Synopsis: |
This is a history of domestic space in Canada. Peter Ward looks athow spaces in the Canadian home have changed over the last threecenturies, and how family and social relationships have shaped -- andbeen shaped by -- these changing spaces. A fundamental element of dailylife for individuals and families is domestic privacy, that ofindividuals and that of the family or household.There are also two facets of privacy -- privacy from and privacy to.Personal privacy sets the individual apart from the group, creatingopportunities for seclusion. Family privacy draws boundaries betweenthe household and the community, defending the solidarity of the homeand providing a basis for family relationships. In both ways, privacyis intimately involved with the history of the house.Over time, the changing size, shape, and location of the home havecreated widely different opportunities for family and personal privacy.Together with major shifts in household composition, family size, anddomestic technology, they have gradually altered the conditions ofeveryday domestic life.But the pattern of change has been far from uniform, for the nature,meaning, and experience of privacy in Canadian have varied widely overthe past 300 years. This book explores some of those experiences andmeanings, reflecting on their impllications for family and social lifehistorically as well as in the recent past. |