Reviews
Far ranging, imaginative... Sensory Worlds in Early America is a signal contribution to the emerging field of the history of the senses. It is a work of scholarship that takes risks with its sources and conclusions, asking readers to stretch their horizons to include new elements in the practice of twenty-first century cultural history. In that it succeeds admirably.
Part of the contribution of Peter Charles Hoffer's elegantly written study is that it suggests what dedicated attention to the senses might achieve.
Hoffer's thesis that history is part of a sensate process is remarkable, infectious, and written with verve.
Sensory Worlds works best when Hoffer uses his evidence to carefully reconstruct the sensate experience in early America in order to bring new depth to familiar stories.
Reconstructing the sensory world of early Americans and what it meant to them is no easy task, yet Peter Charles Hoffer achieves just that. With a vivid, engaging prose style, he effectively recreates the visible, audible, and tangible reality of colonial America. This fresh and insightful work enlarges our understanding of the period and affirms the importance of sensation as a causative agent in history.
Book Details
Preface
Introduction: New Worlds for Historians: The Realm of the Senses
1. Brave New Worlds: English-Indian Encounters
2. Invisible Worlds: Indian Wars and Witchcraft Crises
3. Other Worlds: Slave
Preface
Introduction: New Worlds for Historians: The Realm of the Senses
1. Brave New Worlds: English-Indian Encounters
2. Invisible Worlds: Indian Wars and Witchcraft Crises
3. Other Worlds: Slave Revolts and Religious Awakenings
4. A World of Difference: The Revolution of the Senses
Coda
Notes
Index