Phobia and American literature, 1705-1937 : a therapeutic history /
"Phobia and American Literature recovers a two-century history of phobia as a medical, political, and aesthetic concept from the late colonial period to the Harlem Renaissance. Scholars have presumed that phobia's diagnosis first gathered momentum with the coinage of agoraphobia in the las...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
[2025]
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| Series: | Oxford studies in American literary history.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "Phobia and American Literature recovers a two-century history of phobia as a medical, political, and aesthetic concept from the late colonial period to the Harlem Renaissance. Scholars have presumed that phobia's diagnosis first gathered momentum with the coinage of agoraphobia in the last third of the nineteenth century and became established with the rise of psychoanalysis and behaviorism. This narrative has eclipsed a deeper genealogy. Tracing phobia's emergence as a variable suffix, inclined to become attached to diverse objects, situations, and ideas, the book tells a neglected story of phobia's rise as a familiar psychological state. Focusing on conversations between writers and physicians concentrated in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, it shows how this interdisciplinary dialogue helped lay the foundation for therapeutic modes of understanding and addressing social discrimination. As medical interest in the role of textuality in mental health infused literature with awareness of its salutary capacities, American writers worked to harness the influence of the written word on readers' psychophysiological wellbeing"-- |
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| Physical Description: | xvi, 247 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780198945987 0198945981 |