Identity and Agency in England, 1500–1800

J. Barry, H. French, J. Barry, H. French

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2004
• Print ISBN: 9781403917645
• eBook ISBN: 9780230523104
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

This collection of essays is arranged around the central issue raised by a raft of new empirical research - the relationship between social identity, or the 'vision of the self', and the ways in which this can explain historical agency. If identities in early modern society were multiple, complex, and dependent on context, rather than homogenous, consistent, or easily determined, then it is difficult to make simple causal links to behaviour. This collection aims to make innovative new research on the structures of English society available to the wider scholarly audience. The essays use a number of detailed contextual case studies to explore the twin themes of the nature of identities in early modern society, and their role in influencing historical agency. They examine the variety of identities available to individuals in early modern England, and the ways in which these were invoked and employed.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figure
• Preface and Acknowledgements
• Notes on Contributors
• ‘Identity and Agency in English Society, 1500–1800’ – Introduction
• 1 Civility, Honesty and the Identification of the Deserving Poor in Seventeenth-century England
• 2 Social Inequality, Identity and the Labouring Poor in Eighteenth-century England
• 3 Honesty, Worth and Gender in Early Modern England, 1560–1640
• 4 A Dynamic Model of Social Relations: Celibacy, Credit and the Identity of the ‘Spinster’ in Seventeenth-century England
• 5 Class and Credit: Social Identity, Wealth and the Life Course in Early Modern England
• 6 Sense and Singularity: The Social Experiences of John Marsh and Thomas Stutterd in Late-Georgian England
• 7 Agency, Custom, and the English Corporate System
• Bibliography
• Index