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HIST 202: European Civilization, 1648-1945

Lecture 09 - Middle Classes. The nineteenth century in Europe is, in many ways, synonymous with the rise of the bourgeoisie. It is misleading, however, to consider this newly dominant middle class as a homogenous group; rather, the century may be more accurately described in terms of the rise of plural middle classes. While the classes comprising this group were united by their search for power based on property rights rather than hereditary privilege, they were otherwise strikingly diverse. Contemporary stereotypes of the bourgeois as a grasping philistine ought to therefore be nuanced. Along with the real, undeniable cruelty of many capitalists with respect to their workers, the middle classes also pioneered the first philanthropic voluntary associations, broadened the reach of public education, and inspired the development of effective birth control.
(from oyc.yale.edu)

Lecture 09 - Middle Classes

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. The Nineteenth Century, the Bourgeois Century
[00:06:04] 2. The Middle Class Work Ethic
[00:10:57] 3. Voluntary Organizations of the Middle Classes: Charity and Religion
[00:15:49] 4. Demographics of the Middle Class
[00:20:39] 5. Variations within the Bourgeoisie: From Financiers to Schoolteachers
[00:35:18] 6. The Homes of the Bourgeoisie: Common Cultural Accoutrements

References
Lecture 9 - Middle Classes
Instructor: Professor John Merriman. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov].

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Introduction
Lecture 02 - Absolutism and the State
Lecture 03 - Dutch and British Exceptionalism
Lecture 04 - Peter the Great
Lecture 05 - The Enlightenment and the Public Sphere
Lecture 06 - Maximilien Robespierre and the French Revolution
Lecture 07 - Napoleon
Lecture 08 - Industrial Revolutions
Lecture 09 - Middle Classes
Lecture 10 - Popular Protest
Lecture 11 - Why no Revolution in 1848 in Britain
Lecture 12 - Nineteenth-Century Cities
Lecture 13 - Nationalism
Lecture 14 - Radicals
Lecture 15 - Imperialists and Boy Scouts
Lecture 16 - The Coming of the Great War
Lecture 17 - War in the Trenches
Lecture 18 - Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning (Guest Lecture by Jay Winters)
Lecture 19 - The Romanovs and the Russian Revolution
Lecture 20 - Successor States of Eastern Europe
Lecture 21 - Stalinism
Lecture 22 - Fascists
Lecture 23 - Collaboration and Resistance in World War II
Lecture 24 - The Collapse of Communism and Global Challenges