The week : a history of the unnatural rhythms that made us who we are / David M Henkin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Henkin, David M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Week--History.

Week.

Time measurements.

Time measurements--History.

History.

Physical Description:

xix, 264 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press [2021]

Summary:

"An investigation into the evolution of the seven-day week and how our attachment to its rhythms influences how we live. We take the seven-day week for granted, rarely asking what anchors it or what it does to us. Yet weeks are not dictated by the natural order. They are, in fact, entirely artificial -- a quintessentially modern cycle with an ancient pedigree. With meticulous archival research that draws on a wide array of sources -- including newspapers, restaurant menus, theater schedules, marriage records, school curricula, folklore, housekeeping guides, courtroom testimony, and diaries -- David Henkin reveals how our current devotion to weekly rhythms emerged in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. Reconstructing how weekly patterns insinuated themselves into the social practices and mental habits of Americans, Henkin argues that the week is more than just a regimen of rest days or breaks from work, but a dominant organizational principle of modern society. Ultimately, the seven-day week shapes our understanding and experience of time"--Dust jacket.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. A People of the Week

2. Our Appointed Times: The Rise of the Modern Week

3. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

4. Preserving the Modern Week.

Notes:

Includes bibliographic references and index.

ISBN:

9780300257328

0300257325

OCLC:

1285272563