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The Culture of Western Europe
The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
George L. Mosse
Critical Introduction by Anthony J. Steinhoff
The Collected Works of George L. Mosse
“A staggering tour de force . . . an indispensable reference.
”
—The Spectator
A sweeping cultural history of modern Europe
The Culture of Western Europe, George L. Mosse’s sweeping cultural history, was originally published in 1961 and revised and expanded in 1974 and 1988. Originating from the lectures at the University of Wisconsin—Madison for which Mosse would become famous, the book addresses, in crisp and accessible language, the key issues he saw as animating the movement of culture in Europe. Mosse emphasizes the role of both rational and irrational forces in making modern Europe, beginning with the interplay between eighteenth-century rationalism and nineteenth-century Romanticism. He traces cultural and political movements in all areas of society, especially nationalism but also economics, class identity and conflict, religion and morality, family structure, medicine, and art. This new edition restores the original 1961 illustrations and features a critical introduction by Anthony J. Steinhoff, professor in the department of history at the Université du Québec à Montréal, contextualizing Mosse’s project and arguing for its continued relevance today.
George L. Mosse (1918–99) was a legendary scholar, teacher, and mentor. A refugee from Nazi Germany, in 1955 he joined the department of history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was both influential and popular. Mosse was an early leader in the study of modern European cultural and intellectual history, the study of fascism, and the history of sexuality and masculinity. Over his career he authored more than two dozen books.
Table of Contents
Contents
List of Illustrations
A Note on the Present Edition
Acknowledgments
A Critical Introduction by Anthony J. Steinhoff
Introduction: Statement and Definitions
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, 1815–1870
1 The Changing Pace of Life
2 Romanticism: The Poetry of Life
3 Romanticism: Religion and Politics
4 Nationalism
5 Racism
6 The Challenge of Liberty
7 Liberalism on the Continent of Europe
8 Conservatism
9 Idealism Asserted and Rejected
10 The Development of Socialism
11 Marxism
12 The Science of Society
FROM THE NINETEENTH TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: 1870–1918
13 Change in the Public Spirit of Europe
14 Romanticism and Idealism Transmitted
15 Christianity and Society
16 Freud and Psychoanalysis
17 Dissolving Certainties
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
18 Theories of the Elite
19 Freedom and the Intellectuals
20 Existentialism
21 Fascism
22 National Socialism and the Depersonalization of Man
23 Marxism and the Intellectuals
24 Confused Alternatives
25 Culture and Civilization: One Historian’s Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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Larger images
January 2023
540 pp. 6 x 9
17 b/w illus., 6 maps
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