Made to Play House or Political Economy of European Unemployment

Made to Play House: Dolls and the Commercialization of American Girlhood, 1830-1930

Author: Miriam Formanek Brunell

"Formanek-Brunell's study of the United States doll industry provides a fresh perspective on the construction of gender in America... Made to Play House is a pioneering book of interest to collectors, historians of women and of consumer culture, and anyone who has a child who plays with dolls."--Molly Ladd-Taylor, Journal of American History

In MADE TO PLAY HOUSE, Miriam Formanek-Brunell traces the history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century dolls and explores the origins of the American toy industry's remarkably successful efforts to promote self fulfillment through maternity and materialism. She tells the fascinating story of how inventors, producers, entrepreneurs--many of whom were women--and little girls themselves created dolls which expressed various notions of female identity.

"Much of the value of Made to Play House is its deft weaving of business history, cultural history, and material culture studies into a coherent, largely convincing, narrative... The vivid portraits of the female entrepreneurs with an agenda for childhood are the book's most significant contribution to the literature of history and business."--Mary Lynn Stevens Heininger, Business History Review

"This superb interdisciplinary history deploys mechanical patents and material culture to chart the development of a gendered American doll industry."--Eileen Boris, Nation

"The book makes a solid contribution to the literature on childhood as well as business history and... illustrates the use that can be made of material culture in historical research."--Sylvia Hoffert, American Historical Review

Molly Ladd-Taylor

Formanek-Brunell's study of the United States doll industry provides a fresh perspective on the construction of gender in America. —Journal of American History

Booknews

Drawing on a wide variety of contemporary sources--including popular magazines, advertising, autobiographies, juvenile literature, patents, photographs, and the dolls themselves--Formanek-Brunell traces the history of the American doll industry back to its beginnings, showing how dolls and doll play changed over time, and drawing out the gender implications. Includes 56 b&w illustrations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Molly Ladd-Taylor

Formanek-Brunell's study of the United States doll industry provides a fresh perspective on the construction of gender in America. -- Journal of American History

New interesting textbook: The Building or How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Political Economy of European Unemployment: European Integration and the Transnationalism of (UN)Employment

Author: Henk Overbeek

This collection examines unemployment in Europe in the context of globalization, the implementation of European Monetary Union and the Eastern enlargement of the EU. It combines theoretical chapters with detailed case studies of Britain, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Central Europe.

Table of Contents:

	List of illustrations
	Notes on contributors
	Series editors' preface
	Acknowledgements
	List of abbreviations
1	Transnational political economy and the politics of European (un)employment: introducing the themes	1
2	Globalization, neo-liberalism and the employment question	13
3	Changes in welfare regimes and the search for flexibility and employability	29
4	European employment policy between neo-liberal rationalism and communitarianism	51
5	The emergence of European employment policy as a transnational political arena	77
6	Economic and Monetary Union, employment and gender politics: a feminist constructivist analysis of neo-liberal labour-market restructuring in Europe	99
7	European unemployment and transnational capitalist class strategy: the rise of the neo-liberal competitiveness discourse	113
8	From Thatcherism to New Labour: neo-liberalism, workfarism and labour-market regulation	137
9	Competitive corporatism? National and transnational elements in the Dutch employment 'miracle'	154
10	The political economy of labour-market restructuring and trade union responses in the social-democratic heartland	176
11	Mediterranean labour and the impact of Economic and Monetary Union: mass unemployment or labour-market flexibility?	199
12	Conflicting views on how to address (um)employment in Europe: a tentative conclusion	227
	Bibliography	233
	Index	263