Praise for the first edition:

Wiesner-Hanks ... accomplishes a near-impossible feat - a review of what is known about the construction of gender and the character of womens lives in all known cultures over the course of human history . Theoretically sophisticated and doing justice to the historical and cross-cultural record, yet assimilable by students.Choice

Gender in History brilliantly explores the influence of gender constructs in political, social, economic, and cultural affairs. The remarkable cultural, geographical, and chronological range of Wiesner-Hanks research is matched only by the sophistication, nuance, and clarity of her analysis. This book offers a rare and valuable global perspective on gender roles in human history.Jerry H. Bentley,University of Hawaii

Over the past two decades, considerations of gender have revolutionized the study of history. Yet most books on the subject remain narrowly focused on a specific time period or particular region of the world.Gender in History: Global Perspectives, Second Edition, continues to redress this inequity by providing a concise overview of the construction of gender in many world cultures over a period stretching from the Paleolithic era to modern times.

Thoroughly updated to reflect current developments in the field, the new edition features entirely new sections which address primates, slavery, colonialism,masculinity, transgender issues, and other relevant topics. As in the well-received first edition, material is presented thematically to reveal the connections between gender and structures such as the family, economy, law, religion, sexuality, and the state. Wiesner-Hanks also investigates precisely what it meant to be a man or woman throughout history; how these roles were shaped by various institutions; and how they in turn were influenced by gender. The author presents material within each chapter chronologically to highlight the ways in which gender structures have varied over time.

The new edition ofGender in History: Global Perspectives offers rich insights into all that is currently known about gender roles throughout world history.

A companion website is available at www.wiley.com/go/wiesnerhanks

Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks is a Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the author of more than twenty books which have appeared in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek, and Chinese.

Chronological Table of Contents vii

Acknowledgments viii

1 Introduction 1

Sex and Gender 2

Gender History and Theory 6

Structure of the Book 11

The Origins of Patriarchy 13

2 The Family 25

Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (4000 BCE600 BCE) 27

The Classical Cultures of China, India, and the Mediterranean (600 BCE500 CE) 29

Africa, the Americas, and Southeast Asia in the Premodern Era (600 BCE1600 CE) 33

Medieval and Early Modern Europe and the Mediterranean (500 CE1600 CE) 36

The Colonial World (15001900) 39

The Industrial and Postindustrial World (18002010) 45

3 Economic Life 55

Foraging, Horticultural, and Herding Societies (20,000 BCE1800 CE) 56

Agricultural Societies (7000 BCE1800 CE) 60

Slavery (7000 BCE1900 CE) 63

Capitalism and Industrialism (15002000) 65

Corporations, the State, and the Service Economy (19002010) 72

4 Ideas, Ideals, Norms, and Laws 83

The Nature and Roles of Men and Women 86

Binaries 91

Motherhood and Fatherhood 95

Ideologies, Norms, and Laws Prescribing Gender Inequity 98

Ideologies of Egalitarianism 100

5 Religion 109

Animism, Shamanism, and Paganism (from 40,000 BCE) 110

Written Religions in the Ancient Near East (from 3000 BCE) 113

Confucianism and Taoism (from 600 BCE) 115

Hinduism and Buddhism (from 600 BCE) 117

Christianity (from 30 CE) 121

Islam (from 600 CE) 126

6 Political Life 137

Kin Groups, Tribes, and Villages (from 10,000 BCE) 139

Hereditary Aristocracies (from 3000 BCE) 141

Warfare 147

Citizenship (500 BCE1800 CE) 151

Womens Rights Movements (18002010) 155

Colonialism, Anticolonialism, and Postcolonialism (15002010) 158

7 Education and Culture 170

Classical and Postclassical Cultures (600 BCE1450 CE) 174

The Renaissance (14001600) 178

Democracy, Modernity, and Literacy (17502010) 182

8 Sexuality 195

Classical Eurasia (600 BCE600 CE) 199

The Americas (500 CE1500 CE) 202

Third Genders 204

The Colonial World: Sex and Race (15001900) 206

Modern Sexuality in the West (17501950) 209

The Globalized World (19502010) 214

Afterword 224

Index 228