Title
On Writing the History of the Body in Pain
Abstract
This essay makes the case for a cultural history of bodily pain that keeps the problem of representation at the forefront of its analysis. Specifically, it explores how historians have written about bodily pain in relation to American slavery and freedom. It also explores efforts by African American people, free and enslaved, to create counter-discourses that cast them as subjects in the battle over slavery. In doing so, the essay explores the multiple investments in bodily pain and the ethical questions raised when writing about the pain of another.
Department(s)
History
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3366/cult.2015.0085
Publication Date
2015
Recommended Citation
Kennedy, Kathleen. "On Writing the History of the Body in Pain." Cultural History 4, no. 1 (2015): 87-106.
Journal Title
Cultural History 4, no. 1
