A New Approach to the History of Violence

"Sexual Assault" and "Sexual Abuse" in Europe, 1500-1850
Erscheinungsjahr 2015
ISBN: 978-90-04-29727-2
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 60, 212 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 476 g

Reihe: Studies in Central European Histories

Up to now, historical research has treated violence mainly with reference to war, murder or massacre. Francisca Loetz argues for a new, complementary approach to history of violence as an interpersonal form of social action experienced as unacceptable behavior and aiming to subjugate the victim in everyday life. Analyzing cases of what the sources call “sexual assault” and “sexual abuse” in the city state of Zurich between 1500 and 1850, Loetz discusses fundamental methodological problems such as: how can violence be defined as a concept? What makes violence what it is in a given society? Why is early modern “sexual assault” and “sexual abuse” not equivalent to modern rape and abuse? How does Zurich compare with pre-modern Europe?

Autoren/Hrsg.

Loetz, Francisca

Weitere Mitwirkende

Selle, Rosemary

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Kindesmissbrauch, Sexueller Missbrauch, Häusliche Gewalt
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface. vii
List of Tables and Diagrams. viii

1 Getting to Grips—Methodological Clarifications. 1
1.1 Between the Disciplines—Violence as a Research Problem.1
1.2 Violence—Questions of Definition. 7
1.3 “Sexual Assault” and “Sexual Abuse” in Zurich—An Example of Violence in Europe. 11
1.4 Sexualized Violence—Research Tendencies. 17
1.5 Court Records—Specific Speech Actions in Written Form. 21

2 Rape and Sexual Abuse in Zurich—Empirical Findings. 25
2.1 “Sexual Assault” and “Sexual Abuse”—Grey Areas in Medicine, Law and Theology. 25
2.2 Step by Step—On the Way to the Court. 31
2.3 Cases—Much in the Dark. 43
2.4 Women—Between Respectability and Prostitution. 52
2.5 Children—Little Adults, or Not Adults at All. 69
2.6 “Real” Men—Men “in Need”. 79
2.7 Social Environment—Sanctioning, Being in the Know, Intervening. 87
2.8 Trials at Court—Prosecuting, Defending, Negotiating. 97
2.9 Focus on the Body—Little Space for Emotions. 115
2.10 “Judging Right”—Sin as a Public Order Offense. 140

3 The Case for Historicizing Violence—Programmatic Perspectives. 161
3.1 Historicizing of Violence as a Project—What are the Challenges?. 161
3.2 Understanding Violence—What Makes Violence What It is?. 166
3.3 Constellations of Violence—Who Acts in What Way?. 170
3.4 The Meaning of Violence—What is the Problem?. 175
3.5 Violence as Taboo and Non-taboo—How Does Violence Become a Topic?. 179

Appendix: Tables. 183
Glossary. 190
Bibliography. 193
Index. 207

Über Autor(innen)

Francisca Loetz is Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. She has published monographs, articles, edited volumes and reviews in the social history of medicine, cultural history of the religious, history of crime and problems of methodology including Vom Kranken zum Patienten. Medikalisierung und medizinische Vergesellschaftung in Baden 1750-1850 (Steiner 1993) and Dealings with God. From Blasphemers in Early Modern Zurich to a Cultural History of Religiousness (Ashgate 2009).