Consumerism and the emergence of the middle class in Colonial America : the genteel revolution

Summary: "This interdisciplinary study presents compelling evidence for a revolutionary idea: that to understand the historical entrenchment of gentility in America, we must understand its creation among non-elite people: colonial middling sorts who laid the groundwork for the later American middle class. Focusing on the daily life of Widow Elizabeth Pratt, a shopkeeper from early eighteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, Christina J. Hodge uses material remains as a means of reconstructing not only how Mrs Pratt lived, but also how these objects reflect shifting class and gender relationships in this period. Challenging the 'emulation thesis', a common assumption that wealthy elites led fashion and culture change while middling sorts only followed, Hodge shows how middling consumers were in fact discerning cultural leaders, adopting genteel material practices early and aggressively. By focusing on the rise and emergence of the middle class, this book brings new insights into the evolution of consumerism, class, and identity in colonial America"--

Record details

ISBN: 9781107034396
ISBN: 1107034396
ISBN: 9781322066196
ISBN: 9781139922289
ISBN: 9781139906685
ISBN: 9781139540612
ISBN: 1322066191
ISBN: 1139922289
ISBN: 1139906682
ISBN: 1139540610
Physical Description: 1 online resource (xxii, 247 pages) : illustrations
remote
Computer data.
Publisher: New York : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Content descriptions

General Note:	CatMonthString.july.23 Multi-User.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Preface: vivent les revolutions -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Consuming contexts -- 3. Living spaces -- 4. At table -- 5. Keeping the shop -- 6. Legacies of the genteel revolution.
Type of Computer File or Data Note:	Text (HTML), electronic book.
System Details Note:	Mode of access: Internet.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Note:	Access requires VIU IP addresses and is restricted to VIU students, faculty and staff. Access restricted by subscription.
Issuing Body Note:	Made available online by EBSCO.
Source of Description Note:	Print version record.