The disordered body : epidemic disease and cultural transformation / Suzanne E. Hatty and James Hatty.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Hatty, Suzanne.

Contributor:

• Hatty, James, 1923-

Series:

• SUNY series in medical anthropology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Epidemics--History.
• Epidemics.
• History.
• Epidemics--Social aspects.
• Medical anthropology.
• Human body.

Physical Description:

v, 362 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [1999]

Summary:

• The Disordered Body presents a fascinating look at how three epidemics of the medieval and Early Renaissance period in Western Europe shaped and altered conceptions of the human body in ways that continue today. Authors Suzanne E. Hatty and James Hatty show the ways in which concepts of the disordered body relate to constructions of disease. In so doing, they establish a historical link between the discourses of the disordered body and the constructs of gender. The ideas of embodiment, contagion and social space are placed in historical context, and the authors argue that our current anxieties about bodies and places have important historical precedents. They show how the cultural practices of embodied social interaction have been shaped by disease, especially epidemics.
• The topic of 'epidemic disease and cultural transformation' has been a significant topic, ebbing and flowing at various times, for the past one thousand years. As we move into the next millennium and in the context of such diseases as HIVAIDS, ebola viruses, and so on, the topic is not only important in and of itself, but it is also fundamental to several fields of study, ranging in scope from genetics and biology to human and social ecology, not to mention from advanced technology and cyberspace to individual (and collective) sexuality and identification.

Contents:

• Part I. The Body: Constructs and Constraints
• Chapter 1. Imaging the Body 3
• Chapter 2. Banishing the "Unclean" Body 31
• Part II. Apocalyptic Angst
• Chapter 3. Florence: A "City of the Wicked" 61
• Chapter 4. Disordered Bodies in Abundance 81
• Chapter 5. Castigating the Flesh 101
• Chapter 6. Regulating the Bodies of Citizens 129
• Chapter 7. The Diseased Body Confronts Medicine 163
• Part III. Fin-de-siecle Forebodings
• Chapter 8. The Danger of Touch: The Body and Social Distance 193
• Chapter 9. Corporeal Catastrophe: Bodies "Crash" and Disappear 233.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-343) and index.

ISBN:

• 0791443655
• 0791443663

OCLC:

40716279