{"product_id":"spectacles-of-reform-amy-e-hughes-9780472118625","title":"Spectacles of Reform: Theater and Activism in Nineteenth-Century America","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the nineteenth century, long before film and television arrived to electrify audiences with explosions, car chases, and narrow escapes, it was America's theaters that offered audiences such thrills, with \"sensation scenes\" of speeding trains, burning buildings, and endangered bodies, often in melodramas extolling the virtues of temperance, abolition, and women's suffrage. In Spectacles of Reform, Amy E. Hughes scrutinizes these peculiar intersections of spectacle and reform, revealing that spectacle plays a crucial role in American activism. By examining how theater producers and political groups harnessed its power and appeal, Hughes suggests that spectacle was--and remains--central to the dramaturgy of reform. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEngaging evidence from lithographs to children's books to typography catalogs, Hughes traces the cultural history of three famous sensation scenes--the drunkard suffering from the \u003ci\u003edelirium tremens\u003c\/i\u003e, the fugitive slave escaping over a river, and the victim tied to the railroad tracks--assessing how they 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 théâtre\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. Consequently, Spectacles of Reform 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,Amy Hughes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0472118625\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780472118625\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 12\/17\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2013","brand":"Amy E. Hughes","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48086707306751,"sku":"9780472118625","price":89.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_608c9495-9cec-4701-b892-c561de9f2fe3.jpg?v=1769096113","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/spectacles-of-reform-amy-e-hughes-9780472118625","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}