Pennock, C.D. orcid.org/0000-0001-7237-4675 (2011) 'A remarkably patterned life': Domestic and public in the aztec household city. Gender and History, 23 (3). pp. 528-546. ISSN 0953-5233
Abstract
This article argues that the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan should be understood as a 'household', a structure that gave powerful significance to binary gendered ideologies at every level of city organisation. Male and female roles were configured around 'public' and 'domestic' spheres, but these concepts were perceived in a broader and more flexible way than traditional public/private dichotomies suggest and might helpfully be understood in political terms as distinguishing between exterior/foreign and interior/domestic realms. Building on understandings of parallelism and complementarity, the article demonstrates that gendered pairings, based on distinctive masculine/public and feminine/domestic spheres, mirrored the household not only in social, economic and political contexts, but also in religious settings, providing space for both male and female power at every level of urban life. Just as a married couple provided the basis to a successful and productive home, so the parallel responsibilities of men and women, structured according to concepts of 'household' and reflected throughout the institutions and activities of the city, were believed to form the foundations of a thriving Aztec city.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Gender & History. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > Department of History (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 01 Sep 2016 09:29 |
Last Modified: | 25 Oct 2016 17:41 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0424.2011.01652.x |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/j.1468-0424.2011.01652.x |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:98074 |