History and Geopolitics All books
Patrick Fridenson, Bénédicte Reynaud
France and the Age of Work (1814-2004)
In this history about working hours in France during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the authors present two highly original theses which go against some established ideas. Their first thesis is that the limitation or reduction of labour hours was not a political, social or economic issue but primarily a question of public health. The authors second thesis is that the movement for shorter hours was never a major demand of the trade unions since absenteeism served to regulate working hours but the policy of national and international institutions. This is a history book which responds to an impassioned issue in recent French political events. Patrick Fridenson is a historian. Bénédicte Reynaud is an economist.
Liliane Kandel
Feminism and Nazism
The essays in this volume examine the history of womens movements during the Nazi era. The writers included here, representing a wide range of interests and backgrounds, review the various interpretations of this period given by feminist historiography today. The authors underlying assumption is that if the perspective of gender can cast light on the way we "read" certain situations and individual destinies, then, in turn, the history of the twentieth century, including the history of feminism with its upheavals and fractures, can help us to understand what is at stake in feminist studies as reflected in contemporary discussions. Liliane Kandel is a sociologist and feminist.
