Elections,
Mass Politics, and Social Change in Modern Germany: New Perspectives
Edited by
Larry Eugene Jones and James Retallack
Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press,
cloth 1992, paperback 2002
The contributions
here address German political culture, broadly conceived, from the Kaiserreich
to the Third Reich from a variety of perspectives, reflecting the eclectic
trends in the current historiography of modern Germany: heavily empirical and
quantitative pieces, for example, sit side by side with contributions utilizing
post-structural analytical techniques. Detailed case studies are juxtaposed
with attempts to address broad trends and the national electorate. As a whole,
the collection aims to conceive of politics more broadly, through the lenses of
gender, generation, region, locality, language, and religion. [M]ore than one
essay [offers] a new or expanded definition of politics to include social space
and arenas where the interaction between the social and political may occur,
suggesting the possibility of a more inclusive history of mass politics. These
are major issues which point to exciting and innovatory research in the future.
– Lynn Abrams, European History Quarterly 25, no. 1
(January 1995): 135-6.
[T]here can be
little doubt that the focus of many historians of modern Germany on social
history, the history of everyday life (Alltagsgeschichte), and cultural history has tended to shove
to the side the arena of elections and politics. However, this volume
unabashedly brings the political back and clearly indicates that the study of
elections and politics is alive and well in Germany, Britain, and United
States. Indeed, the range of methodological approaches included in this book is
what makes it a particularly important contribution: it insists that there can
be many different responses to old questions and that other new questions must
be asked if we are to have a complete understanding of what constitutes
politics.
– Robert G. Moeller, Journal of Social History (Fall 1994): 203-4.
This well-produced
and thoughtfully edited collection comprises the majority of contributions
presented during a 1990 conference at the University of Toronto.... [Of the]
papers in this volume, most are theoretically sophisticated and almost all
highly original in the material they present.
– Lawrence D. Stokes, Canadian Journal of History 29 (April 1994): 226-9.
This information is provided by the Department of History at the
University of Toronto.
All contents © 2001-2021 James
Retallack and the University of Toronto.
Photo by Pam Fulford. All rights reserved.
Last Updated: 1 November 2021.