Bodies and Narrativity Across the Early Modern World
9789048566372
262 pages
Amsterdam University Press
Overview
This book explores the intricate connections between the body and narrative across the early modern world. It examines how bodily aspects shaped the creation of stories and vice versa. The writing, telling, or interpreting of a story is inherently tied to corporeal acts and is, to varying degrees, shaped by them. Likewise, narrativity—the narrative form, including the framing and structuring elements that define a story’s meaning—can influence how the body is experienced, understood, and valued. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and incorporating case studies from Africa, the Americas, and Europe, this volume positions the body as a critical heuristic tool. It moves beyond the dichotomous debate between constructivism and essentialism by emphasizing the interplay of body and narrative.
Author Bio
Vitus Huber is Full Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Fribourg. He works on Ibero-American colonial history, the history of the body, autobiographical writing, and the history of the night. He has written two monographs on the so-called Conquista and most recently edited a special issue on self-optimization.
