57th Street Books
1301 E 57th St
773.684.1300
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Terri Kapsalis, The Hysterical Alphabet
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Wednesday Oct 22, 2008 (6pm)
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Although it's no longer recognized as a medical disorder, hysteria was once widely diagnosed in women who displayed a multitude of physical and emotional symptoms, or "unfeminine" traits such as outspokenness, ambitiousness, and promiscuity. In her new book, The Hysterical Alphabet, SAIC professor Terri Kapsalis traces the 4,000-year history of the catch-all condition from its early days in ancient Greece — when the uterus, or hystera, was considered the cause of female maladies — to its Victorian Age reincarnation as a form of sexual dissatisfaction (pelvic massage was a popular "cure"). Today, Kapsalis reads from her book and discusses how the history of hysteria reveals shifting attitudes (and anxieties) about women's bodies and female sexuality.
