Kate Jarvis (Ph.D. 2014) published a new book titled Politics in the Markets: Work, gender, and citizenship in revolutionary France at the University Press of Rennes.
From the editor: This book mobilizes politics, economics and gender studies to examine in all its diversity the notion of citizenship founded by the Dames des Halles during the French Revolution through daily commerce. Essential retailers, traditional representatives of the third estate, leaders of the famous march on Versailles, these women from the Parisian markets were at the heart of revolutionary politics. This ground-breaking work explores the political activism and economic practices of the Dames des Halles from 1789 to 1799. It shows how certain market players shaped nascent democracy and capitalism through the most ordinary transactions. Tracing their struggles around commercial space, paper money, price controls, taxes and literary stereotypes, the book presents the undertaking of the Dames des Halles and their revolutionary companions to make contribution through work the cornerstone of civic legitimacy. In doing so, he undermines the narrative that the Revolution would usher in an inherently male citizenship.
Kate Jarvis is currently the Carl E. Koch Associate Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame.