Séances in the City
The “Operational Aesthetic” and “Modern Spiritualism” in the Popular Culture of New York City, 1865–1870
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16769226 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark Smith (0000-0002-1048-7786, University College London, corresponding author), Mark Power Smith (Department of History, University College London, London, UK) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 45-62 |
| Publication date | 2017-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Nineteenth Century History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1466-4658 • E-ISSN: 1743-7903 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14664658.2017.1284300 |
| OpenAlex | W2587008788 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
This paper will demonstrate that spiritualism became a significant element of popular culture in New York City between 1865 and 1870 because it catered to the “operational aesthetic” so prevalent in urban entertainments. The historian Neil Harris invented the term “operational aesthetic” to denote the spirit of playful inquiry common to the urban culture of mid-nineteenth-century America. By the 1860s, urbanization had undermined the social transparency so integral to the American Republic, causing cultural anxiety about the fraud and deceit, which was thought to thrive on urban anonymity. Several cultural genres, including detective fiction and urban guides, not only reflected, but also invited the investigation into, the divorce between the “superficialities” of the city and the “processes” driving criminal behavior. Spiritualism featured regularly in these genres, particularly the urban guides, as it was appealing to people eager to uncover another instance of urban deceit. Similarly, spiritualists attracted skeptical and agnostic audiences who shared this interest in investigation. Apparent “exposés” of spiritualism, therefore, as well as the mediums themselves, reached out to skeptical audiences, drawn to the “operational aesthetic” inherent in spiritualist demonstrations
Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Media studies · Political science · Popular culture · Skepticism · Sociology · Spiritualism · Transparency (behavior · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
| Highly cited | No |
|---|