Inventories of Bankrupt Urban Households in Bern: Arranging and Rearranging the ‚Hausrat‘ (1770-1870)

This dissertation project aims to research how the household changed and developed in the City of Bern from around 1770 to 1870. What are the continuities and changes in domestic practices during this period of transformation („Sattelzeit“, Reinhart Koselleck)? Further topics and questions of research for this project are: How did the material resources of the household change and what can be said about the history of consumption for this time period? In which way did separate spheres of men and women emerge? How did the public and private spheres change and how can they be distinguished?