GLOBAL TEMPERANCE AND THE BALKANS : american missionaries, swiss scientists and bulgarian ... socialists, 1870-1940

This book examines the local manifestation of the global temperance movement in the Balkans. It argues that regional histories of social movements in the modern period could not be sufficiently understood in isolation. Moreover, the book argues that broad transformations of social movements – for example, the power centers associated with moral/religious temperance and the later, scientifically based anti-alcohol campaigns – are more easily identifiable through a detailed regional study. For this purpose, the book begins by sketching the historical development as well as the main historiographical themes surrounding the worldwide temperance movement. The book then zooms in on the movement in the Balkans and Bulgaria in particular. American missionaries founded the temperance movement in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The interwar period, however, witnessed the proliferation of new, professional organizations. The book discusses the various branches as well as their international and political affiliations, showing that the anti-alcohol reform movement was one of the most important social movements in the region. Acknowledgments 5 Contents 7 List of Figures 8 Chapter 1: Introduction: Temperance and the Palimpsest of Global History 10 Palimpsest of Global History 10 Temperance in the Balkans: Context, Materials and Framework of the Study 17 Overview of the Chapters 24 Chapter 2: A Global Imaginaire: Fighting Alcohol Around the World 27 Introduction 27 Conduits of Temperance and Global History from the Periphery 30 Labor, Class and Temperance 37 Early Women’s Movements, Gender and Temperance 43 Colonialism, Anti-colonialism and Temperance 48 Global Imaginaire 58 Conclusion 65 Chapter 3: Missionaries: The Rise and Fall of Protestant Temperance in the Balkans 67 Introduction 67 Drinking in the Balkans 68 Alcohol Consumption and Independence 76 American Missionaries in the Balkans 83 The Rise and Fall of Evangelical Temperance in Bulgaria 91 Temperance and Gender 100 Conclusion 104 Chapter 4: Scientists: Degeneration, Eugenics and the Scientific Approach to Alcoholism in Interwar Bulgaria 107 Introduction 107 Fundraising and Base 108 Medicalization, Scientification and the Word of the Gospel 115 Temperance and Social Hygiene 121 Eugenics, Racial Poisons and Temperance 131 Conclusion 141 Chapter 5: The Youth Temperance Movement 143 Introduction 143 Childhood, Science and Curriculum 145 Children’s and Youth Activities in the Protestant Temperance Campaigns 153 New Institutions and New Activities 156 Youth Temperance and Public Culture: Literature, Plays and Dances 161 Conclusion 167 Chapter 6: Socialists: The Politics of Temperance 169 Introduction 169 Race and Racial hygiene in the 1930s 170 Politics, Policies and Clashes 176 Countercurrents and the State 189 Conclusion 201 Chapter 7: Visual Histories: Intermediality in Temperance Campaigns 203 Introduction 203 The Alcohol Serpent 205 Interactive Readership and Visual Culture 213 Conclusion 219 Chapter 8: Conclusion 221 Index 226 Front Matter ....Pages i-x Introduction: Temperance and the Palimpsest of Global History (Nikolay Kamenov)....Pages 1-17 A Global Imaginaire: Fighting Alcohol Around the World (Nikolay Kamenov)....Pages 19-58 Missionaries: The Rise and Fall of Protestant Temperance in the Balkans (Nikolay Kamenov)....Pages 59-98 Scientists: Degeneration, Eugenics and the Scientific Approach to Alcoholism in Interwar Bulgaria (Nikolay Kamenov)....Pages 99-134 The Youth Temperance Movement (Nikolay Kamenov)....Pages 135-160 Socialists: The Politics of Temperance (Nikolay Kamenov)....Pages 161-194 Visual Histories: Intermediality in Temperance Campaigns (Nikolay Kamenov)....Pages 195-212 Conclusion (Nikolay Kamenov)....Pages 213-217 Back Matter ....Pages 219-223