Spectacles of Waste
eBook - ePub

Spectacles of Waste

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Spectacles of Waste

About this book

The modern bathroom is an ingenious compilation of locked doors, smooth porcelain, 4-ply tissue and antibacterial hand soap, but despite this miracle of indoor plumbing, we still can't bear the thought that anyone else should know that our bodies produce waste. Why must we live by the rules of this intense scatological embarrassment?

In Spectacles of Waste, leading historian of medicine Warwick Anderson reveals how human excrement has always complicated humanity's attempts to become modern. From wastewater epidemiology and sewage snooping to fecal transplants and excremental art, he argues that our insistence on separating ourselves from our bodily waste has fundamentally shaped our philosophies, social theories, literature and art—even the emergence of high-tech science as we understand it today.

Written with verve and aplomb, Anderson's expert analysis reveals how in recent years, humanity has doubled down on abstracting and datafying our most abject waste, and unconsciously underlined its biopolitical signature across our lives.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Spectacles of Waste by Warwick Anderson in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Philosophy & Ethics in Science. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction: Modern Excrementalities and Postcolonic Biopolitics
  5. 1 The Sewage Panopticon
  6. 2 The Waste That Therefore I Am?
  7. 3 The Colon-ized World
  8. 4 Powers of Ordure
  9. 5 Gut Feelings and Dark Continents
  10. Conclusion: A Topsy-Turvy Creature
  11. Acknowledgments
  12. Index
  13. End User License Agreement