Sentimental bodies
Subtitle: sex, gender, and citizenship in the early republic
By: Bruce Burgett.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Princeton, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 213
Subjects: American literature -- 1783-1850 -- History and criticism; Politics and literature -- United States -- History -- 19th century; Politics and literature -- United States -- History -- 18th century; Gender identity in literature; Sentimentalism in literature; Body, Human, in literature; Citizenship in literature; Sex role in literature; United States -- Intellectual life -- 1783-1865
Description: Sentimentalism, sex, the construction of the modern body, and the origins of American liberalism all come under scrutiny in this rich discussion of political life in the early republic. Here Bruce Burgett enters into debates over the "public sphere," a concept introduced by Jurgen Habermas that has led theorists to grapple with such polarities as public and private, polity and personality, citizenship and subjection.

With the literary public sphere as his primary focus, Burgett sets out to challenge the Enlightenment opposition of reason and sentiment as the fundamental grid for understanding American political culture.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [161]-204) and index.