A Cultural History of Hair

The definitive overview of hair in history, this ground-breaking scholarly work presents nearly 3000 years of hair in culture and examines diverse topics such as gender, ethnicity, morality, status, hygiene, eroticism and belief.

“A thick, tangled and deliciously idiosyncratic history of hair.” Times Literary Supplement

How have our attitudes to hair changed over time? In what ways have new technologies influenced hair-related practices and beliefs? Is hair just about fashion or does it express social, spiritual, and cultural meanings?

In a work that spans nearly 3,000 years these ambitious questions are addressed by 60 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 trends and nuances of the culture of hair in Western societies from ancient times to the present. Volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole, and to make the set as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the reader the choice to gain an overview of a period by reading one volume, or to follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume.

The six volumes cover: 1 – Antiquity (600 BCE to 800 CE); 2 – Middle Ages (800 to 1450); 3 –Renaissance (1450 to 1650); 4 – Age of Enlightenment (1650 to 1800); 5 – Age of Empire (1800 to 1920); 6 – Modern Age (1920 to 2000+).

Themes (and chapter titles) are: Religion and Ritualized Belief; Self and Society; Fashion and Adornment; Production and Practice; Health and Hygiene; Gender and Sexuality; Race and Ethnicity; Class and Social Status; and Cultural Representations.

The page extent for the pack is approximately 1,800pp. Each volume opens with Notes on Contributors and an Introduction and concludes with Notes, Bibliography, and an Index.

The Cultural Histories Series
A Cultural History of Hair is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available both as printed hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully-searchable digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com).