A Polite and Enlightened London
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8957875 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rosalind Carr (0000-0001-5083-4298, University of East London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 623-634 |
| Publication date | 2016-03-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Historical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-246X • E-ISSN: 1469-5103 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0018246x16000042 |
| OpenAlex | W2313659718 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 11 |
The character of eighteenth-century English society remains a subject of debate, and diverse perspectives are particularly pronounced when it comes to the cultural influence and power of politeness. The monographs discussed below all engage with politeness in different ways. Emma Major and Sarah Apetrei explore the means by which polite culture facilitated female cultural agency, and thus follow Lawrence Klein's call to comprehend the lived experience of politeness. Taking a different tack, Simon Dickie and Vic Gatrell reject the idea that politeness enjoyed the cultural dominance ascribed to it by Klein and other historians. In Ildiko Csengei's study, the narrative of an emergent civility is challenged through an analysis of sensibility's ‘darker side’. This move towards an acceptance of the power of the impolite in British culture is also explored by Faramerz Dabhoiwala, who emphasizes the power of the liberated male libertine, and broadens the scope for understanding eighteenth-century culture. Yet, an abandonment of politeness risks removing women's agency from the picture, with Major, Apetrei, and Karen O'Brien all emphasizing the importance of the feminine to politeness and virtue; in O'Brien's case, in the context of Enlightenment concepts of civility, where the feminine symbolized progress and refinement
Aesthetics · Agency (philosophy · Archaeology · Art · Civility · Context (archaeology · Enlightenment · Epistemology · Linguistics · Literature · Politeness · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sensibility · Social science · Sociology · Virtue · Australian History and Society · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Scottish History and National Identity
The Uses of Eighteenth-Century Politeness
Rethinking Politeness in Eighteenth-Century England
Creating a Veil of Silence? Politeness and Marital Violence in the English Household
The History of Masculinity, circa 1650–1800
A Very Sensible Man’
The Century of Sex? Gender, Bodies, and Sexuality in the Long Eighteenth Century
Politeness and the Interpretation of the British Eighteenth Century
The Taming of the Duel
Occasional Politeness and Gentlemen's Laughter in 18 Th C England
Enlightenment and the Uses of Woman
Ritual Encounters
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |