Aroma: The Cultural History of Smell
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.93 (677 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 041511473X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-08-03 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
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.. It also covers a wide variey of non-Western societies. It offers the first comprehensive exploration of the cultural role of odours in Western history - from antiquity to the present. Odours form the building blocks of cosmologies, class hierarchies, and political odours. 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. They can enforce social structures or transgress them, unite people or divide them, empower or disempower. Smell is a social phenomenon, given particular meanings and values by different cultures
Warning: this book may bring on the desire to fill your home with bouquets of freesia, spread lavendar under your sheets, take baths infused with verbena, and rub rosemary through your hands. For Aroma, through its examination of the role of odor in various cultures and at different periods, cannot help but make a reader painfully aware of the great olfactory void that characterizes Western civilization in the late 20th century. Considering the omnipresent olfactory backdrop of automobile exhaust, a short growing season and limited access to the earth, that anyone is trying to `take back odor' surely is cause for celebration, especially for such olfactory afficionados as these authors.–The Montreal GazetteBetter than anything written on the subject thus far Tremendously rich and attention-holding.–Zygmunt BaumanAroma:
Anthony Synnott is Associate Professor of Sociology, Concordia University, Montreal. . Constance Classen is Reader, Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto. David Howes is Associate Professor of Anthropology, Concordia University, Montreal
Should be of interest to anyone involved in scent studies An interesting hybrid ~ scholarly AND highly readable -- and on a fascinating topic !. Wow! Can't get over the history and multidementions of this sense we experiencemy imagination is just full of thought on this.great book!!!. Four Stars Marina Heck very good