A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Empire

(Paperback)

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The 19th century was a time of new sensory experiences and modes of perception. The raucous mechanical intensity of the train and the factory vied for attention with the dazzling splendour of department stores and world fairs. Colonization and trade carried European sensations and sensibilities to the world and, in turn, flooded the West with exotic sights and savours. Urban stench became a matter of urgent public concern. Photography created a compelling alternate reality accessible only to the eye. At the turn of the 20th century, the telephone and the radio isolated and extended the sense of hearing and electrical networks spread their webs throughout cities. These novel experiences were reflected in contemporary art and literature, which strove for new ways to express modern sensibilities. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Empire brings together a group of eminent historians to explore the aesthetic, cultural and political formation of the senses during a period of momentous change. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Empire presents essays on the following topics: the social life of the senses; urban sensations; the senses in the marketplace; the senses in religion; the senses in philosophy and science; medicine and the senses; the senses in literature; art and the senses; and sensory media.

Reviews

[A] diverse and stimulating collection of essays on the senses in the age of empire ... [that] offers an extraordinarily rich and compelling exploration of the senses ... This book succeeds as a history that offers illuminating analysis and discussion necessary to sketch out the wider social and cultural debates. Yet the chapters will undoubtedly offer fresh perspectives and insights to readers with expertise in the subject matter of individual essays ... [W]hichever of its chapters you turn to, or if you read the book from cover to cover in one sitting, you will find yourself wanting to go back for a second helping to immerse yourself in this rich sensory exploration of nineteenth- and early twentieth- century history and culture. * Victorian Network *

Author Bio

Constance Classen is Visiting Scholar at McGill University, Canada and director of an interdisciplinary project on art, museums and the senses. She is the editor of The Book of Touch (2005), and the author of, among other works, Worlds of Sense: Exploring the Senses in History and Across Cultures (1993), The Color of Angels: Cosmology, Gender and the Aesthetic Imagination (1998) and The Deepest Sense: A Cultural History of Touch (2012).