Stunts of late nineteenth-century New York : aestheticised precarity, endangered liveness / Kirstin Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Kirstin, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Daredevils--New York (State)--New York--History--19th century.

Stunt performers--New York (State)--New York--History--19th century.

Performing arts--New York (State)--New York--History--19th century.

Journalism--New York (State)--New York--History--19th century.

Risk-taking (Psychology).

Daredevils.

Journalism.

Performing arts.

Stunt performers.

History.

New York (State)--New York.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

216 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.

Summary:

"Stunts of Late Nineteenth Century New York: Aestheticised Precarity, Endangered Liveness examines the emergence of stunts in the media, politics, sport, and art of New York at the turn of the twentieth century. This book investigates stunts in sport, media, and politics, demonstrating how these risky performances tapped into anxieties and fantasies concerning work, freedom, gendered/raced/classed bodies, and the commodification of human life. Its case studies examine bridge jumping, extreme walking contests, stunt journalists such as Nellie Bly, and cycling feats including Annie Londonderry's round-the-world venture. Supported by extensive archival research and performance studies theorisations of precarity, liveness, and surrogation, Smith theorises an under-examined form which is still prevalent in art, politics, and commerce, to show what stunts reveal about value, risk and human life. Suitable for scholars and practitioners across a range of subjects, from performance studies, to gender studies, to media studies, Stunts of Late Nineteenth-Century New York explores how stunts turned everyday precarity into a spectacle"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Stunts and money : bridge jumping and the Industrial Army

Stunts, work and walking in circles in the "go-as-you-please" race

Stunt journalism

Turning the wheel : bicycle stunts, circulation and derivatives.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9780367142698

0367142694

OCLC:

1098231142