Substance and Seduction

Ingested Commodities in Early Modern Mesoamerica

Nonfiction, History, Americas, Latin America
Cover of the book Substance and Seduction by , University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781477313893
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: November 8, 2017
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781477313893
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: November 8, 2017
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English

Chocolate and sugar, alcohol and tobacco, peyote and hallucinogenic mushrooms—these seductive substances have been a nexus of desire for both pleasure and profit in Mesoamerica since colonial times. But how did these substances seduce? And when and how did they come to be desired and then demanded, even by those who had never encountered them before? The contributors to this volume explore these questions across a range of times, places, and peoples to discover how the individual pleasures of consumption were shaped by social, cultural, economic, and political forces.Focusing on ingestible substances as a group, which has not been done before in the scholarly literature, the chapters in Substance and Seduction trace three key links between colonization and commodification. First, as substances that were taken into the bodies of both colonizers and colonized, these foods and drugs participated in unexpected connections among sites of production and consumption; racial and ethnic categories; and free, forced, and enslaved labor regimes. Second, as commodities developed in the long transition from mercantile to modern capitalism, each substance in some way drew its enduring power from its ability to seduce: to stimulate bodies; to alter minds; to mark class, social, and ethnic boundaries; and to generate wealth. Finally, as objects of scholarly inquiry, each substance rewards interdisciplinary approaches that balance the considerations of pleasure and profit, materiality and morality, and culture and political economy.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Chocolate and sugar, alcohol and tobacco, peyote and hallucinogenic mushrooms—these seductive substances have been a nexus of desire for both pleasure and profit in Mesoamerica since colonial times. But how did these substances seduce? And when and how did they come to be desired and then demanded, even by those who had never encountered them before? The contributors to this volume explore these questions across a range of times, places, and peoples to discover how the individual pleasures of consumption were shaped by social, cultural, economic, and political forces.Focusing on ingestible substances as a group, which has not been done before in the scholarly literature, the chapters in Substance and Seduction trace three key links between colonization and commodification. First, as substances that were taken into the bodies of both colonizers and colonized, these foods and drugs participated in unexpected connections among sites of production and consumption; racial and ethnic categories; and free, forced, and enslaved labor regimes. Second, as commodities developed in the long transition from mercantile to modern capitalism, each substance in some way drew its enduring power from its ability to seduce: to stimulate bodies; to alter minds; to mark class, social, and ethnic boundaries; and to generate wealth. Finally, as objects of scholarly inquiry, each substance rewards interdisciplinary approaches that balance the considerations of pleasure and profit, materiality and morality, and culture and political economy.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Glasnost—Soviet Cinema Responds by
Cover of the book Eleven Days in Hell by
Cover of the book Slaves into Workers by
Cover of the book Science among the Ottomans by
Cover of the book Command Culture by
Cover of the book Cinema, Colonialism, Postcolonialism by
Cover of the book Reflections on the Neches by
Cover of the book Forging the Star by
Cover of the book Walls of Empowerment by
Cover of the book Yard Art and Handmade Places by
Cover of the book Confabulario and Other Inventions by
Cover of the book Private Property and the Endangered Species Act by
Cover of the book Texas Ranger N. O. Reynolds, the Intrepid by
Cover of the book Católicos by
Cover of the book Austin, Cleared for Takeoff by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy