TY - BOOK ID - 22738963 TI - A Very Social Time : Crafting Community in Antebellum New England PY - 1994 SN - 0520084748 0520205618 0585249717 0520917952 9780520917958 9780585249711 PB - Berkeley ; Los Angeles, California : University of California Press, DB - UniCat KW - New England KW - Social life and customs KW - Women KW - History KW - 19th century KW - NON-CLASSIFIABLE. KW - New England. KW - Human females KW - Wimmin KW - Woman KW - Womon KW - Womyn KW - Females KW - Human beings KW - Femininity KW - Social life and customs. KW - Women. KW - anecdotal. KW - antebellum new england life. KW - autobiographies. KW - black and white. KW - challenges conventional notions of gender roles. KW - diaries. KW - half century before civil war. KW - historical research and sociological interpretation. KW - letters. KW - men and women. KW - men to public realm. KW - narrative of new englands working class. KW - women to private realm. UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:22738963 AB - Karen Hansen's richly anecdotal narrative explores the textured community lives of New England's working women and men--both white and black--n the half century before the Civil War. Her use of diaries, letters, and autobiographies brings their voices to life, making this study an extraordinary combination of historical research and sociological interpretation. Hansen challenges conventional notions that women were largely relegated to a private realm and men to a public one. A third dimension--the social sphere--also existed and was a critical meeting ground for both genders. In the social worlds of love, livelihood, gossip, friendship, and mutual assistance, working people crossed ideological gender boundaries. The book's rare collection of original writings reinforces Hansen's arguments and also provides an intimate glimpse into antebellum New England life. ER -