A cultural history of the senses in the age of Enlightenment, 1650-1800 / edited by Anne C. Vila.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Vila, Anne C., 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Senses and sensation--History--18th century.

Senses and sensation.

Enlightenment.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 267 pages)

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.

Summary:

"This volume examines the varied ways in which the senses were perceived afresh during the Enlightenment. In addition to introducing new philosophical and scientific models which sometimes upended the classic hierarchy of the senses, this period witnessed major changes in living and working habits, including urbanization, travel and exploration, the invention of new sonic and visual media, and the rise of comfort and pleasure as values that cut across a range of social classes. As this volume shows, those developments inspired a wealth of sensorily stimulating styles of design, art, music, poetry, foodstuffs, material goods, and modes of worship and entertainment. The volume also demonstrates the period's countervailing concern with managing the senses, evident in fields like natural philosophy, medicine, education, religion, and public hygiene. Finally, it explores some of the Enlightenment's desensualizing tendencies, like the separation of sensuous body from discerning mind in certain arenas of science and manufacturing, and the late eighteenth-century shift away from a politics of publicity, or intense visual and aural scrutiny, toward the secret ballot.The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores 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; The Senses in Art; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note:

IllustrationsGeneral Editor's PrefaceIntroduction1. The Social Life of the Senses2. Urban and Rural Sensations3. Consumption and the Senses4. The Senses in Religion5. The Senses in Philosophy and Science6. Medicine and the Senses7. The Senses in Literature8. Art and the Senses9. Sensory MediaNotesBibliographyContributorsIndex.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. Available via World Wide Web. Access limited by licensing agreement. s2014 dcunns

Other Format:

Original

ISBN:

9781474233125 (online)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.