Approaching Hysteria: Disease and Its Interpretations
By Mark S. MicaleFew diseases have exercised the Western imagination as chronically as hysteria - from the wandering womb of ancient Greek medicine, to the demonically possessed witch of the Renaissance; from the vaporous salon women of Enlightenment Paris, through to the celebrated patients of Sigmund Freud, with their extravagant, erotically charged symptoms. In this book, the author surveys the range of past and present readings of hysteria by intellectual historians; historians of science and medicine; scholars in gender studies, art history, and literature; and psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and neurologists. In so doing, he explores numerous questions raised by this ever-growing body of literature: why, in recent years, has the history of hysterical disorders carried such resonance for commentators in the sciences and humanities? What can we learn from the textual traditions of hysteria about writing the history of disease in general? What is the broader cultural meaning of the new hysteria studies? In the second half of the book, Micale discusses the many historical cultures of hysteria. He reconstructs the past usages of the hysteria concept as a powerful, descriptive trope in various non-medical domains, including poetry, fiction, theatre, social thought, political criticism, and the arts. His book is an attempt to write the historical phenomenology of disease in an age preoccupied with health, and a prescriptive remedy for writing histories of disease in the future.
Book details
- Hardcover
- 344 pages
- English
- 0691037175
- 9780691037172
About Mark S. Micale
mark s. micale was Read More about Mark S. Micale
More Books By Mark S. Micale
People who bought this also bought
Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges book by Amy Cuddy
New Book
Lost Islamic History: Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past book by Firas Alkhateeb
New Book
Bridal Gown Guide: Discover the Dress of Your Dreams at a Price You Can Afford
Used Book
An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness book by Kay Redfield Jamison
New Book
Eternity : Reclaiming a Passion for What Endures By Joseph M. Stowell
Used Book
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma book by Mustafa Suleyman
New Book
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's journey book by Jill Bolte Taylor
Used Book
The 10% Entrepreneur: Live Your Startup Dream Without Quitting Your Day Job book by Patrick J. McGinnis
New Book
Just Work: How to Root Out Bias, Prejudice, and Bullying to Build a Kick-Ass Culture of Inclusivity book by Kim Scott
New Book
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew : From Fox Hunting to Whist-the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England
Used Book
Favorite Recipes The Costco Way - Delicious Dishes Using Costco Products
Used Book
Memory'S Ghost: The Nature Of Memory And The Strange Tale Of Mr. M
Used Book
Brandywine Critters: Nature Crafts from Brandywine Christmas
Used Book
Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't by Michael J. Losier
New Book