A Cultural History of Work in the Age of Empire Volume 5

Winner of the 2020 PROSE Award for Multivolume Reference/Humanities The period 1800–1920 was one in which work processes were dramatically transformed by mechanization, factory system, the abolition of the guilds, the integration of national markets and expansion into overseas colonies. While some continued to work in trades that were similar to those of their parents and grandparents, increasing numbers of workers found their workplace and work processes changed, often in ways that were beyond their control. Workers employed a variety of means to protest these changes, from machine-breaking to strikes to migration. This period saw the rise of the labor union and the working-class political party. It was also a time during which ideas about work changed dramatically. Work came to be seen as a source of pride, progress and even liberation, and workers garnered increased interest from writers and artists. This volume explores the multi-faceted experience of workers during the Age of Empire. A Cultural History of Work in the Age of Empire presents an overview of the period with essays on economies, representations of work, workplaces, work cultures, technology, mobility, society, politics and leisure. How has our relationship with 'work' changed for different cultures over the centuries? What effect has it had on politics, art and religion? In a work that spans 2,500 years these ambitious questions are addressed by 63 experts, each contributing their overview of a theme applied to a period in history. With the help of a broad range of case material they illustrate broad trends and nuances of the culture of work in Western culture from antiquity to the present. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole, and to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. --From publisher's description 1. The economy of work -- 2. Picturing work -- 3. Work and workplaces -- 4. Workplace culture -- 5. Work, skill, and technology -- 6. Work and mobility -- 7. Work and society -- 8. The Political culture of work -- 9. Work and leisure