Literacy and society in the west, 1500–1850∗

Houston, R. A.

doi:10.1080/03071028308567568

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…No simple summary of that richness is possible here (see Graft, 1981a, in press;Houston, 1983). No simple summary of that richness is possible here (see Graft, 1981a, in press;Houston, 1983).…”

Section: An Agenda For the Third Generationmentioning

confidence: 98%

The history of literacy: Toward the third generation

Graff

1986

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The history of literacy as a regular, significant, and sometimes central concern for historians seems in 1985 firmly established. As the inclusion of an article on the history of literacy in a special commemorative issue such as this suggests, the active thrust and exceptional growth in historical literacy studies over the past decade and a half has propelled the subject to prominence.Prominence, of course, has been to enormous benefit, inside the academy and on occasion beyond its walls. Nevertheless, this significant body of scholarship demands attention more broadly: both in terms of what it may contribute to other researchers and in terms of the persisting needs for interdisciplinary cooperation and constructive criticism. For example, historical literary studies have been marked by their attention to quantitative data and issues of measurement. As important as that emphasis has been to initial advances, it has also become a limitation to new conceptualizations and interpretations.My principal concern here is the present state of historical literacy studies, which I consider to be at something of an "awkward age." That I should sense this aspect of the moment is perhaps not surprising, for historical studies in general, after almost two decades of proliferating "new histories," are themselves in an awkward age. The recent appearance of a hefty number of books and articles surveying the state of the craft, searching for trends, and sometimes proposing new emphases and directions underscores this condition: for example, Stone's call for a retreat from social scientific and quantitative studies, hopes for "new narratives," attacks on social history, among many others.1 As the history of literacy joins the historiographical mainstream, it faces similar challenges and questions. Educational research offers a parallel situation, and literacy students sit, more or less uncomfortably, between the two disciplines. Literacy studies, though, may be an exceptional case: for example, the distinction between quantities and qualities, to use one dichotomy, exacerbates all questions of interpretation and meaning. Here, the quantitative record no matter how essential to literacy's complete study and no matter how cleverly exploited, may have inherent limits at least as severe as those in other areas of historical or educational analysis. 2 I referred to "an awkward age" for the historical study of literacy. My temptation is to conceive of the field's development in terms of individual life courses or cycles, at least metaphorically, and to posit the present situation as one of late adolescence or youthfulness. I do think, however, that a generational perspective is more accurate than that of the life cycle; in these terms, we might conceive of three modern generations of historical literacy studies.

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Section: An Agenda For the Third Generationmentioning

confidence: 98%

The history of literacy: Toward the third generation

Graff

1986

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“…The functional importance, for specific religions, of achieving literacy in order to read religious writings is one of the mechanisms highlighted in the literature: indeed during the sixteenth century, first in Protestant areas and then, albeit to a lesser extent, in Catholic ones, learning how to read has been increasingly included as part of religious instruction. In the same regions, religious authorities have progressively encouraged the development of girls' schools and formal teaching opportunities for girls (Houston 1983;Wiesner 2000). In the context of nineteenth-century Prussia, Protestantism has been established as one of the religions which had a greatest impact on girls' education, precisely because of its more pronounced stress on the individual study of the Bible both for boys and girls, while Catholicism in the same context had generally relied more heavily on oral communication of religious dicta (sermons) (Becker and Woessmann 2008;Bertocchi 2011).…”

Section: Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Gaps in Education

Bertocchi

Bozzano

2020

Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics

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This chapter reviews the growing body of research in economics which concentrates on the education gender gap and its evolution, over time and across countries. The survey first focuses on gender differentials in the historical period that roughly goes from 1850 to the 1940s and documents the deep determinants of the early phase of female education expansion, including preindustrial conditions, religion, and family and kinship patterns. Next, the survey describes the stylized

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“…For Scotland, see Houston 1982Houston 1985. For surveys of the approach, see Houston 1983;Houston 1991;Houston 2011. 9 Ogilvie and Küpker 2015, 22-4, 40, 63, 66. the transmission of "useful knowledge" of scientific, engineering, technological, and commercial practices which could have contributed to European economic growth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economically relevant human capital or multi-purpose consumption good? Book ownership in pre-modern Württemberg

Ogilvie

Edwards

Küpker

2022

Explorations in Economic History

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Human capital is widely regarded as central to economic growth but historical analyses find no causal link between standard literacy indicators and economic development. Book consumption has been proposed as an alternative indicator which has the advantage of measuring economically relevant human capital. We investigate this possibility using individual-level data from a German region between 1610 and 1900. Book ownership was widespread in this society from an early date. But multivariate analysis reveals that the relationship between book ownership and signatures, the standard literacy measure, differed substantially across time-periods, locations, and social groups. Book consumption was associated with other variablestime, gender, urbanization, migration status, and wealth -in ways inconsistent with its having conveyed the "useful knowledge" of industrial and commercial matters emphasized as the way books might have measured economically relevant human capital. Book consumption is interesting in its own right and casts light on important aspects of the preferences of pre-modern economic agents, but cannot serve as an indicator of human capital for historical analyses of economic growth.

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Literacy and society in the west, 1500–1850∗

Cited by 18 publications

References 37 publications

The history of literacy: Toward the third generation

The history of literacy: Toward the third generation

Gender Gaps in Education

Economically relevant human capital or multi-purpose consumption good? Book ownership in pre-modern Württemberg

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