Professor Pamela K. Gilbert (University of Florida): Victorian Skin: Blushing and Self-Consciousness

Professor Pamela K. Gilbert (University of Florida) - Nominated Fellow 2019: Victorian Skin: Blushing and Self-Consciousness

One might assume that the frequent mention of blushing in British nineteenth century literature is simply part of an emphasis on female modesty.  In fact, both self-consciousness and the blush was embroiled in a history of contentious discussion in the period: on materialism, the human-animal divide, the embodied mind, the function of the nervous system, evolution, criminology and even theology. This talk will trace several aspects of this discussion through the period, with special attention to the anatomist Charles Bell and to Charles Darwin.