{"product_id":"theaters-of-madness-insane-asylums-and-nineteenth-century-american-culture-paperback-1","title":"Theaters of Madness: Insane Asylums and Nineteenth-Century American Culture - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eBenjamin Reiss\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the mid-1800s, a utopian movement to rehabilitate the insane resulted in a wave of publicly funded asylums-many of which became unexpected centers of cultural activity. Housed in magnificent structures with lush grounds, patients participated in theatrical programs, debating societies, literary journals, schools, and religious services. \u003ci\u003eTheaters of Madness\u003c\/i\u003e explores both the culture these rich offerings fomented and the asylum's place in the fabric of nineteenth-century life, reanimating a time when the treatment of the insane was a central topic in debates over democracy, freedom, and modernity. Benjamin Reiss explores the creative lives of patients and the cultural demands of their doctors. Their frequently clashing views turned practically all of American culture-from blackface minstrel shows to the works of William Shakespeare-into a battlefield in the war on insanity. Reiss also shows how asylums touched the lives and shaped the writing of key figures, such as Emerson and Poe, who viewed the system alternately as the fulfillment of a democratic ideal and as a kind of medical enslavement. Without neglecting this troubling contradiction, \u003ci\u003eTheaters of Madness\u003c\/i\u003e prompts us to reflect on what our society can learn from a generation that urgently and creatively tried to solve the problem of mental illness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBenjamin Reiss\u003c\/b\u003e is associate professor of English at Emory University and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Showman and the Slave: Race, Death, and Memory in Barnum's \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmerica\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 240\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 8.8 x 5.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 01, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42135241719943,"sku":"9780226709642","price":63.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/a0fa283f0ec0abf34c1484e68c33e152_ee1e83ff-3b70-45c3-a248-0a7636be7216.webp?v=1732648003","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/theaters-of-madness-insane-asylums-and-nineteenth-century-american-culture-paperback-1","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}