Attempts to develop a "baseline understanding" of the nature of female criminality and its control during the first two decades of the twentieth century, using data from the court system of Muncie. The analysis of such historical data, though not necessarily representative of contemporary times or more urban settings, provide essential…

The history of Muncie's religious life in the 1920's and 1930's is examined as an illustration of what happened regarding churches and religion in the "typical" U.S. town. The ethnic and denominational mix and the changes in each are discussed. (RM)

In 1920 Robert S. and Helen M. Lynd published the results of their exhaustive study of everyday life in Muncie, Indiana, dubbing the city "Middletown" as a symbol of the typical American community. Salient conclusions of the study are summarized, and significant recent literature on Middletown is assessed. (RM)

Known as Middletown since Robert and Helen Lynd studied it in 1924, Muncie, like every other U.S. community studied during that period, turned out to be obsessed with the idea of social class. Recently researchers have found in Muncie some tendency toward the disappearance of a preoccupation with social class. (RM)