The Great Nation in Decline

Sex, Modernity and Health Crises in Revolutionary France c.1750–1850

Nonfiction, History, World History
Cover of the book The Great Nation in Decline by Sean M. Quinlan, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sean M. Quinlan ISBN: 9781317029885
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: March 16, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Sean M. Quinlan
ISBN: 9781317029885
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: March 16, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

This book studies how doctors responded to - and helped shape - deep-seated fears about nervous degeneracy and population decline in France between 1750 and 1850. It uncovers a rich and far-ranging medical debate in which four generations of hygiene activists used biomedical science to transform the self, sexuality and community in order to regenerate a sick and decaying nation; a programme doctors labelled 'physical and moral hygiene'. Moreover, it is shown how doctors imparted biomedical ideas and language that allowed lay people to make sense of often bewildering socio-political changes, thereby giving them a sense of agency and control over these events. Combining a chronological and thematic approach, the six chapters in this book trace how doctors began their medical crusade during the middle of the Enlightenment, how this activism flowered during the French Revolution, and how they then revised their views during the period of post-revolutionary reaction. The study concludes by arguing that medicine acquired an unprecedented political, social and cultural position in French society, with doctors becoming the primary spokesmen for bourgeois values, and thus helped to define the new world that emerged from the post-revolutionary period.

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

This book studies how doctors responded to - and helped shape - deep-seated fears about nervous degeneracy and population decline in France between 1750 and 1850. It uncovers a rich and far-ranging medical debate in which four generations of hygiene activists used biomedical science to transform the self, sexuality and community in order to regenerate a sick and decaying nation; a programme doctors labelled 'physical and moral hygiene'. Moreover, it is shown how doctors imparted biomedical ideas and language that allowed lay people to make sense of often bewildering socio-political changes, thereby giving them a sense of agency and control over these events. Combining a chronological and thematic approach, the six chapters in this book trace how doctors began their medical crusade during the middle of the Enlightenment, how this activism flowered during the French Revolution, and how they then revised their views during the period of post-revolutionary reaction. The study concludes by arguing that medicine acquired an unprecedented political, social and cultural position in French society, with doctors becoming the primary spokesmen for bourgeois values, and thus helped to define the new world that emerged from the post-revolutionary period.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Reconnecting Markets by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book Legacies of the Comfort Women of World War II by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book The Structure of Psychological Common Sense by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book CMR: Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods by Road by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book Religion, Media, and Social Change by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book Economics as an Evolutionary Science by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book The Routledge Handbook of Planning for Health and Well-Being by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book The Prevention and Control of Delinquency by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book Professionalism, Boundaries and the Workplace by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book A Formal Approach to Discourse Anaphora by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book The Japanese and the Jesuits by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book Trade and Contemporary Society along the Silk Road by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book The Concept of Meaning by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book Revival: The Mystical Quest of Christ (1923) by Sean M. Quinlan
Cover of the book Rethinking Sociological Theory by Sean M. Quinlan
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