(1) I suspect historians may have some reservations about it, but for an ambitious synthetic effort take a look at Mariana Valverde, Diseases of the Will: Alcohol and the Dilemmas of Freedom, Cambridge University Press, 1998. (2) As an overview of its territory, it seems to me hard to beat Blocker's American Temperance Movements: Cycles of Reform. (3) For a good discussion which argues that the positive side of drinking is intrinsically bound up with the negative, see later chapters of: Juha Partanen, Sociability and Intoxication: Alcohol and Drinking in Kenya, Africa, and the Modern World. Helsinki: Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, vol. 39, 1991. (I think still distributed in US by Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies). As the title suggests, this is in a context of a review of the cultural history and position of drinking in sub-Saharan Africa. Robin Room -----Original Message----- From: Frederick H. Smith <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: den 11 september 1999 22:48 Subject: Re: course on alcohol >In response to Dan Malleck's request: > I'm currently teaching a course "A cultural history of alcohol" in >the Honors department at the University of Florida. The course combines >anthropological and historical approaches to drinking. Emphasis is on >traditional uses of alcohol in the developing world. Geoffrey Giles' >"Alcohol in history" course provided a good foundation and would be an >excellent model for any social history of alcohol course. So far, the >cross-cultural perspective has been well received. Although we have not yet >reached the week, Emmanuel Akyeampong's recent social history of drink in >Ghana has already generated some good discussion outside of class. I have >also received positive feedback from students about W. Taylor's Drink, >homocide... and M. Powers Faces along the bar. Many of the readings are >articles from Barrows and Room (unfortunately out-of-print), as well as the >readers from M. Marshall (1979) and M. Everett, J. Waddell, and D. Heath >(1976). The students in the Honors program are at an advanced academic >level and preliminary responses suggest they have embraced the broad >cross-cultural perspective. They are using this course as an opportunity to >explore a broad range of cultural ideas and to examine non-western uses of >alcohol traditionally overlooked. > > Frederick H. Smith > > > > >>I'm proposing a course on the history of alcohol, broadly construed (I'll >>narrow it down soon enough) and am looking for decent general histories, or >>collections. I know of "The changing face of drink" and earlier >>collections ("Alcohol, Reform and Society" for example.. part of my >>personal Jack Blocker library!) but could use a few more suggestions... >>especially something that is accessible for non-historians. >> >>The course I'm proposing is for general students, but especially students >>of viticulture, so wine history would also be useful. >> >>I know similar questions have been asked of this list before, but they were >>a while back, and new material might be available (for example, I seem to >>recall Rod Phillips was talking about developing such a course or text a >>few months ago). So any suggestions will be appreciated. >> >>Cheers. >> >>Dan Malleck >>================================================================ >>[log in to unmask] >> >>"It is not because things are difficult that we do not try them, it is >>because we do not try them that they are difficult." --Seneca > > >Frederick H. Smith >University of Florida >Department of Anthropology >1116 Turlington Hall >Gainesville, Fl 32611 >[log in to unmask]