Greenwood Daily Life Online

Subject

All entries are given subject metadata to help categorize the material. At a minimum, entries fall into at least one "major" subject category, such as Domestic Life or Political Life. Where relevant, many entries are also given a "minor" subject to further categorize them, such as Domestic Life > Marriage or Political Life > Law. It is not uncommon for a single entry to be given more than one major or minor subject.

For convenience, a list of our major and minor subjects derived from the content of Daily Life Online is listed below. For major subjects, a general description is provided as well. Note that when search results are sorted by subject, they will appear in order according to this list.

Domestic Life
The center of daily life is the home, and more important, the people who inhabit our domestic space. Subjects here are:

Children
Death, Burial, and the Afterlife
Eunuchs
Family Life
Marriage
Men
Sexuality
Women

Economic Life
The complexities of Economic Life include everything from the production of income to trade to its unequal distribution throughout society. Subjects here are:

Calendar and Time
Money
Rural Life
Slavery
Social Structure
Trade
Travel and Transportation
Urban Life
Work

Intellectual Life
The human mind is an amazing thing that allows people to reflect on ideas so abstract that we can imagine things we could never see or touch. Subjects here are:

Art
Calendar and Time
Communication
Education
Health and Medicine
Language and Writing
Literature
Science

Material Life
Material Life describes the things we use, from the houses that give us shelter to the food that sustains us, the clothes that protect us, and the items that amuse us. Subjects here are:

Appearance
Clothing
Drink
Food
Health and Medicine
Housing
Science
Transportation
Urban Life

Political Life
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) claimed that humans are by definition political animals, and by this he meant that an essential part of human life involves interacting in the public sphere with people who are not our intimate families. Subjects here are:

Government
Law
Social Structure
Warfare
Weapons

Recreational Life
After family and work, most of our energies are devoted to recreational activities, and as any modern sports enthusiast knows, we can play with as much passion as we work. Subjects here are:

Art
Dance, Music, and Theatre
Holidays, Festivals, and Spectacles
Leisure
Sports and Games

Religious Life
Throughout history, people have left records of their recognition of and longing for something larger than themselves, and this desire to transcend daily life forms the basis for people's religious faiths. Subjects here are:

Churches
Death, Burial, and the Afterlife
Holidays, Festivals, and Spectacles
Magic and Superstitions
Religious Beliefs
Rituals

Historical Overview

Primary Sources

Region

All entries are given metadata based on region and country of the world to help categorize the material. It is not uncommon for a single entry to be relevant to more than one region.

For convenience, a list of regions derived from the content of Daily Life Online is listed below. Note that when search results are sorted by region, they will appear in order according to this list.

Europe
Middle East
Asia
Africa
Oceania
North America
Latin America

Time

All entries are given metadata based on time period to help categorize the material. It is not uncommon for a single entry to be relevant to more than one time.

For convenience, a list of regions derived from the content of Daily Life Online is listed below. Note that when search results are sorted by time, they will appear in order according to this list.

Ancient World
Medieval World
15th and 16th Centuries
17th and 18th Centuries
19th Century
Modern World