Questions tagged [social-history]
Social history is a methodological approach to history that focuses on examining what the 'ordinary' people in a given time and place were doing. It is strongly influenced by the mindset and techniques of sociology and often makes heavy use of quantitative methods to make statements about groups of people who left behind few written records.
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Why did Women's Day never really catch on in the US, even though it started there?
The roots of International Women's Day (March 8th) go all the way back to New York City in 1909 and the Socialist Party of America. However, from what I have learned the International Women's Day is ...
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What is the oldest continuously circulating story that survived until 1890’s? [closed]
What is the oldest continuously circulating story (specifically prior 13th century BCE) that survived until 1890’s? (eg myths/histories etc)
I am specifically looking for a myth/story/history that ...
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Are there historical examples of civilization reaction to learning about impending doom? [closed]
By impending doom, I mean events that are deadly, imminent, inexorable and unfightable (i.e. a volcano eruption, a deadly disease, an environmental/astronomical disaster...). They should leave humans ...
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What happened to the British universities during WWII?
For one of my courses at university, I chose to work on the topic of British students during the Second World war.
I suppose many of them interrupted their studies to go and fight, but what was the ...
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Who are the "Millennial Folk" being referred to here?
This came up on an episode of QI where the question was, "When was the First World War, first called as such". The answer was:
The First World War was given its title as early as the ...
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Is there systematic cross-country studies about the relationship between individualistic/collectivistic cultures and the number of unique last names?
Anecdotally, more individualistic cultures (e.g. England) tend to have many last names, while more collectivistic cultures (e.g. Korea) tend to have many common last names (Choi, Lee, etc.).
Is there ...
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How did Greeks view tall people, and was there a social premium placed on height?
Today, being more tall as a man is viewed as a positive attribute, but I wonder how it was viewed by the ancient Greeks. Was it better for a man to be short or tall.
The only instance I have is that ...
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When did the popular idea begin that the 21st century would commence on 1st January 2000? [closed]
At which point in the 20th century did the idea arise that the 21st century would begin on 1st January 2000?
The first day of the 19th century is recorded as having been celebrated on 1st January 1801,...
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How common were ethnically mixed villages in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia?
I was trying to find out whether the treaties that determined the post-war borders of Czechoslovakia were partly motivated as a punishment for the history of oppression by the German and Hungarian ...
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Were there hippies in the USA in 1930?
I was wondering if there were hippies or a group with similar worldviews, around 1930 in Chicago or in general in the USA. I would also be interested in their worldview / philosophy. Are they ...
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When and where were British pub games first played?
I've been searching for the answer of the origin/ history of pub games in British pubs. However, this is what I've encountered in some different sources ( including Wikipedia):
In his book, Beer and ...
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Were the societies envisioned in the Dharmasastras ever reflective of reality?
Were the Dharmasastras like Manusmriti and Yajnavalkya Smriti ever implemented in ancient Indian society ? Or did they only represent the ideal or utopia Hinduism imagines could be achieved?
bhatnagar prakhar
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What was the expected retirement age for men in Spain in 1936?
I am trying to find out what the expected age of retirement was for men in Spain in 1936.
I tried searching the Internet but the results I found were for recent years and not time past.
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Was there the concept of paternity leave in Spain in 1913?
I have tried to google for info but can’t find any. As the question says, I am trying to find out if there was the concept of paternity leave in Spain during 1913 and, if so, how long for?
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How common was cannibalism in Christian Europe until the 17th century?
When hearing about cannibalism, a Robinson-Crusoean narrative usually comes to my mind, where primitive tribes would engage in limited warfare and probably ritualistically consume their prisoners. ...
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Which language did emperors, empresses and other "official people" speak in the Yuan Empire? [closed]
Please, I need real information, not from films, k-dramas and etc. I mean the language of the "official people" like the emperor, empress and etc.
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When did Germans stop supporting Adolf Hitler? [duplicate]
I know that German Reich with the leadership of Adolf Hitler was a dictatorship, however I think, at least in some part of history the majority of Germans supported him and his ideologies. This ...
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When did the news start reporting 'women and children were killed'
I'm trying to figure out when news specifically started mentioning women and children were killed when reporting fatalities.
Does anyone have any reference or idea when this differentiation happened - ...
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Were there religious wars between two sects in Hinduism?
Shaivism and Vaishnavism, are two major sects within the umbrella of Hinduism, each with a different deity as their Supreme God.
This difference, is thought to have, in the ancient and even recent ...
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When did "killing" become wrong in society? [closed]
It occurred to me that in many medieval settings, people getting killed is just a part of life.
If you angered a feudal lord or noble, they could cut off your hands or kill you and no one bats an eye. ...
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How pervasive was the idea that we had reached "the end of history" in America during the ninties? [closed]
Sorry if this is ill-defined.
I've heard that in the nineties, there was a pervasive idea in American society that were on the cusp of a liberal utopia, in which there would be no war between nations ...
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Is there evidence that Egyptian culture was originally matriachical? [duplicate]
I am currently reading The Origins and History of Consciousness by Erich Neumann. The book is essentially an application of recapitulation theory to the development of human consciousness, asserting ...
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What were the rights and freedoms of Amir Temur's empire citizens?
Amir Temur, aka Tamerlane, was a strong personality that managed to build an empire between 1365 and 1405. The trade flourished in many cities along with science.
Institutes: political and military ...
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Do revolutions always need public support in order to succeed long-term? [closed]
I normally frequent Worldbuilding StackExchange, and I recently asked a question about werewolves attempting to declare themselves an independent, sovereign state in the American West. However, this ...
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How were newspapers delivered to flats in post-War Britain?
I am writing a story set in the winter in 1940's London. The first chapter features one main character receiving a newspaper. The building is not very grand; in fact, it's a rather dirty and slightly ...
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How long does a generation last?
Question:
Generetion, as a time period, is a widespread concept (or perhaps an idea) in History, in Social Sciences, and also in common language. Do historians have some sort of consensus on the time ...
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Are there post-1700 examples of large scale long term reductions in living standards? [closed]
I am looking for examples where an old person could talk of the 'good old times' and these were objectively better than the current times. Large scale meaning it affected not just individuals or a ...
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How were elders addressed in Ancient Egypt?
I’m writing a book and want to know how a child would respectfully address an older male and female person—like Sir or Lord or Madam—in Ancient Egypt?
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What did the Gauls look like during the 1st century BC? [closed]
Right around the time of the Roman conquest of Gaul, contemporaneous accounts describe the Gauls as having looked like beasts or savages, with thick knotted cloaks and unkempt long hair and beards. ...
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What was the ratio of people who were atheist prior to the French revolution or who adopted atheism as a result of the Cult of Reason?
I'm interested in the way the French people reacted to the religious policies during the French revolution, i. e. dechristianization and establishment of the Cult of Reason. Are there any estimates ...
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What was the importance of the patrician class in the Roman Empire?
This is a question that has puzzled me in my research of the history of the Roman Empire.
During the Roman Republic the Patrician class was obviously of paramount importance, & history of the ...
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What happens to the women left behind by polyandry? [closed]
I'm asking specifically about the practice of polyandry in Himalayan civilisations, such as Bhutan. But I'd welcome insights from other polyandrous societies too.
It's often been said that, however ...
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Did Northern troops attempt to re-enslave African Americans in Southern plantations during the Civil War?
In Black Reconstruction in America, W.E.B. Du Bois argues that during the war, Northern troops - in this case under the command of Nathaniel P. Banks - sometimes tried to get enslaved people back to ...
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What was the fate of the planters and their plantations following the American Civil War?
I had a question about the fate of the Southern planter class following the American civil war. The question was sparked by W.E.B. Du Bois's Black Reconstruction in America.
Du Bois argues that they ...
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How was agricultural labour organised in Victorian England?
I'm asking, more specifically, three things:
What might the leadership of a typical farm look like in terms of job titles and responsibilities?
Within a given farm, how were workers divided into ...
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What does a wife call her husband when addressing him in their household in 1600s England if he is a member of the peerage? [closed]
I am writing a novel that takes place in 1600s England during the time of the English Civil War, and the main characters are aristocracy with fairly vast land holdings in York.
If the husband and ...
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Perception of the state by an average person in pre-modern times [closed]
I would like to better understand the experience of being governed and interaction with the centralized state (or lack thereof) in pre-modern times.
A cursory search did not return anything ...
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What did typical mid-18th century housing look like in English villages?
There seems to be a plethora of resources available that describe what mid-18th / early 19th century housing looked like in major English cities, particularly London.
But, I cannot find much ...
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What were the most popular destinations for British and American tourists on the Continent in the period 1880-1900?
How common was English and American travel to the Continent of Europe between 1880-1900? By businessmen, families, debutantes, honeymooners, politicians etc.
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What sort of temples existed in small Greek villages?
Context: I am going to be starting a D&D campaign in a world based on ancient Greece, rather than your classic western european medieval fantasy land. This will probably not be the only question ...
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Did the ancient Greeks have "taverns"? [closed]
Context: I am going to be starting a D&D campaign in a world based on ancient Greece, rather than your classic western european medieval fantasy land. This will probably not be the only question ...
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Who are some people (or well-known fictional characters) that drew a lot of media attention in 18th/19th century Europe/US?
Suppose someone is suddenly exposed to a barrage of media attention today, they might say something like "I feel like a Kardashian".
What if I have a character (in Europe) experiencing something ...
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How did Adam Worth make sure his crooks didn't keep what they stole?
I'm currently reading through the The Life and Times of Adam Worth and as much as I'm fascinated by Adam Worth and his mastermind for 19th century crime, there is one thing that the book fails to ...
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What would an ancient Greek village (small settlement) have looked like?
Context: I am preparing a D&D campaign, and because I find "medieval western europe fantasy land" to be a bit over-used, I'd like to make my setting more of an ancient greek setting.
However, ...
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Were medieval and renaissance era jesters commonly disabled?
In Hilary Mantel's famous historical fiction Wolf Hall, she implies more than once that the court fools of figures in the era of Henry VIII often had some form of learning difficulty. Indeed in one ...
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Were surname upgrades a well known practice in the Spanish Empire?
People everywhere have names, and some seek to change their name. Spanish speaking people in particular generally have two surnames, paternal and maternal, in that order. Whether the maternal one ...
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Who was the Scottish philosopher that came up with the idea of a Scottish militia?
I read a book on the Scottish Enlightenment a couple of weeks ago and am trying to remember the name of the Scottish Philosopher that feared the ideas of a polite society would weaken the British ...
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Historically, what has happened to emergency services (other than the police) in corrupt/authoritarian states? [closed]
Everyone knows what happens to the police and the military in corrupt states: these are the kind of places where you carry extra cash for bribes.
Everyone knows what happens to the police and the ...
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Why did Native Americans never unify into a single country? [closed]
At a time when Europe and Asia had already united into several powerful military nations, the American Indian still lived in a tribal society which numbered over 2000 tribes. Why, in over 10,000 years ...
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Is there a meaning in a name marked on the rear of a headstone rather than the front?
I have found a family headstone with the names of the deceased on the front (with many details), and a military cross (for their son) in front of the stone. On the rear of the stone is a name and age,...
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