes of modernization in rural France were identical to the processes of colonialization. Indeed, the modernization of rural France in the late 19th century can been seen as the final phase of the conquest of France by the region around Paris, a process that began with the Albigensian crusade in the 13th century. Ii is conventional today to depict European Imperialism as the result of the tremendous racism of that time. Yet, the modernization of rural France was essentially the same process carried out against fellow Frenchmen. This fact points out that the relationship between racism and imperialism is more complicated than commonly depicted.
Another interesting resonance relates to the recent tendency of French intellectuals and politicians to denounce the creeping 'Americanization' of French culture. These individuals like to present themselves as guardians as ancient cultural traditions. Yet, many, if not all of these traditions originate in the 19th century. Hardly ancient, and you can argue that American traditions are at least as old. Further, where modern French culture was to a large extent imposed by the coercive acts of the French government, 'Americanization' is the result of free consumer choice.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent study!
Comment: Eugen Weber has given us an excellent account of the rural countryside of France, 1870-1914. He gives plenty of detail and clearly shows how France has leaped into the modern world. It is a well written and provides the reader with a comprehensive picture of the early stages of modern France. The title is excellently chosen and reflects the true essence of the work. I would suggest this book to anyone who is interested in demographics, sociology, or history in general. It is a nice read! :)
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Title: Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany by Rogers Brubaker ISBN: 0674131789 Publisher: Harvard University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1994 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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Title: Nations and Nationalism by Ernest Gellner ISBN: 0801492637 Publisher: Cornell University Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 1983 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Making of the English Working Class by E. P. Thompson ISBN: 0394703227 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 March, 1966 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Benedict Anderson ISBN: 0860915468 Publisher: Verso Pub. Date: 01 July, 1991 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: The Making of the Modern Family by Edward Shorter ISBN: 0465097227 Publisher: Perseus Book Group Pub. Date: 01 August, 1977 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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