Foreign Bodies and the Body Politic: Discourses of Social Pathology in Early Modern England (Cambridge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.22 (660 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0521594057 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 216 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-01-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Typical academic" according to Cornerstone. Following the modern trend of history (and most of 19th though late 20th century history), he just accepts the quotes and sources which fit his needs and creates grand generalizations from them (cherry picking history.) He does make legitimate points, but it would be nice for him to acknowledge counter-trends, and facts which didn't fit hit neat little Procrustean bed.. Bill Brinsley said Jonathan Gil Harris has done it again!. This is more tasty and masterful stuff from a man at the very top of his game. Never before has the overlap between early modern English attitudes to disease and society been so trenchantly examined. Only JGH could render the interfaces of medicine, morality and politics in Tudor and early Stuart England with such startling clarity, and yet, at the same time, with such verve and pizazz. Bravo Professor, and Oprah, take note: He's easy on the eye, as well as handy with the quill!
The pathological and the political thus have a long-standing, problematic, and mostly neglected relationship, the prehistory of which this book seeks to uncover.. One can glimpse the origins of not only modern xenophobic attitudes to foreigners as carriers of disease, but also "germ" theory in general. In particular, it demonstrates how the body politic's metaphorical "cankers" and "plagues" were increasingly attributed to allegedly pathological "foreign bodies" such as Jews, Catholics, and witches. This book examines the overlap between ea