Description: The first demographic transition changed the face of the western world as thoroughly as did the Industrial Revolution. As couples began to have fewer children, women were released from the heavy burden of endless pregnancies and extended periods of child care. Even though this profound process of change has been extensively researched, women were rarely pictured as decision-makers concerning fertility and family. Moreover, men and women were mostly not perceived as having potentially differing interests in sexuality and child-bearing. This volume contains papers delivered at the conference Were Women Present at the Demographic Transition? which was held at the Radboud University Nijmegen, 20-21 May 2005. The contributions throw light on the active role women played in the fertility decline as well as on the complex process of decision-making between husbands and wives.
Review Quotes: Dieser ausgezeichnete Band zeigt, wie methodisch ausgefeilt und interdisziplinär angelegt Studien aus dem Bereich der historischen Demographie mittlerweile sind. Entsprechend werden zahlreiche originelle Ergebnisse präsentiert. [...] Der Band zeigt insgesamt, wie fruchtbar der Gender-Ansatz für die Untersuchung des Rückgangs der Fertilität und damit für den Wandel der Familie und der Gesellschaft sein kann. (Jörg Vögele, Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte)