{"product_id":"spectacles-of-reform-amy-e-hughes-9780472035977","title":"Spectacles of Reform: Theater and Activism in Nineteenth-Century America","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the nineteenth century, long before film and television brought us explosions, car chases, and narrow escapes, it was America's theaters that thrilled audiences, with \"sensation scenes\" of speeding trains, burning buildings, and endangered bodies, often in melodramas extolling the virtues of temperance, abolition, and women's suffrage. Amy E. Hughes scrutinizes these peculiar intersections of spectacle and reform, revealing the crucial role that spectacle has played in American activism and how it has remained central to the dramaturgy of reform. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHughes traces the cultural history of three famous sensation scenes--the drunkard with the \u003ci\u003edelirium tremens\u003c\/i\u003e, the fugitive slave escaping over a river, and the victim tied to the railroad tracks--assessing how these scenes conveyed, allayed, and denied concerns about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. These images also appeared in printed propaganda, suggesting that the \u003ci\u003ecoup de th蛯tre\u003c\/i\u003e was an essential part of American reform culture. Additionally, Hughes argues that today's producers and advertisers continue to exploit the affective dynamism of spectacle, reaching an even broader audience through film, television, and the Internet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo be attuned to the dynamics of spectacle, Hughes argues, is to understand how we see. Her book will interest not only theater historians, but also scholars and students of political, literary, and visual culture who are curious about how U.S. citizens saw themselves and their world during a pivotal period in American history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Amy E. Hughes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0472035975\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780472035977\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Michigan Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/14\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d","brand":"Amy E. Hughes","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43946674815231,"sku":"9780472035977","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_3bfdce9d-afc3-445f-a80b-405848ca1c4f.jpg?v=1681514490","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/spectacles-of-reform-amy-e-hughes-9780472035977","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}