Picture 1 of 1
Picture 1 of 1
Birth Figures: Early Modern Prints and the Pregnant Body by Rebecca Whiteley
US $75.21
Approximately£56.33
Condition:
New
A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. See the seller's listing for full details.
Postage:
Free Standard Shipping.
Located in: Sparks, Nevada, United States
Delivery:
Estimated between Fri, 27 Sep and Wed, 2 Oct to 43230
Returns:
30 days return. Buyer pays for return postage.
Payments:
Shop with confidence
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number:285224783926
Item specifics
- Condition
- Book Title
- Birth Figures: Early Modern Prints and the Pregnant Body
- Publication Date
- 2023-02-23
- Pages
- 312
- ISBN
- 9780226823126
- Subject Area
- Art, Science, Medical
- Publication Name
- Birth Figures : Early Modern Prints and the Pregnant Body
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Item Length
- 9 in
- Subject
- Gynecology & Obstetrics, History, Anatomy, Subjects & Themes / Human Figure
- Publication Year
- 2023
- Type
- Textbook
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- Item Height
- 1.2 in
- Item Weight
- 21 Oz
- Item Width
- 6 in
- Number of Pages
- 312 Pages
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
ISBN-10
0226823121
ISBN-13
9780226823126
eBay Product ID (ePID)
25057227488
Product Key Features
Number of Pages
312 Pages
Language
English
Publication Name
Birth Figures : Early Modern Prints and the Pregnant Body
Publication Year
2023
Subject
Gynecology & Obstetrics, History, Anatomy, Subjects & Themes / Human Figure
Type
Textbook
Subject Area
Art, Science, Medical
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
1.2 in
Item Weight
21 Oz
Item Length
9 in
Item Width
6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Scholarly & Professional
LCCN
2022-018102
Dewey Edition
23
Reviews
This is an impressive, scholarly, and detailed review and critique of the vital importance of print images to the culture and practice of midwifery in Western Europe from the mid-sixteenth through the mid-eighteenth century., Whiteley's Birth Figures considers the images of fetal positioning that were included in printed midwifery manuals and helped midwives visualize the presentation of the fetus, whether it was cephalic (ideal) or breech (not good) or impacted (very bad), in order that they might better prepare for a complex birth. These images become an occasion for an intricate meditation: on the nature of the womb, and the unseen; on the representation in static images of dynamic process and bodily transformation; on the contingent and shifting boundary between interior and exterior, nature and history., With Birth Figures , Rebecca Whiteley adds much to our historical understanding of pregnancy and childbirth. Moving beyond old historical narratives of the conflict between male midwives--with their instruments and interventionist approach--and traditional female midwives, who assisted in the natural process of birth, Whiteley presents a more complex and nuanced story of shifting understandings among both men and women and new skill sets required of both male and female birth attendants. The book also adds to the growing literature on the relationship between art and science and the creation of 'visual languages' to convey knowledge of different subjects., The history of midwifery is transformed by this first sustained analysis of printed drawings showing birth presentations in pregnant wombs. Recovering midwives' pictorial practice while putting anatomy in its place, Whiteley reconstructs how copying drove innovation and viewers made meanings. Her appealing book thus extends reproductive, gender, and visual studies, as well as histories of art, medicine, and the body., In this fascinating porthole into English pregnancy culture in the 16th to 18th centuries, cherubic representations of fetuses in transparent wombs greet bewildered readers... By recasting birth figures as evolving feminist iconography, Whiteley places these artifacts in the context of contemporary debates over reproductive rights., In this fascinating porthole into English pregnancy culture in the 16th to 18th centuries, cherubic representations of fetuses in transparent wombs greet bewildered readers . . . . By recasting birth figures as evolving feminist iconography, Whiteley places these artifacts in the context of contemporary debates over reproductive rights., The history of midwifery is transformed by this first sustained analysis of printed drawings showing birth presentations in pregnant wombs. Recovering midwives' pictorial practice, while putting anatomy in its place, Rebecca Whiteley reconstructs how copying drove innovation and viewers made meanings. Her appealing book thus extends reproductive, gender, and visual studies, as well as histories of art, medicine, and the body., Provides important insights into early modern body knowledge as well as the relationship between women and men in the field of obstetrics in England., With Birth Figures , Whiteley adds much to our historical understanding of pregnancy and childbirth. Moving beyond old historical narratives of the conflict between male midwives--with their instruments and interventionist approach--and traditional female midwives, who assisted in the natural process of birth, Whiteley presents a more complex and nuanced story of shifting understandings among both men and women and new skill sets required of both male and female birth attendants. The book also adds to the growing literature on the relationship between art and science and the creation of 'visual languages' to convey knowledge of different subjects., [ Birth Figures ] is a ground-breaking book, not only because it represents the first detailed exploration of midwifery figures in the literature, but also because it makes a rich addition to our existing knowledge about midwifery, medicine and gender in early modern Europe., Whiteley's work, at the intersection of medical and art history, beautifully illuminates the multiple meanings of images of unborn children in early modern Europe. She offers fresh, sophisticated, and nuanced interpretations of images that have puzzled me for years!, During this early-modern period, female midwives delivered most babies. Whiteley convincingly argues that the profusion of midwifery manuals at this time (with drawings mainly by men), 'triggered a change in how midwives both thought about and treated the laboring body.' Even though birth figures were sometimes used to exert 'masculine authority' over women's practice, they also helped midwives to 'envision the body, and particularly the position of the fetus, in a newly concrete way.' . . . Now as then, the birth figure remains powerful . . . . It empowers, but it can be misused. It is revealing, but also mysterious--a tiny cosmos, in utero .
Illustrated
Yes
Dewey Decimal
618.20094
Table Of Content
List of Illustrations A Note on Terminology Introduction: Picturing Pregnancy Part I: Early Printed Birth Figures (1540-1672) Chapter 1: Using Images in Midwifery Practice Chapter 2: Pluralistic Images and the Early Modern Body Part II: Birth Figures as Agents of Change (1672-1751) Chapter 3: Visual Experiments Chapter 4: Visualizing Touch and Defining a Professional Persona Part III: The Birth Figure Persists (1751-1774) Chapter 5: Challenging the Hunterian Hegemony Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index
Synopsis
The first full study of "birth figures" and their place in early modern knowledge-making. Birth figures are printed images of the pregnant womb, always shown in series, that depict the variety of ways in which a fetus can present for birth. Historian Rebecca Whiteley coined the term and here offers the first systematic analysis of the images' creation, use, and impact. Whiteley reveals their origins in ancient medicine and explores their inclusion in many medieval gynecological manuscripts, focusing on their explosion in printed midwifery and surgical books in Western Europe from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century. During this period, birth figures formed a key part of the visual culture of medicine and midwifery and were widely produced. They reflected and shaped how the pregnant body was known and treated. And by providing crucial bodily knowledge to midwives and surgeons, birth figures were also deeply entangled with wider cultural preoccupations with generation and creativity, female power and agency, knowledge and its dissemination, and even the condition of the human in the universe. Birth Figures studies how different kinds of people understood childbirth and engaged with midwifery manuals, from learned physicians to midwives to illiterate listeners. Rich and detailed, this vital history reveals the importance of birth figures in how midwifery was practiced and in how people, both medical professionals and lay readers, envisioned and understood the mysterious state of pregnancy.
LC Classification Number
RG518.E85W45 2022
Item description from the seller
Business seller information
Alibris, Inc.
Rob Lambert
2560 9th St
Ste 215
94710-2565 Berkeley, CA
United States
I certify that all my selling activities will comply with all EU laws and regulations.
Registered as a business seller
Seller Feedback (473,914)
- s***s (126)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseThis is an outstanding seller to deal with. Fair prices that are more than reasonable in this economy. The product is in better condition than described, a true value for my money. Packaged and shipped well shows seller has concern for the products he sells to arrive in excellent condition. The seller is friendly and communicates timely with his customers. I highly recommend this seller and would do business again anytime. Thank you!
- p***p (47)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseGreat seller! Item is what I ordered; good communication; shipped promptly; good value. NOTE TO SELLER: packaging was NOT appropriate for item; it was a flimsy, plastic envelope, with no stiff material to prevent creases. The book came with two deep creases that involved the *entire* item: one is a 1" triangle lower left side (bound edge); the other is a 7" triangle on upper right side (open edge).Beautiful Music for Two String Instruments, Bk 3: 2 Violins by Samuel Applebaum (#403989405345)
- n***a (3383)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseExcellent Seller, Fast Shipping, Great Communications, Packaged Well, Exactly As Described, And A Good Price. PERFECT. I Will Buy From This Seller Again. Thank You. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Product ratings and reviews
More to explore:
- Mind, Body & Spirit Non-Fiction & Fiction Large Print Books,
- Mind, Body & Spirit Fiction & Non-Fiction Books in English Large Print,
- Mind, Body & Spirit Non-Fiction Paperback Large Print Fiction & Non-Fiction Books,
- Modern Railways Magazines,
- Modern Drummer Magazines,
- Modernism Fiction Fiction & Books,
- Modern Railways Trains Magazines,
- Modernism It Fiction Fiction & Books,
- Modern Drummer Magazines in English,
- February Modern Railways Magazines