Making Publics in Early Modern Europe by Bronwen Wilson, Paul... - 9780415896085

Making Publics in Early Modern EuropePeople, Things, Forms of Knowledge\nAuthor(s): Bronwen Wilson, Paul Yachnin\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9780415896085, 978-0415896085\nSynopsis\nThe book looks at how people, things, and new forms of knowledge created \""publics\"" in early modern Europe, and how publics changed the shape of early modern society. The focus is on what the authors call \""making publics\"" the active creation of new forms of association that allowed people to connect with others in ways not rooted in family, rank or vocation, but rather founded in voluntary groupings built on the shared interests, tastes, commitments, and desires of individuals. By creating new forms of association, cultural producers and consumers challenged dominant ideas about just who could be a public person, greatly expanded the resources of public life for ordinary people in their own time, and developed ideas and practice.