Writing Cities: Exploring Early Modern Urban Discourse

Early modern Europeans lived in cities, which were crucial nodes for connecting producers, consumers, rulers, and believers. However, historians have paid little attention to urban discourse, which includes its forms, themes, emphases, and silences. This book explores three dimensions of early modern citizens writing about their cities: the diverse social backgrounds of the contributors, their notions of what made for a beautiful city, and their use of dialogue as a literary vehicle. Amelang concludes that early modern urban discourse increasingly moves from oral discussion to writing and that the dominant tone of those who wrote about cities was one of celebration and glorification, but over time a more detached and less judgmental mode developed.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2019
Publisher: Central European University Press

Only one out of ten early modern Europeans lived in cities. Yet cities were crucial nodes, joining together producers and consumers, rulers and ruled, and believers in diverse faiths and futures. They also generated an enormous amount of writing, much of which focused on civic life itself. But despite its obvious importance, historians have paid surprisingly little attention to urban discourse; its forms, themes, emphases and silences all invite further study.This book explores three dimensions of early modern citizens’ writing about their cities: the diverse social backgrounds of the men and women who contributed to urban discourse; their notions of what made for a beautiful city; and their use of dialogue as a literary vehicle particularly apt for expressing city life and culture.Amelang concludes that early modern urban discourse increasingly moves from oral discussion to take the form of writing. And while the dominant tone of those who wrote about cities continued to be one of celebration and glorification, over time a more detached and less judgmental mode developed. More and more they came to see their fundamental task as presenting a description that was objective.

Weight: 352g
Dimension: 200 x 134 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789637326530