Overview

The cultural and scientific significance of animal magnetism as performance. The long nineteenth century bears the mark of Anton Mesmer. In a burgeoning media landscape, and in an emerging entertainment culture that fashioned growing numbers of people into audiences, the performative qualities of Mesmer’s magnetic healing techniques came to define magnetism’s cultural power. Shaped by many performers, magnetism flowed into the practices of other practitioners – mentalist, somnambulist, spiritist, hypnotist, mystical, magical and medical. Examining mesmerism as a socially and theatrically embedded phenomenon, Performing Magnetism shows that it was not merely a medical or pseudoscientific practice but a performative and culturally situated one. Drawing on new case studies from Europe, Asia and Northern Africa, the book offers a transnational perspective on nineteenth-century epistemologies and explores how magnetic practices intersected with science, art, popular entertainment, and engagement with the occult. Its interdisciplinary scope will engage readers interested in the cultural history of performance, media, and knowledge.

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9789462705166

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Reviews

Performing Magnetism is a groundbreaking volume that reimagines animal magnetism as a performative, transnational phenomenon. Rich in interdisciplinary insight and compelling case studies, it offers a fresh lens on the intersections of science, spectacle, and belief - essential reading for scholars of cultural history, performance, and the history of science. - Eleanor Dobson, University of Birmingham

Author Information

Eleonora Paklons is a doctoral researcher working on magic lantern travelogues at the University of Antwerp. She is also co-editor of a volume on the history of the magic lantern and popular entertainment. Kristof Smeyers is a senior research fellow in history at the KU Leuven. He has written books on the history of religion and the supernatural, fauna, flora and folklore. Kurt Vanhoutte is Full Professor and Chair of Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Antwerp. His research explores the intersections of media technology, performative culture, and illusionism since the nineteenth century. Hannah Welslau is a doctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp. Her work focuses on spiritism, performance, and popular entertainment in Belgium. Her research is funded by The Research Foundation Flanders.

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