A Sociological History of Excretory Experience: Defacatory Manners and Toiletry Technology

Description

This study illustrates how it was the shifting relationships between the aristocracy, bourgeoisie and working classes over several centuries which were greatly responsible for the ways in which we defecate and view human waste in the 21st century. The focus of the book is on the historical development of these factors in Western Europe over the modern period: the nature of excreta; human body's defectatory capacities; acceptable/unacceptable fashions in which defecation can be carried out; and the way in which faeces are disposed of. This final aspect includes the construction of water-based sewer systems and the development of water closets in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These scientific and technological changes were intimately related to changes in the nature of social life, by antagonistic relations between classes at the economic, political and cultural levels. Dedication Table of Contents List of illustrations Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: Excreta and Excretion in the Modern World 1 A Sociology of Excreta and Excretion 2 Defecation in the Pre-Modern West 3 Understanding the Rise of Modern Excretion 4 The Rise of a New Faecal Order: From the Late Medieval Period to 1800 AD 5 The Rise of Sewer Systems 6 The Spread of the Water Closet Conclusion: The Making of Modern Excretory Mores Bibliography Index