The Routledge History of the Senses

The Routledge History of the Senses presents readers with an overview of the field. As well as pointing to directions for the future of the discipline, it illustrates the extent to which the subject offers a considerable space for the exploration of diverse historical topics through the lens of sensory experience.

The handbook brings together essays and case studies from some of the leading academics on the history of the senses. Together, they not only chart topics and arguments in existing scholarship but introduce fresh methodologies for future analyses. Specifically, the chapters collectively show that the senses of the historical body often portray the intensity of the invasion of capital upon the functions of the mind throughout global history. As a global history, this work arrives at a time when many sensory historians are looking for a touchstone for moving beyond the often heavily Western frameworks that dominate the existing literature on the historical senses.

Not only will this book appeal to students and scholars of the history of senses, visual studies, art history, food studies, and many of the social sciences, but individual chapters also offer useful reading material for a wide range of history modules and contemporary topics.