Toys, Consumption, and Middle Class Childhood in Imperial Germany, 1871--1918
Ganaway, Bryan Fredrick
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/84650
Description
Title
Toys, Consumption, and Middle Class Childhood in Imperial Germany, 1871--1918
Author(s)
Ganaway, Bryan Fredrick
Issue Date
2003
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Peter Fritzsche
Department of Study
History
Discipline
History
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Economics, History
Language
eng
Abstract
This was by no means a simple, uncontested process. Adults fought over proper toy form and use. Many wanted technologically exact miniatures of real things such as trains and doll houses designed to prepare boys and girls for future callings. Others just as passionately called for more generic, simpler miniatures that forced children to use their imagination. They believed it was more important to teach critical thinking skills than to telescope youngsters into a profession. The vibrant consumer culture surrounding toys facilitated this very public debate. Producers willingly responded to buyers from both camps, and individual consumers created and marketed their own toys. The making, marketing, and consumption of miniatures formed a site around which we can see how adults as consumers tried to fashion modern, middle-class citizens out of boys and girls. They also remind us that Imperial Germany had a vibrant consumer culture that allowed people to shape social values.
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