Kinship in Neckarhausen, 1700}}}1870 [Paperback]

Studying one German village in depth, Sabean questions the idea that the more modern society became, the less kin mattered.This book analyses shifts in the relations of families, households, and individuals in a single German village during the transition to a modern social structure and cultural order. The findings call into question the idea that the more modern society became, the less kin mattered. Rather, the opposite happened. During modernization, close kin developed a flexible set of exchanges, passing marriage partners, godparents, political favors, work contacts, and financial guarantees back and forth. These new kinship systems were fundamental for class formation. Sabean also repositions women in the center of the political culture of alliances.This book analyses shifts in the relations of families, households, and individuals in a single German village during the transition to a modern social structure and cultural order. The findings call into question the idea that the more modern society became, the less kin mattered. Rather, the opposite happened. During modernization, close kin developed a flexible set of exchanges, passing marriage partners, godparents, political favors, work contacts, and financial guarantees back and forth. These new kinship systems were fundamental for class formation. Sabean also repositions women in the center of the political culture of alliances.This book analyzes shifts in the relations of families, households, and individuals in a single German village during the transition to a modern social structure and cultural order. The findings call into question the idea that the more modern society became, the less kin mattered. Rather, the opposite happened. During modernization, close kin developed a flexible set of exchanges, passing marriage partners, godparents, political favors, work contacts, and financial guarantees back and forth. These new kinship systems were fundamental for class formation. The author also reposlóG