Clifton Hood
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231172165
- eISBN:
- 9780231542951
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231172165.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
A history that extends from the 1750s to the present, In Pursuit of Privilege recounts upper-class New Yorkers’ struggle to create a distinct world guarded against outsiders, even as economic growth ...
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A history that extends from the 1750s to the present, In Pursuit of Privilege recounts upper-class New Yorkers’ struggle to create a distinct world guarded against outsiders, even as economic growth and democratic opportunity enabled aspirants to gain entrance. Despite their efforts, New York City’s upper class has been drawn into the larger story of the city both through class conflict and through their role in building New York’s cultural and economic foundations. In Pursuit of Privilege describes the famous and infamous characters and events at the center of this extraordinary history, from the elite families and wealthy tycoons of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the Wall Street executives of today. From the start, upper-class New Yorkers have been open and aggressive in their behavior, keen on attaining prestige, power, and wealth. Clifton Hood sharpens this characterization by merging a history of the New York economy in the eighteenth century with the story of Wall Street’s emergence as an international financial center in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as the dominance of New York’s financial and service sectors in the 1980s. Bringing together several decades of upheaval and change, he shows that New York’s upper class did not rise exclusively from the Gilded Age but rather from a relentless pursuit of privilege, affecting not just the urban elite but the city’s entire cultural, economic, and political fabric.Less
A history that extends from the 1750s to the present, In Pursuit of Privilege recounts upper-class New Yorkers’ struggle to create a distinct world guarded against outsiders, even as economic growth and democratic opportunity enabled aspirants to gain entrance. Despite their efforts, New York City’s upper class has been drawn into the larger story of the city both through class conflict and through their role in building New York’s cultural and economic foundations. In Pursuit of Privilege describes the famous and infamous characters and events at the center of this extraordinary history, from the elite families and wealthy tycoons of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the Wall Street executives of today. From the start, upper-class New Yorkers have been open and aggressive in their behavior, keen on attaining prestige, power, and wealth. Clifton Hood sharpens this characterization by merging a history of the New York economy in the eighteenth century with the story of Wall Street’s emergence as an international financial center in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as the dominance of New York’s financial and service sectors in the 1980s. Bringing together several decades of upheaval and change, he shows that New York’s upper class did not rise exclusively from the Gilded Age but rather from a relentless pursuit of privilege, affecting not just the urban elite but the city’s entire cultural, economic, and political fabric.
Cecilia Tossounian
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781683401162
- eISBN:
- 9781683401421
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9781683401162.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
Chapter 2 studies how the flapper, the archetypical modern girl, was construed by popular culture in the 1920s and 1930s. Mass media was engaged in a debate about the defining traits of the American ...
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Chapter 2 studies how the flapper, the archetypical modern girl, was construed by popular culture in the 1920s and 1930s. Mass media was engaged in a debate about the defining traits of the American flapper and her Argentine counterpart. While the flapper inhabited a distant land, the joven moderna combined popular fashions and mannerisms both foreign and domestic. Portrayed as an upper-class character, she went beyond the traditional female role of the devoted daughter. An oversimplified media construction, the Argentine flapper alerted the public of the dangerous effects of international consumer capitalism and Americanization on gender and national identity.Less
Chapter 2 studies how the flapper, the archetypical modern girl, was construed by popular culture in the 1920s and 1930s. Mass media was engaged in a debate about the defining traits of the American flapper and her Argentine counterpart. While the flapper inhabited a distant land, the joven moderna combined popular fashions and mannerisms both foreign and domestic. Portrayed as an upper-class character, she went beyond the traditional female role of the devoted daughter. An oversimplified media construction, the Argentine flapper alerted the public of the dangerous effects of international consumer capitalism and Americanization on gender and national identity.
Edward William Lane and Jason Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789774165603
- eISBN:
- 9781617975516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165603.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter details the process of marriage and engagement in Cairo among the upper classes and middle classes: how a bride is chosen, her dowry, the marriage contract, and celebrations and ...
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This chapter details the process of marriage and engagement in Cairo among the upper classes and middle classes: how a bride is chosen, her dowry, the marriage contract, and celebrations and ceremonies. It then moves onto married life, life in the hareem, the amount of liberty granted to women, and the use of female slaves, as well as looking at the day-to-day, such as diet, domestic chores, and childcare. It also discusses the practices of polygamy and divorce.Less
This chapter details the process of marriage and engagement in Cairo among the upper classes and middle classes: how a bride is chosen, her dowry, the marriage contract, and celebrations and ceremonies. It then moves onto married life, life in the hareem, the amount of liberty granted to women, and the use of female slaves, as well as looking at the day-to-day, such as diet, domestic chores, and childcare. It also discusses the practices of polygamy and divorce.
Edward William Lane and Jason Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789774165603
- eISBN:
- 9781617975516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165603.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter examines the hierarchies within families of the upper classes and middle classes, the appellations used for different members of households, different types of servants and slaves and ...
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This chapter examines the hierarchies within families of the upper classes and middle classes, the appellations used for different members of households, different types of servants and slaves and their various duties. It focuses on daily routine and how a typical day is spent, by people of different means and of both the members of the household and those who serve them, looking in particular at meals (mealtimes, what is eaten, how it is eaten, etc.), the drinking of coffee, and the smoking of tobacco. It also touches on gender roles and segregation.Less
This chapter examines the hierarchies within families of the upper classes and middle classes, the appellations used for different members of households, different types of servants and slaves and their various duties. It focuses on daily routine and how a typical day is spent, by people of different means and of both the members of the household and those who serve them, looking in particular at meals (mealtimes, what is eaten, how it is eaten, etc.), the drinking of coffee, and the smoking of tobacco. It also touches on gender roles and segregation.
