Michael Tavel Clarke's Books

These Days of Large Things

The Culture of Size in America, 1865-1930

By: Michael Tavel Clarke

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

These Days of Large Things

The Culture of Size in America, 1865-1930

By: Michael Tavel Clarke

The United States at the turn of the twentieth century cultivated a passion for big. It witnessed the emergence of large-scale corporate capitalism; the beginnings of American imperialism on a global stage; record-level immigration; a rapid expansion of cities; and colossal events and structures like world's fairs, amusement parks, department stores, and skyscrapers. Size began to play a key role in American identity. During this period, bigness signaled American progress. These Days of Large Things explores the centrality of size to American culture and national identity and the preoccupation with physical stature that pervaded American thought. Clarke examines the role that body size played in racial theory and the ways in which economic changes in the nation generated conflicting attitudes toward growth and bigness. Finally, Clarke investigates the relationship between stature and gender. These Days of Large Things brings together a remarkable range of cultural material including scientific studies, photographs, novels, cartoons, architecture, and film. As a general cultural and intellectual history of the period, this work will be of interest to students and scholars in American studies, U.S. history, American literature, and gender studies. Michael Tavel Clarke is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Calgary. Cover photograph: "New York from Its Pinnacles," Alvin Langdon Coburn (1912). Courtesy of the George Eastman House. "A fascinating study of the American preoccupation with physical size, this book charts new paths in the history of science, culture, and the body. A must-read for anyone puzzling over why Americans today love hulking SUVs, Mcmansions, and outsized masculine bodies." ---Lois Banner, University of Southern California "From the Gilded Age through the Twenties, Clarke shows a nation-state obsessed with sheer size, ranging from the mammoth labor union to the 'Giant Incorporated Body' of the monopoly trust. These Days of Large Things links the towering Gibson Girl with the skyscraper, the pediatric regimen with stereotypes of the Jew. Spanning anthropology, medicine, architecture, business, and labor history, Clarke provides the full anatomy of imperial America and offers a model of cultural studies at its very best." ---Cecelia Tichi, Vanderbilt University

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

497

Publisher

University of Michigan Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0472024981

ISBN 13

9780472024988

The Science of Deception

Psychology and Commerce in America

By: Michael Pettit

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Science of Deception

Psychology and Commerce in America

By: Michael Pettit

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Americans were fascinated with fraud. P. T. Barnum artfully exploited the American yen for deception, and even Mark Twain championed it, arguing that lying was virtuous insofar as it provided the glue for all interpersonal intercourse. But deception was not used solely to delight, and many fell prey to the schemes of con men and the wiles of spirit mediums. As a result, a number of experimental psychologists set themselves the task of identifying and eliminating the illusions engendered by modern, commercial life. By the 1920s, however, many of these same psychologists had come to depend on deliberate misdirection and deceitful stimuli to support their own experiments. The Science of Deception explores this paradox, weaving together the story of deception in American commercial culture with its growing use in the discipline of psychology. Michael Pettit reveals how deception came to be something that psychologists not only studied but also employed to establish their authority. They developed a host of tools—the lie detector, psychotherapy, an array of personality tests, and more—for making deception more transparent in the courts and elsewhere. Pettit’s study illuminates the intimate connections between the scientific discipline and the marketplace during a crucial period in the development of market culture. With its broad research and engaging tales of treachery, The Science of Deception will appeal to scholars and general readers alike.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

323

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226923754

ISBN 13

9780226923758

These Days of Large Things

The Culture of Size in America, 1865-1930

By: Michael Tavel Clarke

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

These Days of Large Things

The Culture of Size in America, 1865-1930

By: Michael Tavel Clarke

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

497

Publisher

University of Michigan Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0472024981

ISBN 13

9780472024988

Book's by Michael Tavel Clarke

These Days of Large Things

These Days of Large Things

The Science of Deception

The Science of Deception

These Days of Large Things

These Days of Large Things

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email