Overview

A global survey of Christianity and sexuality for the early modern period. Merry Wiesner-Hanks assesses the role of personal faith and the Church itself in the control and expression of all aspects of sexuality. The book ranges over developments within Europe and beyond, to the European colonies which were establishing themselves around the world. Christian missionaries, rituals and structures accompanied all of the imperial powers and the control of the sexuality of both indigenous peoples and colonists was an essential part of policy. The book is introduced with a clear, original and engaging account of the central concepts in the study of sexuality in Christianity, such as shame, sin, the body, marriage and gender. Drawing on diverse evidence including literary, medical and historical sources, the following sections chart changes in Western Christianity in the Late Middle Ages: Protestantism and Catholicism in Europe; orthodoxy in Eastern Europe and Russia; and finally the Spanish, Portuguese, English and Dutch colonies. The book includes discursive bibliographies which discuss major books and articles at the end of each chapter.

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9780415144339

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Wiesner-Hanks has accomplished a remarkable task: she has written a highly informative and readable, even enjoyable textbook on sexuality in the early modern world.--Peter Sigal, California State University. <br> The information and coverage in this book reveal the learnedness of its author and provide both teachers and studnets with an indispensable introductory perspective on early modern European Christain colonial relations and their effects in the domain of sexuality. This text will prove enormously valuable in the classroom.--Carla Freccero, University of California. <br> One of the book's most valuable features is a section on Selected Further Reading following each chapter. Here the English language secondary literature is listed, organized, and commented upon. Wiesner-Hanks's obvious expertise in this vast literature, her grasp of the complexity of the subject and her sensitivity to the danger of generalizations are laudable. <br>-Religious Studies Review <br>

Wiesner-Hanks has accomplished a remarkable task: she has written a highly informative and readable, even enjoyable textbook on sexuality in the early modern world.--Peter Sigal, California State University. The information and coverage in this book reveal the learnedness of its author and provide both teachers and studnets with an indispensable introductory perspective on early modern European Christain colonial relations and their effects in the domain of sexuality. This text will prove enormously valuable in the classroom.--Carla Freccero, University of California. One of the book's most valuable features is a section on Selected Further Reading following each chapter. Here the English language secondary literature is listed, organized, and commented upon. Wiesner-Hanks's obvious expertise in this vast literature, her grasp of the complexity of the subject and her sensitivity to the danger of generalizations are laudable. -Religious Studies Review

Wiesner-Hanks has accomplished a remarkable task: she has written a highly informative and readable, even enjoyable textbook on sexuality in the early modern world.--Peter Sigal, California State University. The information and coverage in this book reveal the learnedness of its author and provide both teachers and studnets with an indispensable introductory perspective on early modern European Christain colonial relations and their effects in the domain of sexuality. This text will prove enormously valuable in the classroom.--Carla Freccero, University of California. One of the book's most valuable features is a section on Selected Further Reading following each chapter. Here the English language secondary literature is listed, organized, and commented upon. Wiesner-Hanks's obvious expertise in this vast literature, her grasp of the complexity of the subject and her sensitivity to the danger of generalizations are laudable. -Religious Studies Review

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