Which historian described the Jazz Age as defined by an ethic of self-indulgence?

Which historian described the Jazz Age as defined by an ethic of self-indulgence?

• A. F. Scott Fitzgerald
• B. Thorstein Veblen
• C. Joshua Zeitz
• D. Jean Toomer

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how historians describe the Jazz Age in terms of values and behavior. The phrase “ethic of self-indulgence” points to a culture that celebrated personal pleasure, consumerism, nightlife, fashion, and a break from traditional constraints. Joshua Zeitz is the historian who frames the Jazz Age this way, arguing in his work on the era that its defining mood centers on self-expression and indulgence alongside political and social change. He shows how youth culture, Prohibition-era nightlife, and changing gender norms reflected a shift toward personal freedom and gratification as a defining ethos of the time. F. Scott Fitzgerald, while he captures the mood of the Jazz Age in his writing, is a novelist, not the historian giving this analytical frame. Thorstein Veblen critiqued consumer culture earlier in the century with concepts like conspicuous consumption, not specifically labeling the Jazz Age as an ethic of self-indulgence. Jean Toomer focuses on the Harlem Renaissance and broader modernist concerns rather than this particular characterization.

The idea being tested is how historians describe the Jazz Age in terms of values and behavior. The phrase “ethic of self-indulgence” points to a culture that celebrated personal pleasure, consumerism, nightlife, fashion, and a break from traditional constraints.

Joshua Zeitz is the historian who frames the Jazz Age this way, arguing in his work on the era that its defining mood centers on self-expression and indulgence alongside political and social change. He shows how youth culture, Prohibition-era nightlife, and changing gender norms reflected a shift toward personal freedom and gratification as a defining ethos of the time.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, while he captures the mood of the Jazz Age in his writing, is a novelist, not the historian giving this analytical frame. Thorstein Veblen critiqued consumer culture earlier in the century with concepts like conspicuous consumption, not specifically labeling the Jazz Age as an ethic of self-indulgence. Jean Toomer focuses on the Harlem Renaissance and broader modernist concerns rather than this particular characterization.