A Cultural History of Childhood and Family presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. This set of six volumes covers 2800 years of history, charting the cultural, social, economic, religious, medical and political changes in domestic life.


1. A Cultural History of Childhood and Family in Antiquity Edited by Mary Harlow and Ray Laurence, both University of Birmingham
2. A Cultural History of Childhood and Family in the Middle Ages Edited by Louise J. Wilkinson, Canterbury Christ Church University
3. A Cultural History of Childhood and Family in the Early Modern Age Edited by Sandra Cavallo, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Silvia Evangelisti, University of East Anglia
4. A Cultural History of Childhood and Family in the Age of Enlightenment Edited by Elizabeth Foyster, University of Cambridge, and James Marten, Marquette University, Milwaukee
5. A Cultural History of Childhood and Family in the Age of Empire Edited by Colin Heywood, University of Nottingham
6. A Cultural History of Childhood and Family in the Modern Age Edited by Joseph M. Hawes, University of Memphis, and N. Ray Hiner, University of Kansas


Each volume discusses the same themes in its chapters: 1. Family Relationships; 2; Community; 3. Economy; 4. Geography and the Environment; 5. Education; 6. Life Cycle; 7. The State; 8. Faith and Religion; 9. Health and Science; 10. World Contexts.

This means readers can either have a broad overview of a period by reading a volume or follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume. Well illustrated, the full six volume set combines to present the most authoritative and comprehensive survey available on family and childhood through history.
About the Author:

Joseph M. Hawes is Professor Emeritus at the University of Memphis. His most recent works include Family and Society in American History and Family in American Society: an Encyclopedia.

N. Ray Hiner is Professor Emeritus of History and Education at the University of Kansas.

Together they are co-editors of Growing Up in America: Children in Historical Perspective; American Childhood: A Research Guide and Historical Handbook; and Children in Historical and Comparative Perspective: An International Handbook and Research Guide.