Keep the Days

Reading the Civil War Diaries of Southern Women

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877), Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Women&
Cover of the book Keep the Days by Steven M. Stowe, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Steven M. Stowe ISBN: 9781469640976
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: April 2, 2018
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Steven M. Stowe
ISBN: 9781469640976
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: April 2, 2018
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

Americans wrote fiercely during the Civil War. War surprised, devastated, and opened up imagination, taking hold of Americans' words as well as their homes and families. The personal diary—wildly ragged yet rooted in day following day—was one place Americans wrote their war. Diaries, then, have become one of the best-known, most-used sources for exploring the life of the mind in a war-torn place and time. Delving into several familiar wartime diaries kept by women of the southern slave-owning class, Steven Stowe recaptures their motivations to keep the days close even as war tore apart the brutal system of slavery that had benefited them. Whether the diarists recorded thoughts about themselves, their opinions about men, or their observations about slavery, race, and warfare, Stowe shows how these women, by writing the immediate moment, found meaning in a changing world.

In studying the inner lives of these unsympathetic characters, Stowe also explores the importance—and the limits—of historical empathy as a condition for knowing the past, demonstrating how these plain, first-draft texts can offer new ways to make sense of the world in which these Confederate women lived.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Americans wrote fiercely during the Civil War. War surprised, devastated, and opened up imagination, taking hold of Americans' words as well as their homes and families. The personal diary—wildly ragged yet rooted in day following day—was one place Americans wrote their war. Diaries, then, have become one of the best-known, most-used sources for exploring the life of the mind in a war-torn place and time. Delving into several familiar wartime diaries kept by women of the southern slave-owning class, Steven Stowe recaptures their motivations to keep the days close even as war tore apart the brutal system of slavery that had benefited them. Whether the diarists recorded thoughts about themselves, their opinions about men, or their observations about slavery, race, and warfare, Stowe shows how these women, by writing the immediate moment, found meaning in a changing world.

In studying the inner lives of these unsympathetic characters, Stowe also explores the importance—and the limits—of historical empathy as a condition for knowing the past, demonstrating how these plain, first-draft texts can offer new ways to make sense of the world in which these Confederate women lived.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book What Is Veiling? by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book West Pointers and the Civil War by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Toward a New Deal in Baltimore by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book The Limits of Judicial Power by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Cuba and the Tempest by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Shenandoah 1862 by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Lynched by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Modernization as Ideology by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Women with Alcoholic Husbands by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Poquosin by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Choosing Craft by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book The Work of Self-Representation by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book A Golden Haze of Memory by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book An Agrarian Republic by Steven M. Stowe
Cover of the book Richard Nixon and the Quest for a New Majority by Steven M. Stowe
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy