Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan
Book cover

Syphilis and Subjectivity

From the Victorians to the Present

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Editors:
  1. Kari Nixon

    1. Department of English, Whitworth University, Spokane, WA, USA

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Lorenzo Servitje

    1. Department of English and Health, Medicine, and Society Program, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Discusses increasing attention to the social constructions of specific diseases, particularly Syphilis
  • Examines how the social meanings exceed the medical significance of Syphilis
  • Holds interdisciplinary appeal across the social sciences and humanities, especially medical anthropology/history/literary studies and cultural studies

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Kari Nixon, Lorenzo Servitje
    Pages 1-12

  5. Back Matter

    Pages 183-188
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

This book demystifies the cultural work of syphilis from the late nineteenth century to the present. By interrogating the motivations that engender habits of belief, thought, and conduct regarding the disease and notions of the self, this interdisciplinary volume investigates constructions of syphilis that had a significant role in shaping modern subjectivity. Chapters draw from a variety of scholarly methods, such as cultural and literary studies, sociology, and anthropology. Authors unravel the representations and influence of syphilis in various cultural forms: cartography, medical writings, literature, historical periodicals, and contemporary popular discourses such as internet forums and electronic news media.


Exploring the ways syphilitic rhetoric responds to, generates, or threatens social systems and cultural capital offers a method by which we can better understand the geographies of blame that are central to the conceptual heritage of the disease. This unique volume will appeal to students and scholars in the medical humanities, medical sociology, the history of medicine, and Victorian and modernist studies.

Reviews

“Professional historians of medicine (particularly of 20th century medicine) will be interested in this book thanks to its methodological approach, relying on a broad range of sources (including internet forums). Interest in the book goes beyond, as it will serve as a basis for a reflection on the conceptualization of the disease (scientific and medical, as well as societal, literary, and imaginary). This book is a key read in modern medicine rather than just history of medicine.” (Alain Touwaide, Doody's Book Reviews, March, 2018)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of English, Whitworth University, Spokane, WA, USA

    Kari Nixon

  • Department of English and Health, Medicine, and Society Program, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA

    Lorenzo Servitje

About the editors

Kari Nixon is Assistant professor for English at Whitworth University, USA. Her research focuses on the confluence of microbiology, germ theory, and social norms in the late nineteenth century.

Lorenzo Servitje is Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Health, Medicine, and Society Program at Lehigh University, USA. His work examines the mutual constitution of literature and medicine in the Victorian era, in addition to representation of medical discourse in popular culture.



Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Syphilis and Subjectivity

  • Book Subtitle: From the Victorians to the Present

  • Editors: Kari Nixon, Lorenzo Servitje

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66367-8

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-66366-1Published: 11 January 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-88226-0Published: 04 June 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-66367-8Published: 14 December 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: X, 188

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Medical Sociology, Sociology of the Body, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, History of Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation