Fear in the German-Speaking World, 1600–2000

About the Author

Peter N. Stearns is Professor Emeritus in the Dept of History at George Mason University. His most recent publications include, as author, Cultural Change in Modern World History (Bloomsbury, 2018), Peacebuilding Through Dialogue (Virginia, 2018), Shame: A Brief History (Illinois, 2017), Sexuality in World History, Ed.II (Routledge, 2017), The Industrial Revolution in World History Ed.IV (Westview, 2016), Globalization in World History, Ed.II (Routledge, 2016), Childhood in World History, Ed.III (Routledge, 2016), The Industrial Turn in World History (Routledge, 2016), Gender in World History (Routledge, 2015), Debating the Industrial Revolution (Bloomsbury, 2015); and as editor, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World: 1750 to the Present (Oxford, 2008).

Michael Pickering has published in the fields of media studies, social and cultural history, and the sociology of art and culture. His recent books include Blackface Minstrelsy in Britain (2008/2016); Research Methods for Cultural Studies (2008); The Mnemonic Imagination (2012), Photography, Music and Memory, and Memory and the Management of Change, co-written with Emily Keightley; Research Methods for Memory Studies (2013); and Rhythms of Labour: Music at Work in Britain (2013), co-written with Marek Korczynski and Emma Robertson.

Susan J. Matt is Presidential Distinguished Professor of History at Weber State University, USA. She is author of Keeping Up with the Joneses: Envy in American Consumer Society, 1890-1930 and Homesickness: An American History, and co-author with Luke Fernandez of Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Changing Feelings about Technology from the Telegraph to Twitter. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Journal of American History.

Product Description

This book addresses the nature and role of fear in the German world from the early modern period through to the 20th century. Offering the first collection that centres fear in the historical analysis of central Europe since 1600, these essays demonstrate the importance of emotional experience to the study of the past.

Fear has been at the centre of many of the most important historical events in this region; witch hunts, religious conflicts, invasions and ultra-nationalism in the form of the Nazi regime. This book explores ways in which fear was understood, developed and negotiated throughout these historical contexts, and how people of the German world coped with it. From the fear of vampires to the loss of national sovereignty, pestilence, gypsies and criminals, Fear in the German Speaking World 1600-2000 draws connections between cases over a period of 400 years and considers fear alongside the history of emotions more generally. In doing so, the chapters reveal a complex, evolving construction of fear that is universally human, but also dependent upon its cultural and historical context.

Review

“Hugely ambitious, wide-ranging, and compelling account of the changing cultural meanings of fears and, most importantly, their impact on history.” ―Joanna Bourke, Professor of History, Birkbeck, University of London, UK

“This persuasive and carefully-constructed volume makes a strong affirmative case for the importance of fear, and of emotions more generally, in the study of German-speaking Central Europe. Broad in scope and chronology, these essays will appeal to readers interested German and European history.” ―Adam Seipp, Professor of History and Associate Department Head, Texas A&M University, US