Description

Our bodies are not fixed; they change over time. They vary with alterations in diet, exercise and illness, and shift as we age. Our attitudes to bodies, and especially to posture – how people hold themselves, how they move – are also fluid. Our stance and gait are interpreted as healthy or ill, able or disabled, elegant or slovenly, beautiful or ugly. In Stand Up Straight!: A History of Posture Sander L. Gilman probes these shifting concepts of posture to show how society views who we are and what we are able to do by how our bodies appear.From Neanderthal man to modern humans, Gilman shows how we have used our understanding of posture to define who we are – and who we are not. The book traverses theology and anthropology, medicine and politics, and ranges from discarded ideas of race to the most modern ideas of disability, and from theories of dance to concepts of national identity. Interweaving the history of posture with our developing knowledge of anatomy and cultural history, and fully illustrated with an array of striking images, Stand Up Straight! is the first comprehensive history of the upright body at rest and in movement.Editorial ReviewsReview“There is a grandeur to certain works of scholarship, a singularity of vision by which genius is defined. In this respect, Gilman’s Stand Up Straight! can be aligned with Simon Schama’s rapturous Landscape and Memory—another masterpiece of romantic historical philosophy—in terms of its cultural significance. . . . Stand Up Straight! is more than a joy to read. It is a privilege to wander the labyrinths of Gilman’s gorgeously eccentric and intricate mind.”(Australian)“Ambitious. . . . Gilman’s multidisciplinary approach draws on theology, philosophy, the military, medicine, and art. . . . He deftly threads the striking image of the plumb line throughout, using this trope to turn anecdote into data. . . . Stand Up Straight!’s illustrations are wonderful. . . . Gilman’s authoritative voice marshals a crowd of examples into a cogent, illuminating analysis. . . . What he demonstrates so successfully is that any history of posture is always a history of perception. The title’s bold imperative is a command barked at those whose posture supposedly imperils the nation, causes moral degeneration, or decreases productivity. He has produced a valuable book.”(Times Higher Education)“Gilman illuminates the historical significance of posture in the workplace, in our bodies and minds, in the military, and in culture. Underpinned by medicine, anthropology, and social engineering, never before has race, disability, and citizenship been so astutely linked to the ideal and image of standing up straight. A tour de force analysis, accompanied by extraordinary illustrations.”(Ana Carden-Coyne, University of Manchester)About the Author?Sander L. Gilman is distinguished professor of the liberal arts and sciences as well as professor of psychiatry at Emory University. A cultural and literary historian, he is the author or editor of more than ninety books.File Size: 8002 KBPrint Length: 424 pagesPublisher: Reaktion Books; 1 edition (February 12, 2018)http://www.amazon.com/Stand-Up-Straight-History-Posture-eboo…