Cleaning Up

Over the course of the 20th century, American domestic service changed from an occupation with a hierarchical, top-down structure to one in which relationships were more negotiated. In this groundbreaking book, Coble explores the many forces that shaped this transformation.

An independent scholar, Alana Erickson Coble was an editor of The Encyclopedia of New York City and has published articles in that and other encyclopedias, and in Race and Reason and the Journal of International andWorking-Class History. She has also worked in technology at MIT, Columbia and internet consultancies.

IntroductionChapter 1. Breaking the Mold: Changing Work Structures Between the WarsChapter 2. The Bronx Slave Market: Depersonalizing Domestic ServiceChapter 3. From Condescension to Recruiting: Household Service Reform Efforts from WWI through KoreaChapter 4. Seeing Similarities: The Happy Housewife and New Respect for Domestic Servants, WW2 and BeyondChapter 5. A New LandscapeConclusionAppendixBibliography