Beyond Pleasure: Cultures of Modern Asceticism

ISBN 10: 1845457730 ISBN 13: 9781845457730

Verlag: Berghahn Books, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

Asceticism, so it is argued in this volume, is a modern category. The ubiquitous cult of the body, of fitness and diet equally evokes the ongoing success of ascetic practices and beliefs. Nostalgic memories of hardship and discipline in the army, youth movements or boarding schools remain as present as the fashionable irritation with the presumed modern-day laziness. In the very texture of contemporary culture, age-old asceticism proves to be remarkably alive. Old ascetic forms were remoulded to serve modern desires for personal authenticity, an authenticity that disconnected asceticism in the course of the nineteenth century from two traditions that had underpinned it since classical antiquity: the public, republican austerity of antiquity and the private, religious asceticism of Christianity. Exploring various aspects such as the history of the body, of aesthetics, science, and social thought in several European countries (Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Belgium), the authors show that modern asceticism remains a deeply ambivalent category. Apart from self-realisation, classical and religious examples continue to haunt the ascetic mind.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Leen Van Molle teaches contemporary social history at the University of Leuven. Her main research interests are in rural and gender history. She has recently published on Belgian women entrepreneurs, the history of allotment gardening and an overview of recent research on rural history in the North Sea area.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Berghahn Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1845457730
• ISBN 13: 9781845457730
• Einband: Bibliothekseinband
• Anzahl der Seiten: 262
• Herausgeber: Peeters Evert, Molle Leen Van, Wils Kaat
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland