This volume offers original contributions that deal with cultural, social and theoretical aspects of the history of work in modern Europe, including the relations between gender and work, working and soldiering, work and trust, constructions and practices. The volume focuses on Germany but also places the case studies in a broader European context.

Chapter 1. Work as a Problem in European History Jürgen Kocka Chapter 2. Discourses on Work and Labour in Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-century Germany Josef Ehmer Chapter 3. Beginnings of the Anthropology of Work: Nineteenth-century Social Scientists and Their Influence on Ethnography Gerd Spittler Chapter 4. The Vision(s) of Work in the Nineteenth-century German Labour Movement Thomas Welskopp Chapter 5. Work in Gender, Gender in Work: the German Case in a Comparative Perspective Karin Hausen Chapter 6. Trust as Work Ute Frevert Chapter 7. Soldiering and Working: Almost the Same? Reviewing People’s Practices in Industry and Military in Twentieth-century Contexts Alf Lüdtke Chapter 8. Forced Labour in the Second World War: the German Case and Responsibility Klaus Tenfelde Chapter 9. Work, Max Weber, Confucianism: the Confucian Ethic and the Spirit of Japanese Capitalism Sebastian Conrad Chapter 10. What is Global Labour History Good For? Andreas Eckert Notes on Contributors Bibliography Index

“The volume offers a successful overview of the current German research on the history of work, its directions and problem, but also its potential for further fruitful exploration. It becomes clear that historians interested in the historical dimension of work will have plenty to do still.”  ·  H-Soz-u-Kult “[The essays] confirm how conceptually rich the intersection of ‘culture’ and ‘work’ can be and, as such, are essential for further study and research on these important subjects.”  ·  German Studies Review “This insightful book should reach an interdisciplinary audience of scholars, students, and laypersons. Its theses compellingly argue against theoretical demarcations and for more boundary crossings among disciplines and definitions.”  ·  German Quarterly “…an interesting and informative collection that brings together original contributions from some leading European scholars whose work may not be familiar to a British and American audience. As such it is a valuable addition to the literature in English on labour history and likely to provide a jumping off point for those seeking to expand their knowledge of this area.”  ·  European Review of History—Revue européenne d’histoire "Kocka, arguably the doyen of social history in Germany, introduces this volume with a succinct overview of the changing meanings of work from European antiquity to the present… For some decades labour studies were dominated by social histories that replaced the earlier histories of workers’ parties and unions. In Germany, Kocka was one of the key figures who tried to make actual working lives visible behind labour leaders’ speeches, rivalries, and organizational structures"  ·  Labour/Le Travail