Reviews for Presbyterianism in the Colonies; With Special Reference to the Principles and Influence of t...

The average rating for Presbyterianism in the Colonies; With Special Reference to the Principles and Influence of t... based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-01-13 00:00:00 Mila Paskaleva A compelling look at what the forces of conservative counter-reaction meant for the women of German-occupied France. Muel-Dreyfus looks at how institutional France, confronted with the socio-political calamity of defeat at the hands of Nazi Germany, conspired to place blame for the collapse at the feet of women and the interwar growth of feminine political liberation. The most fascinating aspects of the book for me were the ways in which social trends one would reflexively think (wish) to be consigned to the dustbin of history (the unsuitability of women for education or the professional classes, the return of women to the home, the reduction of women's social role to one that is biologically determined and immutable) can actually be read forward to today. As she asks in her conclusion, "So, was Vichy a parenthesis? Can moments of social regression be understood as unavoidable stages whose effects are ultimately of little importance with respect to the historical evolution viewed over a longer period? This would be to forget that such moments of reaction can always be resurrected because legitimate feminine identity is constantly an issue of struggles that mobilize, for diverse reasons, antagonistic social groups, institutions with diverging interests, and agents committed to defending opposing worldviews whose vision of the feminine is central: it is always a subject of conflict, and the conflict is not limited to periods of violence." One can't help but wonder if part of the reason we seem to be re-litigating the issues of abortion and the extent to which women should be allowed to make their own reproductive choices in America today is because we currently face a social calamity of our own--albeit one of economic origin--that is undermining our national sense of self and our place in the world. A bit too reliant on academic jargon in places (the phrase "symbolic violence" is tossed around with some frequency), though that may be the inevitable result of reading it in translation, but otherwise very readable. The paternalism emanating from the texts she cites is jaw-dropping, and must be read to be believed.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-08-20 00:00:00 Peter Flanagan None