Deconstructing Dolls explores the role of dolls in girlhood and young womanhood, seeking to understand the historical and contemporary significance of dolls particularly as they relate social meanings in the lives of girls.

List of illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Interrogating the Meanings of Dolls: New Directions in Doll Studies Miriam Forman-Brunell Chapter 1. Dolling Up History: Fictions of Jewish American Girlhood Lisa Marcus Chapter 2. “A Story, Exemplified in a Series of Figures”: Paper Doll versus Moral Tale in the Nineteenth Century Hannah Field Chapter 3. From American Girls into American Women: A Discussion of American Girl Doll Nostalgia Molly Brookfield Chapter 4. Barbie versus Modulor: Ideal Bodies, Buildings, and Typical Users Frederika Eilers Chapter 5. Handmade Identities: Girls, Dolls and DIY April Renée Mandrona Chapter 6. An Afternoon of Productive Play with Problematic Dolls: The Importance of Foregrounding Children’s Voices in Research Rebecca C. Hains Chapter 7. Some Assembly Required: Black Barbie and the Fabrication of Nicki Minaj Jennifer Dawn Whitney Chapter 8. Black Girls and Dolls Navigating Race, Class, and Gender in Toronto Janet Rosemarie Seow