Working out Gender brings together leading scholars and young researchers to examine the various ways in which gender is currently being used in labour history.
Working out Gender brings together leading scholars and young researchers to examine the various ways in which gender is currently being used in labour history. Having been a dynamic and contentious category of historical analysis since the mid 1980s gender continues to incite much debate. This volume seeks a more informed view about labour history both by advancing the position of women and making their lives central to learning and by examining men as gendered persons and discussing the social construction of masculinity. A broad perspective of labour history is scrutinised on both sides of the Atlantic, though the emphasis is given to European experiences. Themes examined include work and workplace activities, the working classes, masculinity and politics, and the timespan ranges from the eighteenth century to recent times.
'This is an excellent collection of papers, challenging, controversial and on occasions contradictory that makes a valuable contribution to reshaping labour history so that it is capable of understanding women, men and work.' Teaching History '...publication in a collected form is fully warranted: all the authors have something new to say, and most in a stimulating way.' The English Historical Review, vol. CXV. no. 464 '... an excellent collection... there is a substantial amount of cutting edge research on display.' Labor History, Vol. 41 '... this volume illustrates well how "working out gender" can breathe new life into labour history by charting new directions, as well as forging multi-layered analyses.' Labour History Review 'Walsh's imaginative collection of essays amalgamates the work of 'old' and 'new' scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, offers nuanced reinterpretations of traditional concerns of labour history, and suggests innovative ways in which gender can be made more central to the subject.' Economic History review LIV No1
