Aroma - Couverture souple

Classen, Constance

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 041511473X ISBN 13 : 9780415114738

Editeur : Routledge, 1994

Synopsis

Aroma This text argues that smell is repressed in the modern West, and its social history ignored. It attempts to break the "olfactory silence" of modernity by offering an exploration of the cultural role of odours in Western history and in a wide variety of non-Western societies. Full description

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Smell is a social phenomenon, given particular meanings and values by different cultures. Odours form the building blocks of cosmologies, class hierarchies, and political odours. They can enforce social structures or transgress them, unite people or divide them, empower or disempower. The authors argue that the sociology of smell is repressed in the modern West, and its social history ignored. This book breaks the "olfactory silence" of modernity. It offers the first comprehensive exploration of the cultural role of odours in Western history - from antiquity to the present. It also covers a wide variey of non-Western societies. Its topics range from the medieval concept of the "odour of sanctity", to the aromatherapies of South America, and from olfactory stereotypes of gender and ethnicity in the modern West to the role of smell in postmodernity. Its subject matter will fascinate anyone who likes to nose around in the inner workings of culture.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Routledge
• Date d'édition: 1994
• ISBN 10: 041511473X
• ISBN 13: 9780415114738
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 260