Poverty in Modern Europe

Spaces, Localities, Institutions

Susanne Hahn editor Andreas Gestrich editor Elisabeth Grüner editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:28th Jul '22

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Poverty in Modern Europe cover

Poverty in Modern Europe explores the spatial dimensions of poverty in nineteenth and twentieth-century Europe. Its essays focus on a variety of regional, local, and institutional settings and apply different approaches and methods, such as micro history, historical geography, network analysis, and the study of political and academic expert discourses. They are grouped into four sections. The first concentrates on the question of how it was that within the same national legal framework, poverty could be administered and experienced so differently at regional and local levels. Although the discussion of 'welfare regionalism' has been accepted as an important perspective in both the social sciences and social history, it has not resulted in many comparative studies or produced a valid framework for comparisons. The following three sections ask how urban and rural spaces of poverty were constructed by political, academic, and administrative discourses and how 'localities' of poor relief were experienced by the poor. Many essays look into the spatial dimensions of processes of inclusion and exclusion. They examine the role played by institutions (such as workhouses) and by social networks (such as families and neighbourhoods), and are particularly interested in what has frequently, albeit not uncontroversially, been termed the 'agency' of the poor and its spatial dimensions. The volume tests different approaches in different countries and suggests a number of aspects and yardsticks to consider when comparing regional or local differences. While the main geographical focus is on English-speaking and German-speaking Europe, the volume also contains comparative perspectives on France and Russia.

[The stories are] Fascinating and, collectively, provide an essential contribution to our understanding of poverty and welfare in modern Europe. In sum, this is yet another triumph for the German Historical Institute in London. * Peter Jones, University Of Glasgow, Family & Community History *

ISBN: 9780192867841

Dimensions: 222mm x 145mm x 35mm

Weight: 780g

375 pages