Changing the World, Changing Oneself - (Protest, Culture & Society) by Belinda Davis & Wilfried Mausbach & Martin Klimke & Carla Macdougall

Book Synopsis

A captivating time, the 60s and 70s now draw more attention than ever. The first substantial work by historians has appeared only in the last few years, and this volume offers an important contribution. These meticulously researched essays offer new perspectives on the Cold War and global relations in the 1960s and 70s through the perspective of the youth movements that shook the U.S., Western Europe, and beyond. These movements led to the transformation of diplomatic relations and domestic political cultures, as well as ideas about democracy and who best understood and promoted it. Bringing together scholars of several countries and many disciplines, this volume also uniquely features the reflections of former activists.

Review Quotes

"That these essays range widely while remaining firmly grounded in their particular contexts is a testament to the cohort of scholars from around the globe that assembled the volume as well as to the diligence of the contributors themselves mostly younger scholars from institutes in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The result greatly expands our knowledge of the insurgency on both sides of the Atlantic that erupted in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s and beyond. It inspires scholars of the U.S. and Europe to rethink the meaning and limitations of the nation, to challenge narrow disciplinary constraints, and to see 1968 as part of a longer history of protest and rebellion across the continent and the world." - Comparativ. Leipziger Beiträge zur Universalgeschichte

"Until recently, the connection between the West German and US student movements of the 1960s was more often assumed than proven. This has changed in the last decade as historians have explored the details of the transatlantic relationship, producing an impressive analysis of the diversity of exchange and mutual influence. This book gathers much of this innovative work in one volume, providing an entry point to the scholarly discussion and a welcome assignable text for courses in the emerging subfield of the 'global 1960s'." - Political Studies Review

"The volume is a trailblazing contribution to research on the role of selfhood and activism within the transnational societal transformations that enveloped the western world, beginning in the late 1960s, and it deserves a wide readership. It conceptualizes in unique ways the relationship between communalist politics and individualism during a key historical conjuncture in German/ American history." - Social History

"The anthology is very well-edited. The essays are coherent and build upon each other... The book clearly contributes to a better understanding of transatlantic relations in the age of global protest. Particularly on the micro-level it presents a critical approach of the protagonists on both sides of the Atlantic that makes the reader aware of an interconnection or transculturality of each other's past and present." - H-Soz-u-Kult

"The collection addresses several issues that are currently very important growth areas in scholarship: protest movements, their transnational connections, the question of Americanization/Westernization in Europe, and the 1960s/1970s in general as an important watershed in postwar history...There have been other recent works that have focused on these issues, but this collection has the advantage of being truly transatlantic in its approach and in the inclusion of some of the most interesting younger scholars working in the field." - Ronald Granieri, University of Pennsylvania

"This tantalizing volume explores the neglected impact of intercultural exchanges during the 1968 generational rebellion by focusing on German-American transfers of critical ideas, protest practices and feelings of solidarity. It especially emphasizes the close connection between freeing personal life-styles and liberating politics at home and abroad." - Konrad Jarausch, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Zentrum fuer Zeithistorische Forschung in Potsdam

"This wonderfully innovative compilation of scholarly articles and participant recollections tackles the multifaceted transfer of ideas and people between West Germany and the United States to shed new light on 1960s protests and their long afterlife." - Uta G. Poiger, Northeastern Unviersity

About the Author

Carla MacDougall is a visiting assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, Canada.