The nervous stage : nineteenth-century neuroscience and the birth of modern theatre / Matthew Wilson Smith.
2017
PN2041
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Details
Title
The nervous stage : nineteenth-century neuroscience and the birth of modern theatre / Matthew Wilson Smith.
ISBN
9780190644116 (electronic book)
Published
New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2017.
Language
English
Description
1 online resource : illustrations.
Call Number
PN2041
Dewey Decimal Classification
792.01
Summary
19th-century investigations into the nervous system produced discoveries that changed ways of thinking far beyond the scientific community. Scientists began to conceive of the subject not principally as soul, mind, or even brain, but instead as a complex of organically interacting mechanisms, many of them operating more or less autonomously and unconsciously. Meanwhile, theatrical works of the time by Shelley, Wagner, Dickens, Buchner, Zola, and Strindberg, sought to play directly on the nerves of the spectators, comprising a coherent genre Matthew Wilson Smith has dubbed the 'theatres of sensation.' 'The Nervous Stage' examines the relations between theatrical practices and the scientific study of the nervous system, arguing that to a degree, modern theatre emerged out of the interaction between these two apparently disparate fields.
Note
Previous edition issued in print: 2017.
19th-century investigations into the nervous system produced discoveries that changed ways of thinking far beyond the scientific community. Scientists began to conceive of the subject not principally as soul, mind, or even brain, but instead as a complex of organically interacting mechanisms, many of them operating more or less autonomously and unconsciously. Meanwhile, theatrical works of the time by Shelley, Wagner, Dickens, Buchner, Zola, and Strindberg, sought to play directly on the nerves of the spectators, comprising a coherent genre Matthew Wilson Smith has dubbed the 'theatres of sensation.' 'The Nervous Stage' examines the relations between theatrical practices and the scientific study of the nervous system, arguing that to a degree, modern theatre emerged out of the interaction between these two apparently disparate fields.
19th-century investigations into the nervous system produced discoveries that changed ways of thinking far beyond the scientific community. Scientists began to conceive of the subject not principally as soul, mind, or even brain, but instead as a complex of organically interacting mechanisms, many of them operating more or less autonomously and unconsciously. Meanwhile, theatrical works of the time by Shelley, Wagner, Dickens, Buchner, Zola, and Strindberg, sought to play directly on the nerves of the spectators, comprising a coherent genre Matthew Wilson Smith has dubbed the 'theatres of sensation.' 'The Nervous Stage' examines the relations between theatrical practices and the scientific study of the nervous system, arguing that to a degree, modern theatre emerged out of the interaction between these two apparently disparate fields.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on October 17, 2017).
Available in Other Form
Print version: 9780190644086
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