Description
Book SynopsisExamines how the body - its organs, limbs, viscera - was represented in literature and culture of early modern Europe. The text asks why 16th and 17th century medical, religious, and literary texts portray the body part by part, rather than as an entity and what this tells of society at the time.
Trade Review"The book is helpfully organized... The essays are consistently innovative..." -- Medieval and RenaissanceDrama in England 1999
"...these essays are incredibly learned, filled with analyses of anatomical treatises, ancient medical encyclopedias and commentaries on scripture." -- The NewYork Times
"The Body in Parts is a must-read not only for those interested in the culture of early modern Europe, but for anyone interested in thinking about the modern and post-modern body as well. Its claims for the importance of the body and its discourses for understanding the literary, scientific, political and religious culture of early modern Europe are persuasive and its range--literally from head to toe--and learning admirable. A significant contribution to ongoing work on gender, sexuality and the body." -- Karen Newman, Brown University
"The Body in Parts expands the knowledge of this crucial period of history through the exploration of the social, symbolic, and scientific fragmentation of the body, This book will appeal to scholars interested in literature, history, art, and development of scientific knowledge in the early modern era." -- Sixteenth Century Journal
Table of ContentsI. Introduction: Individual Parts I. Subjecting the Part 2. Members Only 3. Out of Joint 4. Sins of the Tongue 5. Visceral Knowledge 6. Nervous Tension II. Sexing the Part 7. Is the Fundament a Grave? 8. Missing the Breast 9. The Rediscovery of the Clitoris 10. Taming the Basilisk III. Divining the Part II. Mutilation and Meaning 12. Fables of the Belly in Early Modern England 13. Sacred Heart and Secular Brain 14. God's handy worke IV. Parting Words 15. Footnotes
