Historians on Housewives

According to popular stereotype Bravo reality television portrays vapid one-dimensional characters tearing each other down for viewers’ enjoyment. Whether <i>The Real Housewives</i> taps into our voyeuristic urges our fascination with wealth and class or the allure of the sheer spectacle of grown women yelling at one another the show is truly a cultural phenomenon—and a global one with more than twenty international spin-offs. <i>Historians on Housewives</i> looks past the show’s reputation as lowbrow unscripted reality television and unveils deeper historical meanings behind some of Bravo’s best-known programs and franchises.<br/><br/>This collection of ten essays is both a celebration of the bizarre behavior of the Real Housewives and a critical theorizing of the importance of the shows and the Housewives themselves. <i>Historians on Housewives</i> explores relationships between historical topics and themes and some of Bravo’s most iconic moments to demonstrate the usefulness of Bravo television as a tool for making history accessible. With contributions from scholars representing an impressive historical breadth from the Roman Empire to the civil rights movement and beyond the volume carves out a space for serious treatment of the franchise fusing scholarship with pop culture to suggest interdisciplinary approaches for “doing history” that appeal to popular and academic audiences alike.<br/><br/>Contributors are Nicole L. Anslover Martina Baldwin Emilie M.Brinkman Marcia Chatelain Jennifer C. Edwards Jennifer M. Fogel Tanisha C. Ford Noah D. Guynn Rosemarie Jones Haley Schroer Kristalyn M. Shefvelend and Serenity Sutherland.